Wine Advisor
Bruno Giacosa, Barbaresco Asili Riserva 2004
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
2004 Barbaresco Riserva Asili—Dark translucent ruby. The magnificent 2004 Asili is rich and dense on the palate, offering massive amounts of sweet dark fruit on a monumental frame. It will be a fascinating wine to follow over the next few years and offers tremendous potential. This had just completed malo when I tasted it. (93-96) points, tasted 05/05 It is extremely rare for Giacosa to show his Barolos and Barbarescos at this young stage and the insight gained by tasting these wines is illuminating. These 2004s are already outrageous, and offer the well-delineated aromatics and expressive, layered flavors typical of a great year, although the vintage was not without its challenges. “2004 was a year where the vines tended to overproduce,” explains Scaglione. “We could have easily produced 120 quintali a term used to indicate the weight of harvested fruit per hectare, 1 quintale equals 100 kilos, and 80 quintali (8,000 kilos/8.8 tons) is the maximum allowed by law of fruit per hectare so we ended up dropping a lot of fruit to get to our desired level of about 65 quintali (7.15 tons). It was a perfect year in terms of the weather. Daytimes temperatures reached 30°C (86°F) during the day but fell to about 15°C (59°F) in the evening allowing the grapes to mature gradually.”
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
2004 Barberesco Riserva Asili—The 2004 Asili is simply gorgeous, with livelier color than the 2003s, and fresher, more delineated aromas. It offers a highly attractive mix of sweet red fruits and spices on a big, full-bodied frame that manages to be structured and soft at the same time. Giacosa is not a man prone to displaying much outward emotion or satisfaction with his own wines, but he is clearly pleased with this effort, saying “trust me…this will turn out to be just like the 2000 Asili.” Not bad, given that Giacosa considers the 2000 Asili the greatest wine he’s ever made. (93-96), 11/05 Bruno Giacosa is a famously shy and introverted man who shuns everything that has to do with public relations. Yet despite his unassuming presence, his wines are towering achievements that are rightly considered reference-point wines for the region. Giacosa typically doesn’t allow journalists to taste wines from barrel as several years ago the estate received negative reviews from a major US publication after having been provided barrel samples. So, needless to say it is a rare treat when Giacosa decides to personally show the wines and talk about their evolution. I was blown away by the quality of the wines, and by the extraordinary dignity and humility of Bruno Giacosa and enologist Dante Scaglione.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2004 Barbaresco Riserva Asili is even more compelling than the Rabaja. It floats on the palate with an ethereal core of sweet fruit that calls to mind a profound Musigny, but with the unmistakable structure of Nebbiolo. The perfumed purity of the fruit carries all the way through to the deeply satisfying, resonating finish. Made in a soft, seductive style, this remarkable wine is decidedly more approachable and easy to appreciate today than the Rabaja. Giacosa fans will have a great time discussing the merits of the Rabaja and the Asili in 2004, but to me they are virtually equally moving; Asili for its feminine gracefulness and Rabaja for its size and power. The Asili should prove more accessible at an earlier age. Bruno Giacosa says his 2004 Asili Riserva will turn out to be just like his 2000 Asili Riserva, the wine he still thinks is the best he’s ever made. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2025. At a time in life when many of his colleagues have begun to slow down, Bruno Giacosa continues to make stunning wines of the highest level. Of course Giacosa has the good fortune of having the services of long-time oenologist Dante Scaglione, who is one of the most prodigiously talented winemakers in Italy. Although age has slowed Giacosa down somewhat, he was in fine form during the several hours we spent tasting his 2004, 2005 and 2006 Barolos and Barbarescos from barrel earlier this year. Simply put, 2004 will go down as one of the all-time great Giacosa vintages for both Barolo and Barbaresco. The Red Label Riservas are the Barbaresco Asili and the Barolo Le Rocche del Falletto, but his other wines aren't too far behind in terms of quality. From cask, the Barolos revealed slightly more promise, but that may be splitting hairs at this level. In 2004 Giacosa also fulfilled a long-standing dream by making his first Barolo from La Morra, the Barolo Croera, which will be released next year. The Croera is made from a newly-acquired vineyard in the Serradenari district of La Morra, an area best known for its Dolcettos. So far Giacosa's 2005s appear to be well-balanced, yet smaller-scaled wines that will likely drink well relatively early, while the 2006s are decidedly bigger and more powerful. I also noted a marked improvement in the quality of the Barbaresco Santo Stefano, which is the only single-vineyard wine the estate still makes from purchased fruit. Our tasting ended with the 1967 Barbaresco Riserva Asili. It was, in a word...sublime. The world will have to wait for the 2004 Barolos and Barbarescos to be released, in the meantime readers will find no shortage of compelling offerings among this set of new releases from Bruno Giacosa. The 2006 Dolcettos are excellent to outstanding, while the 2005 Barberas reflect the more modest qualities of that vintage. Giacosa is among the producers whose views on the 2003 vintage for Barolo and Barbaresco have changed dramatically in recent years. While many producers draw comparisons with 1947, Giacosa is one of the very few who can speak from personal experience. At first pessimistic, he initially thought he might not bottle any of his top wines but as time has passed his stance has changed, and today he is much more enthusiastic about the vintage. Importer: Winebow, Hohokus, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2004 Barbaresco Riserva Asili is every bit as spectacular as it has always been. I remember tasting the 2004 with Bruno Giacosa and Dante Scaglione before it was released, and making a note to buy as much of the wine as soon as it hit the market. I have never regretted that decision. Explosive, deep and powerful, the 2004 Asili will reward readers lucky enough to own it for several decades. On this night, it is simply sublime. Not surprisingly, the 2004 is also one of the favorites of the group.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2004 Barbaresco Riserva Asili is easily one of the greatest wines Bruno Giacosa made during his long and distinguished career. Next to the other wines of the vintage here, the Asili Riserva is defined by its stunning inner sweetness, soaring aromatics and silky tannins. One of the attributes all great wines share is their ability to stimulate all the senses, from the intellectual to the hedonistic. The 2004 Asili Riserva hits all the right spots and then some. This is just about as good as it gets.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Things kicked up several notches with a flight of Barbareschis from the famed Asili vineyard. Asili is in the village of Barbaresco, where the wines are generally more feminine than in Neive. The best wines from this site have great aromatics and fine, silky tannins. The 2004 Barbaresco Asili Riserva was off the charts. I can still remember where I was when I tasted this wine from bottle the first time. Every time I taste it I am taken back to that initial moment of thrilling discovery.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2004 Barbaresco Riserva Asili is even more compelling than the Rabajà. It floats on the palate with an ethereal core of sweet fruit that calls to mind a profound Musigny, but with the unm istakable structure of Nebbiolo. The perfumed purity of the fruit carries all the way through to the deeply sat isfying, resonating fin ish. Made in a soft, seductive style, this remarkable wine is decidedly more approachable and easy to appreciate today than the Rabajà. Giacosa fans will have a great time d iscussing the merits of the Rabajà and the Asili in 2004, but to me they are virtually equally moving; Asili for its feminine gracefulness and Rabajà for its size and power. The Asili should prove more accessible at an earlier age. Bruno Giacosa says his 2004 Asili Riserva will turn out to be just like his 2000 Asili Riserva, the wine he still thinks is the best he's ever made.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Good medium red. Very ripe nose melds fresh red fruits, exotic Indian spices (coriander?), marzipan and deep nutty oak. Sweet, layered and deep, with highly concentrated flavors and powerful underlying structure. A wine of uncanny sweetness and breadth: this really coats the entire mouth. Finishes with substantial but suave and ripe tannins and outstanding persistence. This should make a great bottle. It's easy to see why this is Giacosa's only riserva Barbaresco from the '04 vintage. For his part, he describes this one as powerful, while the 2000, which has been a personal favorite of Giacosa's since the start, is more elegant.
About the Producer
Bruno Giacosa, located in the south and south-west of Piemonte, has been performing well for three generations, thanks to the careful selection of high quality grapes and the emphasis on traditional winemaking techniques. The vineyard covers 44.7 acres (18 hectares) and is planted with Nebbiolo d'Alba, Barbera and Dolcetto varieties. The average age of the vines is 15 years and the planting density is between 4,500 and 5,000 vines per hectare, with an average yield of 4,800 litres per hectare. In terms of winemaking, the owner has a classic quote: "For us, the philosophy of traditionalism means making wines that are not only strongly local to the vine and the grape variety, but also maintain the various local terroirs. We have always made single-variety wines. Our winemaking techniques have been improved and we also make use of gentle pressing, crushing operations, advanced rotary systems and optimised cold and hot treatment techniques." For Garcosa, technology and tradition are not necessarily at odds with each other. In the winemaking process, the grapes are first fermented in steel containers and then transferred to wooden containers for ageing, which varies slightly depending on the type of wine. Finally, the wine is bottled without filtering. The main wines produced by the winery are the Barbaresco Garina, the Barbaresco Santo Stefano, the Barbaresco Asili, the Barbaresco Wabasha and the Barbaresco Asili. Barbaresco Rabaja, Barolo Falletto and Barolo Le Rocche del Falletto. Some of the more recent vintages are 2001, 2000, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1990, 1989, 1982 and 1978. These vintages are often relatively closed and uninteresting when first bottled, but after 10 years in the cellar, they all show an irresistible magic.
