2003 Barolo Riserva Fossati Case Nere
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Tasting notes
(bottled during the third summer, like Voerzio's other Barolos, but held back for seven years in bottle prior to release): Good deep red, bright for a ten-year-old wine. Aromas of cherry liqueur, licorice, mellow nutty oak, menthol and exotic spices; clearly from a hot year but not cooked. Very smooth in the mouth, with superripe flavors of cherry liqueur, plum and prune. For all its plushness, good underlying energy gives it buns of steel. But today the wine's huge, drying tannins are tough going. This is already a notorious wine, as Voerzio chose this furnace-like vintage for the debut of this new riserva, which comes partly from young estate vines and partly from rented vines that the Voerzios farm. It's an essence of Barolo but today the wine's tannins are preventing it from really coming alive. I'd like to check back in on this in five or six years.
Critic scores
Average Score
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
Deep brick. Sweet, attractively decaying red fruit. Roses, orange, tea, fabulous complexity and the structure still quite forbidding, at least without food. Chewy, dense, only just fresh enough. So complex and persistent. (JH)
Nose of dried fruits such as prunes, with a Christmas-cake undertone. Turns to hints of caramel and spices. Full-bodied, with polished, refined tannins. Turns to Chinese spices, meat, ginseng and berries. Aged 10 years. First vintage.
Going back in time, the 2003 Barolo Fossati Case Nere Riserva 10 anni is a virtual celebration of the last ten years of our lives. It will undoubtedly be there for us, in fighting form, ten years from now. Enormously expressive and communicative, the wine shows enough ripe fruit and soft fleshiness to carry it through the years. It expresses beauty and grace. But, above all, this is a wine that makes us look forward and dream of what the future will bring. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2030. The wines of Roberto and Davide Voerzio offer a fitting conclusion to this tasting of Piedmont’s best red wines. These are stunning wines that capture, head on, the beauty of the 2009 vintage. They remind us of the dazzling heights achieved by the Nebbiolo grape. Importer: Winebow, Pinebrook, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620