F. Pittatore - Azienda Agricola Ponte Rocca Vino Barolo 1971
13.5% / 720 ml
From the Ponte Rocca farm, produced by Francesco Pittatore. My informations tells me that Ponte Rocca is part of the Brunate vineyard that spans the towns of La Morra and Barolo. Ceretto made a Pittatore Cannubi around this time. Not sure if it is related or not.
Bottle looked pristine, with a graphic of a bridge or gate (Ponte Rocca) and vines beyond. I wonder whether this gate/bridge is still beside the Brunate vineyard today? The fill was good. Stood up for quite some time and opened and recorked several hours beforehand. Decanted just as we ate.
On opening, the nose was savory,with roses and strawberries in the mix with a hint of decay. A good start.
The first taste didn't really remind me of barolo, only mature red wine. It was ripe and tannic.
Later, it was very smooth, earthy with re-occurring cinnamon notes. Very nice. Concentrated nose/poignant. Extremely smooth, cool, warm, structure, cool again and more cinnamon. At the end, rich, lean and concentrated. Tons of thick sediment at the bottom.
Despite the notes this never really cracked the upper echelon of wine. A good not great wine that is on the downward slope, I think. Rather feminine and smooth, to the point of not being very barolo-like. I don't recall it being tannic despite the initial note. It lacked a bit of an edge and therefore wasn't quite the foil to the dinner (seared venison medallions) that barolo usually is. I have one more of this wine from the same source and I will decant it for an hour or two as this did improve as it was opened. Not alot but some improvement. It was fun to try a 1971 as I've never had much luck finding any.
Thanks
Fraser
Edited by fraser (04-23-2017 09:17:00)