This is the 1964 Barolo at
MY PARTY !
CONTERNO vino MONFORTINO
RISERVA 1964
Ditta Giacomo Conterno
Monforte D'Alba / Piemonte(Italy)
------------------------------------------------------------
This bottle was valued at one thousand dollars/800 Euro-
if one could find a bottle and in good condition !
This rare bottle to say the least was tasted at 10pm -
Sunday 21st December 2008 at the pre-Chistmas tasting.
Now it is just another empty bottle lying in state in the
TBA WINE BOTTLE MUSEUM - MANHATTAN(USA)
It is a 100% Nebbiolo("BAROLO")Michet and Rosa clones
at bottling -1971. Giacomo CONTERNO, as his son Giovanni,
left his "Barolo" wines in gigantic chestnut
(botte di castagna) barrels at least five years
- that's for his regular "Barolo",
- his irregular "Barolo" (RISERVA) for way more !
Normally corks should be RE-corked every twenty years -
that is if the wine is lying down in cantina. This one was
given to me by Giovanni Conterno, son of Giacomo Conterno
in 1975 when I visited his BIG barrels and tasted with him.
He also gave me a bottle of 1961 vino Monfortino.
Giovanni Conterno died of cancer in 2004.
I brought both bottles to my villa in Aprigliano frazione
Guarno(Cosenza)-Calabria to "sleep lying down" like
Rip van Winkle for 33 years !
Leg note (not foot note) : In 1963 the Italian wine law -
DOS, DOC & DOC-G (Guaranteed by God!) was established.
In 1966 the first DOC wine classified was Brunello di
Montalcino ,followed by Barolo and Barbaresco and Vino
Nobile di Montepulciano. So CONTERNO vino MONFORTINO
1964 was a "Barolo" but born prior to the 1966 classification.
Both 1961 and 1964 were stellar years in Barolo.
HOW DID THE CORK COME OUT - OUT OF ITS RESPECTIVE
BOTTLE OF 720 ML ?
-Contenuto netto litri 0,720 -
-One pint & 8 fluid ounces -
-Gradazione 13,50
Ernie Campos, proprietor of CABRINI WINE EMPORIUM -
831 West 181st street - Manhattan and across the street
from the TBA Wine Bottle Museum- 100 Cabrini Boulevard.
Gingerly and meticulously Ernie drove the cork puller into
its very long cork and little by little pulled the cork upwards
centimeter by centimeter -driving down the steel puller
to its entire length. Miraculously, the long cork was moist
-not at all dry- and I am sure it felt good to come out of its
glass sheath entrapment after so many year protecting its
precious ageless red vinous contents ! Eureka
The cork's bottom was black almost half way up as its dark
colour lighten up a bit to a crescendo in reverse gear of
older cork-brown hues.
DECANTERING - Ernie handed me his triumphal feat in
earnest (no pun intended) to me, Thomas B. Abruzzini,
soon to be the former owner of its expired or still alive
"elixir vitae" for the equally delicate art of gently pouring
off the "barolo's" contents making sure not to disturb
the sediment that accumlated over the 44 long years.
At first the first few drops of this xenon (almost colorless
liquid) appeared to be disappointingly anti-climactic as
everyone watched in anticipation of the next globules of
liquid "gold" (remember the preceived value $1,000 !)
flowed into the modern decanter -which came to life with
darker shades of red, yellow and black as if resurrected by
Jesus Christ himself!
The color estravaganza continued as TBA moved the three
quarters empty bottle of CONTERNO vino Monfortino Riserva
1964 tranferring it slowly to a wide mouth balloon glass.
Soon the fine sediment could be viewed enough for TBA to
use another balloon glass to empty its quaranta quattro anni
di sedimento crustato.
HOW DID IT TASTE ? The bouquet of the crusted sediment
was telling me we had a winner! Then I tasted the second
balloon and hail it a success of time in bottle.
Those around my solid oak kitchen table were given the
labors of our Grand Opening. Everyone savoured the liquid
gold in silence . Ernie burst out in applause!
I am tasting the last of the decanter's contents of two days
ago (covered with cellophane). It takes like a very fine
Sercial Madeira from the 1800's - a clean nose, faint alcoholic
nose, and taste ever so slightly remarkably reminiscente of
the 13,5 on the label (I'll bet it was 14.5% alcohol to keep it
alive all these years plus residual sugar !).
------------------------------------------------------------
Next was opened a bottle of AMANDA Rosso di Save 1973
Vino Primitivo - 17% plus 4% residual sugar = 21 %
TBA -
MY PARTY !
CONTERNO vino MONFORTINO
RISERVA 1964
Ditta Giacomo Conterno
Monforte D'Alba / Piemonte(Italy)
------------------------------------------------------------
This bottle was valued at one thousand dollars/800 Euro-
if one could find a bottle and in good condition !
This rare bottle to say the least was tasted at 10pm -
Sunday 21st December 2008 at the pre-Chistmas tasting.
Now it is just another empty bottle lying in state in the
TBA WINE BOTTLE MUSEUM - MANHATTAN(USA)
It is a 100% Nebbiolo("BAROLO")Michet and Rosa clones
at bottling -1971. Giacomo CONTERNO, as his son Giovanni,
left his "Barolo" wines in gigantic chestnut
(botte di castagna) barrels at least five years
- that's for his regular "Barolo",
- his irregular "Barolo" (RISERVA) for way more !
Normally corks should be RE-corked every twenty years -
that is if the wine is lying down in cantina. This one was
given to me by Giovanni Conterno, son of Giacomo Conterno
in 1975 when I visited his BIG barrels and tasted with him.
He also gave me a bottle of 1961 vino Monfortino.
Giovanni Conterno died of cancer in 2004.
I brought both bottles to my villa in Aprigliano frazione
Guarno(Cosenza)-Calabria to "sleep lying down" like
Rip van Winkle for 33 years !
Leg note (not foot note) : In 1963 the Italian wine law -
DOS, DOC & DOC-G (Guaranteed by God!) was established.
In 1966 the first DOC wine classified was Brunello di
Montalcino ,followed by Barolo and Barbaresco and Vino
Nobile di Montepulciano. So CONTERNO vino MONFORTINO
1964 was a "Barolo" but born prior to the 1966 classification.
Both 1961 and 1964 were stellar years in Barolo.
HOW DID THE CORK COME OUT - OUT OF ITS RESPECTIVE
BOTTLE OF 720 ML ?
-Contenuto netto litri 0,720 -
-One pint & 8 fluid ounces -
-Gradazione 13,50
Ernie Campos, proprietor of CABRINI WINE EMPORIUM -
831 West 181st street - Manhattan and across the street
from the TBA Wine Bottle Museum- 100 Cabrini Boulevard.
Gingerly and meticulously Ernie drove the cork puller into
its very long cork and little by little pulled the cork upwards
centimeter by centimeter -driving down the steel puller
to its entire length. Miraculously, the long cork was moist
-not at all dry- and I am sure it felt good to come out of its
glass sheath entrapment after so many year protecting its
precious ageless red vinous contents ! Eureka
The cork's bottom was black almost half way up as its dark
colour lighten up a bit to a crescendo in reverse gear of
older cork-brown hues.
DECANTERING - Ernie handed me his triumphal feat in
earnest (no pun intended) to me, Thomas B. Abruzzini,
soon to be the former owner of its expired or still alive
"elixir vitae" for the equally delicate art of gently pouring
off the "barolo's" contents making sure not to disturb
the sediment that accumlated over the 44 long years.
At first the first few drops of this xenon (almost colorless
liquid) appeared to be disappointingly anti-climactic as
everyone watched in anticipation of the next globules of
liquid "gold" (remember the preceived value $1,000 !)
flowed into the modern decanter -which came to life with
darker shades of red, yellow and black as if resurrected by
Jesus Christ himself!
The color estravaganza continued as TBA moved the three
quarters empty bottle of CONTERNO vino Monfortino Riserva
1964 tranferring it slowly to a wide mouth balloon glass.
Soon the fine sediment could be viewed enough for TBA to
use another balloon glass to empty its quaranta quattro anni
di sedimento crustato.
HOW DID IT TASTE ? The bouquet of the crusted sediment
was telling me we had a winner! Then I tasted the second
balloon and hail it a success of time in bottle.
Those around my solid oak kitchen table were given the
labors of our Grand Opening. Everyone savoured the liquid
gold in silence . Ernie burst out in applause!
I am tasting the last of the decanter's contents of two days
ago (covered with cellophane). It takes like a very fine
Sercial Madeira from the 1800's - a clean nose, faint alcoholic
nose, and taste ever so slightly remarkably reminiscente of
the 13,5 on the label (I'll bet it was 14.5% alcohol to keep it
alive all these years plus residual sugar !).
------------------------------------------------------------
Next was opened a bottle of AMANDA Rosso di Save 1973
Vino Primitivo - 17% plus 4% residual sugar = 21 %
TBA -
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