Wine Advisor
Bruno Giacosa, Barolo Falletto 2001
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
2001 Barolo Falletto—Rich translucent ruby. Very balsamic on the nose, with notes of spices, minerals, and leather. A wine of tremendous depth and purity, the 2001 Barolo Falletto displays deep layers of dark fruit that gradually open, revealing this wine’s great complexity, structure and length. A terrific effort. An Azienda Agricola Falleto di Bruno Giacosa bottling. 94 points/drink after 2011, tasted 05/05 It is extremely rare for Giacosa to show his Barolos and Barbarescos at this young stage and the insight gained by tasting these wines is illuminating. These 2004s are already outrageous, and offer the well-delineated aromatics and expressive, layered flavors typical of a great year, although the vintage was not without its challenges. “2004 was a year where the vines tended to overproduce,” explains Scaglione. “We could have easily produced 120 quintali a term used to indicate the weight of harvested fruit per hectare, 1 quintale equals 100 kilos, and 80 quintali (8,000 kilos/8.8 tons) is the maximum allowed by law of fruit per hectare so we ended up dropping a lot of fruit to get to our desired level of about 65 quintali (7.15 tons). It was a perfect year in terms of the weather. Daytimes temperatures reached 30°C (86°F) during the day but fell to about 15°C (59°F) in the evening allowing the grapes to mature gradually.”
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
2001 Barolo Falletto—Dark burnished ruby. The 2001 Falletto opens with a sweet, balsamic nose of spices, oak, and minerals. It is packed with layers of deep, dark fruit that gradually open to reveal themselves on big, strapping frame, with outstanding length, and a beautiful note of freshness to cap off the finish. An Azienda Agricola Falletto di Bruno Giacosa bottling. 94/drink after 2011, 11/05 My recent visit with Bruno Giacosa concluded with a few wines tasted from bottle. Re-tasting the superb 2001 Red Labels, the Barbaresco Riserva Rabaja and the 2001 Barolo Riserva Le Rocche del Falletto, was the perfect finish to a memorable afternoon with Giacosa and enologist Dante Scaglione. I also include notes on the recently tasted 1990 Barbaresco Riserva Santo Stefano and 1993 Barolo Collina Rionda.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2001 Barolo Falletto impresses for its layered, silky personality. Sweet roses, tar, licorice and menthol are all woven together in this deceptively medium-bodied Barolo. There is plenty of muscle to back things up. Today the Falletto is quite a bit more delicate than it has been in the past. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2021. This is a fabulous set of wines from one of the great Giacosa vintages. Admittedly, opening ten year-old Giacosa Barbareschi and Baroli must be viewed as a purely academic excercise, as the wines are nowhere near ready. Readers will have to be especially patient, as most of these wines have entered a closed phase after having been surprisingly accessible early on. Importer: Folio Fine Wine Partners, Napa, CA; tel. (707) 256-2700
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2001 Barolo Falletto displays a more deeply colored, rich translucent ruby color. It opens with a sweet, balsamic nose of spices, oak, and minerals, and is packed with layers of deep, dark fruit that gradually open to reveal themselves on a big, strapping frame, with outstanding length and a beautiful note of freshness to cap off the finish. An Azienda Agricola Falletto di Bruno Giacosa bottling. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2023. Importer: Winebow, Hohokus, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620
About the Producer
Bruno Giacosa, located in the south and south-west of Piemonte, has been performing well for three generations, thanks to the careful selection of high quality grapes and the emphasis on traditional winemaking techniques. The vineyard covers 44.7 acres (18 hectares) and is planted with Nebbiolo d'Alba, Barbera and Dolcetto varieties. The average age of the vines is 15 years and the planting density is between 4,500 and 5,000 vines per hectare, with an average yield of 4,800 litres per hectare. In terms of winemaking, the owner has a classic quote: "For us, the philosophy of traditionalism means making wines that are not only strongly local to the vine and the grape variety, but also maintain the various local terroirs. We have always made single-variety wines. Our winemaking techniques have been improved and we also make use of gentle pressing, crushing operations, advanced rotary systems and optimised cold and hot treatment techniques." For Garcosa, technology and tradition are not necessarily at odds with each other. In the winemaking process, the grapes are first fermented in steel containers and then transferred to wooden containers for ageing, which varies slightly depending on the type of wine. Finally, the wine is bottled without filtering. The main wines produced by the winery are the Barbaresco Garina, the Barbaresco Santo Stefano, the Barbaresco Asili, the Barbaresco Wabasha and the Barbaresco Asili. Barbaresco Rabaja, Barolo Falletto and Barolo Le Rocche del Falletto. Some of the more recent vintages are 2001, 2000, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1990, 1989, 1982 and 1978. These vintages are often relatively closed and uninteresting when first bottled, but after 10 years in the cellar, they all show an irresistible magic.
