I bought some old Barolo at auction from a reputable dealer (or at least I think they’re reputable – K&L Wine Merchants in Redwood City CA). Was supposed to be a very drinkable old wine, and I wasn’t sure whether it tasted like it should if perfectly preserved.
I did enjoy it, but I’m wondering if this is what older wine is supposed to taste like or maybe I should’ve decanted it differently..
There were some really good notes there – dried fruit vs what I’d call fruitiness in a young/modern wine. Something I’d call “forest floor,” (a wet deciduous Forrest in the late fall if that makes any sense 😂) some fig-like aromas and a floral almost perfumey hint. What seemed potentially not right was an aftertaste I’d describe as sherry-like, as in a Manzanilla which I consider to have an almost unpleasant bitterness right at the end.
Did I do it wrong? My version of “decanting” was open it three hours before drinking. Maybe I should’ve put it in an actual decanter? Or maybe it was starting to go past its prime? I did store it in a wine cellar at home till the day before I drank it.
I’m kinda hooked now; I want to try some more oldies. I’ve drank a lot of old port, just because of the romance of drinking something with hundred year old foot sweat in it, imagining who touched the grapes, who made it, and where it’s been in that time.
by B-radfromtheBu
5 Comments
Older wine is tricky – it doesn’t need much air. I would have decanted it off its sediment into a decanter immediately before drinking. It might only last for 30 minutes before it starts to fade. If you choose to not decant, just open it and let it develop in the glass.
I wouldn’t leave a 60yo wine for 3h.
Just open and drink continuously.
It was dead after three hours, that’s far too much oxidation for a wine of this age.
Why did you think you had to decant (oxygenate) the wine at all?
Anyway, the tasting note sounds reasonable for a 64yo Barolo.
P.S. [It might help you to read my more expanded thoughts on decanting.](https://www.reddit.com/r/wine/s/CLbJZmqZd3)
Nebbiolo has very fine tannins which can be very bitter. Next time, stand up the wine in the bottle in the cellar for a few days prior to opening. Sometimes, this can take a week. Carefully decant the wine into a decanter – that means carefully pouring the wine out of the bottle into a container so that the fine tannins remain.
I cannot overemphasize how easy it is to mix up the Nebbiolo tannins in the wine so you need to be patient and careful in doing this. The wine should be transparent.