Decanted 30 minutes. Tasted over 3 hours

A difficult wine to define, as each taste over the past 3 hours has yielded something a bit different. But.....

Spectacular aromas of flowers and fruit with a smoky tarry undertone. Strong beam of cherry fruit initially with mouth puckering tannic structure in the middle. The tannins hold on with an abundance of cherry and smoke (wood?). Lip smacking good with a 40+ second finish. Could be my WOTY so far. Absolutely delicious. Have 3 more. Next one in a year. Has the stuff to last another 5-6 years or more.

PH

Thanks for the notes. Moccagatta is a great producer and his wines are still quite affordable ($40-50 for the Basarin and Bric Balin) as far as good Barbarescos go. My only gripe with them is that they need to wax their corks (at least the 1998s I've had) and make it easier to open their wines.

jaimetown,

Agreed on the corks. I had a hell of a time with the cork on this one! Worth it though. The 2000's are well over $50 now on sale in DC and are over $60 elsewhere.

PH

PurpleHaze,

I opened one of these a few weeks ago and found it to be one of the most closed, backward, wines I've had in a long time. I tried to get it to open in the course of the next 3-days and was unable to do so.

Our experiences are vastly different. Not sure why... But my conclusion was to put this wine away for another 5-years. The one I had was "a beast"... and I normally like structured wines.

Anyhow, just a different experience than yours.

TM

BHVineyard,

It's amazing how things can differ. It really sounds like we were drinking different wine! My 1996 Cole exploded out of the bottle. When Mrs. PH came into the kitchen as I was decanting the bottle she noted the aroma from over 20 feet away! My last Moccagatta before this was a 1996 Bric Balin, which I had tasted twice before. This bottle had either gone to sleep or my taste buds had. I plan to let my Bric's sleep for another year, but I'm now tempted to open another Cole to see what's doin' with the next bottle!

PH

PH,

Perhaps I should open another Cole too. I was rather surprised by this performance; it was just plain "bulletproof"... and a few days didn't help it get much better. (And I drink a lot of Italian wines and like a reasonable amount of "enamel-peeling" Italian tannin in my wine). This one was a long way off for me.

I'll let you know is I get around to opening another.

Of the other two '96s (Bric Balin and Basarin), which, if any, do you feel is the most drinkable, and how would that compare to the Cole? Maybe I'll try opening one of the others to see if we're finding the same thing.

TM

BHVineyard,

The plot thickens. A good friend of mine drank a 96 Bric Balin this weekend and said it "blew him away". He decanted it 4 hours before drinking and loved it. I don't recall specifically when I drank the Bric I referred to previously but it had to be 3 months or so ago at least. Sorry, I haven't had the pleasure of tasting a 1996 Basarin, but I posted your question to my local Italian guru this morning. His response was Bric/Cole/Basarin in that order. His thoughts on the Basarin were that it may not be ready, even with extensive airtime. I'd love to get my hands on one. If you have sufficient quantities to consider a trade, let me know! Look forward to hearing from you on the next chapter in the Moccagatta Chronicles...

PH

PH,

I'll keep you informed. Need to do some traveling so I may not get to it soon, but if I do, I'll let you know.

I'll do an inventory; not sure what I have in the '96 Moccagottas. I think I had 6 of each, but I may have auctioned a bottle or two awhile back. If I have decent quantity, I'd be happy to trade you one.

I like the Moccagotta wines, but I've been very impressed with Albino Rocca's Barbarescos. So, I've tended to focus more on those wines if I'm buying in that price range.

Film at 11!

TM

TN for 1996 Moccagatta Barbaresco Bric Balin

This thread was the closest I could find as I didn't feel it warranted a new post seeing as it's finer days are long gone.

Thin brick red color. Dried floral nose. Nothing off-putting. Very faded dried cranberries and pine nut oil with minimal tannins. Some old leather notes. Still drinkable. Part of my recent cellar sweep.

87 points.

Ardeis in Seminole

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ardeis,

I have a bottle of 2004 Bric Balin, anybody tasted it recently? Been tempted to open it, or should I let it rest some more?

Apologize for my earlier post. <deleted> I misread and missed the vintage. I'd hold for a bit. Had one last year and it was tight, tight...tight.

PH