Wine Advisor
Bruno Giacosa, Barolo Le Rocche del Falletto Riserva 2008
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
The 2008 Barolo Riserva Falletto Vigna Le Rocche (aged 36 months in botte grande) is a gorgeous wine from every perspective. Its 360-degree beauty shines comes through in terms of the intensity of the bouquet and the elegance of the mouthfeel. Again, super-finely textured tannins give the wine backbone and create a supporting structure for rich fruit flavors. There's just enough consistency here to fill the palate, yet the wine is never heavy or flat. It shows vibrant energy thanks to the natural freshness and that beautiful note of garden fresh red rose that pops up as nostalgic sign-off. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2040. With the return of winemaker Dante Scaglione in 2011, the wines of Bruno Giacosa (the genius of Neive) continue to impress. Bruna Giacosa, Bruno's daughter, has taken over daily operations at the winery since her father suffered a stroke in 2006. Importer: Folio Fine Wine Partners, Napa, CA; tel. (707) 256-2700
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2008 Barolo Riserva Falletto Vigna Le Rocche shows more depth and up-front richness than the Falletto, but then loses much of its persistence on the mid-palate and finish. Frankly, this is a perplexing effort. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2018. It’s hard to know what to make of Bruno Giacosa’s 2008 Baroli. Over the years I have had the privilege and pleasure to drink virtually all of Giacosa’s wines from both legendary and weaker vintages all the way back to 1961. These wines don’t match anything in my previous experience. Importer: Folio Fine Wine Partners, Napa, CA; tel. (707) 256-2700
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2008 Barolo Riserva Le Rocche del Falletto is served blind. It doesn’t matter. The wine is awkward and deeply disappointing, as it has always been. I first tasted the 2008 Riserva in November 2009. Right then I knew there was a problem. But I hoped the wine would come around. It never has, and it never will. Grainy in feel, short and completely uninteresting, not to mention galaxies away from being in any way profound, the 2008 Riserva is among the weakest wines Bruno Giacosa ever put into bottle.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
(to be released in January): Good deep red. Redcurrant, plum, sexy brown spices, menthol, marzipan, licorice and a balsamic element on the nose; Bruna compares this wine to the supernal 2000 bottling. The palate delivers a captivating combination of ineffable perfume and buns of steel, with strong acidity giving definition to the flavors of rose petal, exotic spices, truffle and underbrush. Offers lovely breadth with a weightless quality. Really echoes and vibrates on the back end, finishing with huge but sweet tannins that reach the front teeth and explosive tangy red fruits. Should be fairly long-lived but will it have the finesse of the 2000?
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2008 Barolo Riserva Le Rocche del Falletto is served blind. It doesn’t matter. The wine is awkward and deeply disappointing, as it has always been. I first tasted the 2008 Riserva in November 2009. Right then I knew there was a problem. But I hoped the wine would come around. It never has, and it never will. Grainy in feel, short and completely uninteresting, not to mention galaxies away from being in any way profound, the 2008 Riserva is among the weakest wines Bruno Giacosa ever put into bottle.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
(to be released in January): Good deep red. Redcurrant, plum, sexy brown spices, menthol, marzipan, licorice and a balsamic element on the nose; Bruna compares this wine to the supernal 2000 bottling. The palate delivers a captivating combination of ineffable perfume and buns of steel, with strong acidity giving definition to the flavors of rose petal, exotic spices, truffle and underbrush. Offers lovely breadth with a weightless quality. Really echoes and vibrates on the back end, finishing with huge but sweet tannins that reach the front teeth and explosive tangy red fruits. Should be fairly long-lived but will it have the finesse of the 2000?
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.
