1986 Barolo Riserva Falletto

This wine was tasted as part of Historic Piedmont: A Trip Back In Time, which takes a look at a number of older, historically significant wines from 1958 through 2000.

This wine was tasted as part of the Jackson Hole Charity Dinner at Alto in NYC, May 2010.

This wine was tasted during a charity dinner at Daniel in New York City, November 2007.

An evening at Cru is always a memorable experience, and this night was no exception as we were treated to an amazing dinner featuring great food, wine, and most important of all, the company of close friends. Readers who love older wines owe it to themselves to pay a visit to Cru and to explore its breathtaking wine list, which offers a rich treasure trove of selections. I think it is fair to say that every major producer of note is well represented in an astonishing range of vintages. On this occasion the focus was on Bruno Giacosa's Red Label Riservas from the mid-1980s although we did have a chance to taste some other great wines as well. The four of us had no problem polishing off these fine bottles…quite an achievement especially given that my wife does not drink much.

Service at Cru was impeccable. Wine Director Robert Bohr and his staff did a great job serving the wines throughout the course of the dinner. The almost-fanatical attention to the details of wine service, including the temperature of the wines, decanting, stemware and the labeling of multiple glasses on the table showed the highest level of professionalism and made for a very enjoyable evening. Between the four of us I think we tried most, if not all of the dishes on Chef Shea Gallante's tasting menu. Highlights included the Toro tuna, white polenta soup, confit rabbit, Maine lobster and a lovely perfectly cooked sliced squab breast. We started with the outrageous 1996 Dom Pérignon and then moved into the following wines.

Editor's note: Cru has closed since this article was first published.

When people talk about the great Piedmont vintages of the 1980s, you are most likely to hear a discussion centered around 1982, 1985 (see above) and 1989, the relative merits of which are still debated with much passion and enthusiasm today. Until fairly recently, most of my own experience with the wines of Bruno Giacosa had also been limited to the better known labels from the more famous vintages. Nothing, then, could have prepared me for what I was about to experience in this impromptu, surprise tasting organized by two of my closest friends. These wines are from vintages long-forgotten by all but the most diehard of Piedmont aficionados - 1986, 1987, and to a lesser extent, 1988.
1986 is a vintage remembered for the severe hail that damaged many important vineyards in Barolo, and upon release the vintage was rated average by most observers. Interestingly, authors Sheldon and Pauline Wasserman were quite accurate in their appraisal of Giacosa's Villero and Riserva Falletto, both which they cited as being among the best wines of the vintage. The weakest of the three vintages is without question 1987, which as whole the was rated below average by most critics. The wines are often described as early maturing. By far the most important of these three vintages is 1988, which featured much more normal weather conditions than the two previous vintages. Producers often describe the 1988 as offering much Nebbiolo typicity, although ranking the vintage behind 1982, 1985 and 1989. As fate would have it, 1988 ultimately had the misfortune of being followed by the mythical 1989 and 1990 vintages, the wines that really catapulted Barolo into the ranks of world-class wines among a much broader audience than had been the case previously. Regardless, most critics viewed the vintage very favorably when the wines were released, and today the wines have held up well. On a closing note, let me say that all four of these wines provided the kind of immense drinking pleasure that only few wines are capable of delivering. Readers who are fortunate enough to own these wines should be very, very pleased.