Barolo 1971, Giuseppe Rinaldi

As Antonio Galloni from Vinous wrote where he refers to the Rinaldi 1971 as a cellar favourite:

"Wines like the 1971 Barolo will never be made again – they can't be. That is why it is such a treat to taste and experience Rinaldi's 1971 in its full glory from a pristine bottle. At the time, Battista Rinaldi made his Barolo from all of the estate's parcels, although in some years he also bottled a Brunata Riserva. The 1971 Barolo is a great wine from one of the great Piedmontese families."

Rinaldi was my own first introduction to Barolo and long before we could buy one of these bottles. When Beppe made his Barolos, the world of wine wasn't the same as we see today. If winemaking was hard, selling it even harder. Fine wine was how the world referred to the Bordeaux First growth and Burgundy. Italy and the majority of Italian wines didn't even stand a chance. And as Antonio goes on to write, names such as Rinaldi were hardly known outside Italy

To have stuck to the tradition remaining true to the land and the wine against all odds, even during the 1990s when the world of wine was swaying heavily towards barrique ageing is a massive gift from the Rinaldi family to wine lovers all over the world in general and, to the lovers of fine aged Barolo in particular.

Tasting Notes: "The essence of old-school Barolo. That pretty much sums up the Barolo Battista Rinaldi crafted in 1971. From the moment it is opened, the 1971 is special. The aromatics alone are captivating. Sweet tobacco, cedar, mint, dried cherry, truffle, licorice, smoke and exotic spice overtones all suggest a fully mature wine, and yet the 1971 has an inner sweetness to its fruit and a level of sheer depth that make it clear that the state of the cork will ultimately determine the wine's life, rather than the quality of what is in the bottle itself. Powerful and yet gracious, with superb persistence, Rinaldi's 1971 Barolo embodies what traditional Barolo was all about during this era." 96/100, Antonio Galloni/Vinous, Mar 2015