1996 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba #166870607
Reviews 98 points Wine Advocate "The 1996 Barolo Falletto de Serralunga (Red Label Riserva) possesses extraordinary presence and stature. Dark garnet/ruby-colored, it offers a tight but promising nose of road tar, scorched earth, truffles, blackberries, cherries, and espresso. This muscular, massive wine gave me chills. It is an exquisite, virtually perfect Barolo that requires a decade of cellaring, and should last for 30-40 years. I remember wishing I were twenty years younger when I tasted it prior to bottling ... I still feel the same way. Awesome! (RP)" 98 points Vinous "As much as I don't believe in the idea of competition in wine, there is simply no doubt that Bruno Giacosa's 1996 Barolo Riserva Falletto is both one of the greatest wines he ever made and also the single most emotionally moving wine from Piedmont's 1996 vintage. Once again, the 1996 Barolo Riserva Falletto more than lives up to its lofty reputation. The wine needs time in the decanter for some initial VA funk to blow off, but when it does, what emerges is a Barolo of utterly captivating beauty. Bruno Giacosa’s finest wines are defined by haunting inner sweetness and extraordinary perfume. The 1996 has all that, and so much more, starting with a full vibrant red color and tons of intensity. Time has mellowed the tannins to some degree, but my sense is that the 1996 will always remain somewhat brutish in feel. Even so, there is no denying its allure. Readers lucky enough to own the 1996 should be ecstatic. It is one of the world’s truly great, great wines. (AG)"
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About Bruno Giacosa
Bruno Giacosa was more than a legend in the Langhe; he was one of the wine world’s greatest visionaries. For 57 years, his eye for identifying the region’s finest vineyards and his traditional winemaking practices created newfound awareness around single-vineyard parcels of Nebbiolo from Nieve, Serralunga d’Alba and La Morra, with “Falletto” as his crown jewel. Since his passing in 2018, his legend lives on through his daughter, Bruna, and his winemaking protégé, Dante Scaglione, who continue his legacy with uncompromising standards.
The Giacosa holdings consist of 20 hectares of vineyards—mostly Nebbiolo and Arneis. In addition, Bruna sources fruit and rents vineyards from trusted partner-growers with whom her father worked for decades. The vineyard team generally harvests earlier than their neighbors at optimum ripeness. After harvest, the cellar team seeks shorter macerations in stainless steel to preserve freshness and then ages the wine traditionally in 5,000-L French oak botti for up to four years. Supple yet full-bodied, sanguine yet perfumed, the wines of Bruno Giacosa are as powerful as they are elegant.