A Birthday DinnerSeptember, 2006After a long day on the tasting trail nothing beats a simple
home-cooked meal featuring the best of the classic Piedmontese comfort foods
enjoyed with close friends. We started with insalata russa, a salad of boiled
potatoes, carrots and peas dressed with mayonnaise that when well-prepared is
always greater than the sum of its humble parts. That was followed by a plate
of roasted peppers stuffed with tuna, another Piedmontese classic. Although I have
tasted Bruno Giacosa's 2000 Barolo
Riserva Le Rocche del Falletto on several ocassions, this was the first
time I actually had the luxury of drinking a bottle at the dinner table. It was
a highly pleasurable wine, with a gorgeous, expressive nose and a lovely core
of sweet ripe fruit. It showed excellent length and purity as well an accessible,
open personality typical of the 2000 vintage, giving an overall impression of
being a very delicate version of this Barolo. While I wouldn't place it among
Giacosa's greatest Falletto or Rocche
del Falletto Riservas, it was nonetheless an engaging wine. As it turned
out I tasted the 2003 and 2004
versions of this wine the following day, both of which offer much promise.A deeply flavored roasted vegetable soup and an impossibly
delicate brasato (braised beef) signaled the arrival of early fall, when Piedmontese
cuisine and Nebbiolo are perhaps at the height of their splendor. More lively
in its color and flavors than the 2000
Barolo Riserva Le Rocche del Falletto, Giacosa's 2001 Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà
offered a wonderful contrast to that wine in its nuanced, well-delineated
aromatics and vibrant layers of fruit. It too offered great length, with a more
structured personality, super-fine tannins and an eternal finish. I was also
happy to observe that the wine has begun to absorb the new oak which has been
evident in some of my prior tastings. Although the Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà
opened up with some time in the glass my sense was that this magical Barbaresco
was showing just a glimpse of its true potential. A plate of artisan hazelnut
ice cream was the perfect way to finish to this simple, yet immensely enjoyable
dinner.Food:Insalata russaRoasted peppers stuffed with tunaRoasted vegetable soupBrasatoHazelnut ice creamWine:<table>
 <tbody><tr>
 <td>
 2000
 </td>
 <td>
 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Le Rocche del Falletto
 </td>
 <td>
 95
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2001
 </td>
 <td>
 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà
 </td>
 <td>
 98</td></tr></tbody></table>--Antonio Galloni

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