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Rinaldi, Giuseppe

Perhaps no visit in the Langhe has changed more than gracing the doors at Giuseppe Rinaldi. It’s not just the absence of Beppe Rinaldi, which looms large over the visits, though truth be told Beppe had handed over the hospitality reins to Marta and Carlotta years ago. They did indeed seem better suited to the job, leaving Beppe free to move pallets around and generally attend to business. From our first visit with Beppe it was obvious that some of this work interfered with his preferred activities. 

That first visit was arranged by fax, dating myself a bit here, and at the appointed hour we arrived at the door. Rang once. Rang twice. Wandered around the courtyard, then rang again and a disheveled Beppe, freshly awoken from a nap appeared at an upper window wanted to know what we wanted. After convincing him that we did indeed have an appointment he agreed to come right down. 20 minutes later we were let into the living room and told that America’s cup was on so we were watching that. Perhaps an hour or more of sailing went by, occasionally interrupted by questions significantly of a political nature. Had to tread carefully. We were awarded at one point with a freshly sliced fold of prosciutto. Beppe smoked one and then a second Toscani cigarros. 

Finally it was over, it was time. We were asked if we anted to taste some wine. There was no reluctance in our agreement. Down to the cellar we went, more cluttered but much the same as today. Before tasting wine we learned about the new personal cellar under construction, and were given a tour in its unfinished state, though already equipped with wine, and more importantly cured meats. “Smell that!” Beppe was more excited about the meat than the wine. 

And then we tasted the wines, they were all available, neither shortage nor allocation in place. In fact a regular customer came in to buy a case of Freisa, but Beppe insisted he had to buy some Barolo to get the Freisa. You can’t just keep coming in to buy all the Freisa!

And that was about it. The wines were more wild back then, often soaring to great heights, though occasionally suffering from this slight defect or another. Beppe was a reluctant winemaker, once informing me over dinner that he would prefer to be elbow deep in a cow, he was previously a veterinarian, than sitting talking about wine with his fans.

Today the efficiency of a visit to Giuseppe Rinaldi is vastly improved, while the character has been retained. The wines are far more consistent, always excellent, but perhaps missing some of the danger the older vintages offered. The market of course has spoken, and this is undoubtedly one of the premier producers of Barolo, duly reflected in the difficulty of obtaining a decent allocation and pricing that has pushed the Barolos out of my comfort zone. I luxuriate in the knowledge that my cellar is richly equipped with vintage young and old, so I can always sit down and drink in the reluctant company of Beppe.

2022 Giuseppe Rinaldi Langhe Nebbiolo
Since 2019 sourced from  Ravera and Bussia.

Minty, herbal, rosemary, so fresh with juniper notes, bright fresh fruity, pure with depth,energy, and good length very balsamic. A little front loaded with lots of fruit covering the tannins early on the palate turning supple on the finish, definitely feel the freshness and lack of phenolic maturity. 
Natural yeast struggled to finish the ferment grapes were poor in yeast nutrition,  some wines can have fraction of a percent more sugar  90pts

2020 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Tre Tine
Ravera 60% Le Coste and Cannubi 20% each
Nice high toned and fruity gently floral, a bit of dark earth on the nose. This has a wonderful sense of freshness and sweetness on entry, tense as it delicately drapes across the palate,  lovely austerity to the tannins with lots of sour cherry/raspberry/lingonberry fruit with slightly astringent tannins. Good depth lacks some complexity but makes up for it with its approachableness.  92pts

2020 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate
2022 was last vintage before the vineyard was 70% replanted. will graft with massale from Le Coste and Brunate. 2021 frost 
More power on the nose with deep, dark berry fruit, gorgeous balsamic, licorice and tobacco nuance. Fairly rich, fresh in the mouth dark fruit great tannic depth, a rambunctious mouthful of young Barolo with good length. A very strong showing, has depth, tension and structure. 95pts

2020 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Bussia
1h in Bussia Sottana near Fenocchio
Raspberry, strawberry, and herbal leafy, iron rich greens aromas join together in a decidedly leaner and more floral aroma than Brunate.  Lovely freshness and verticality in the mouth with great depth to the fruit which starts out quite red turning darker and burnished in the mouth. Faceted. Long, has a subtle power and is very graceful. Tannins are quite firm. Juicy red currant tobacco braised herb and a touch of stone. 93pts

2021 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate
Barrel sample
A touch of redox, dark and firm on the nose with aromas of mineral laced earth, damp cigar, a bit of tar, hickory smoke. On the palate this is tight with noble tannins, deep with lots of nuance and a  great balance of power and finesse. Tannic, chewy, with good substance if fairly inscrutable has a bit everything but a remains matte with a clipped finish. 93-96pts
Visit April 2023


2021 Giuseppe Rinaldi Langhe Nebbiolo 

Fruity, not the best lift. 
Since 2020 includes some of young vine nebbiolo for Barolo. Almost all from Ravera. In 21 more from Bussia. 18 months of botte

Very fruity if a bit licorice toned and minty. Bright, lively rusty tannins there with lots of sweet, slightly dark blackberry tinged fruit. Slightly sauvage. A touch of leather. Its pretty meaty fairly large scaled and dark.  Dense long slightly medicinal dark cherry aspect. 89pts

2019 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Tre Tine

A hint of olive joins some sandalwood and cocoa on the nose. Intense if rather savory, crystalized black fruit. Tight. Compact showing s touch of density, background spice, dark fruit, oily seeds, dusty, slightly dry, chewy and tannic. Theres a lot if depth and length here with just a hint of heat showing, a bit tough going with terrific length and intensity. 93pts

2019 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate

Spicy. Shows the impact of the sojourn in wood. Spicy lighter profile than Tre Tine with more floral, herbal notes and riverstone framed salted plum fruit. Better focus int he mouth, more linear, though shorter with less complexity, though with slightly richer fruit that is a bit chunky and tough.  Midpalate depth good and this finishes with a lively feel. 92pts


2019 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Bussia 
​

Bussia sottana
1h neb. .3 dolcetto
Higher toned on the nose with floral, wild cherry, and braised fennel aromas. Another sandalwood accent. Incipient mushroom note along with some crushed stone.  A bit chewy. Fairly tannic. Denser tannins, broader,  front loaded fruit skin tannins, classic cherries in alcohol, slightly medicinal with a sweet soil tone, a bit rustic. Should age well. 92pts



April 2022

2020 Giuseppe Rinaldi Langhe Nebbiolo
Bottled three weeks ago
Wow this is fragrant with huge fruit sweetness, balsamic, slightly medicinal, and slight violet pastille aromas. In the mouth it’s  lean, focused, and tight. Needs bottle age.  Gently but persistently tannic. Lovely lift and purity. Floral fragrance through the finish.  The fruit is so pure fresh and persistent 92pts


2018 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Tre Tine
Slightly vegetal. Sweet and Burgundian on the nose with its array of sweet spice and pressed flower aromas.  Spicy, a touch lean. Delicate. Small though slightly hard tannins pair with decent acidity. Long. Earthy clean. Tobacco spearmint delicate sour cherry fruit. 90pts

2018 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate
More licorice on the nose and generally spicier with darker fruit.  Leathery fruit. A mini Brunate. This is lean but has a core of sweetness. Nuanced and very pleasant. Tannins are all powdered and soft. Everything important floats above the palate.  88pts


Very challenging viticulture. Rainiest may. Downy mildew historical vineyards dried more quickly. End of August and into September was hot especially during nights. Fast ripening. Thin skins. Big rain third of september.  Beppe passed on September 2nd.

​
Giuseppe Rinaldi looks a bit disheveled as he greets us at his door and seems to have forgotten our appointment completely. This is neither surprising or seemingly out of character for one of the great unsung heroes of Piemontese winemaking. 

Unsung may be a bit of a stretch, the real problem here is that these exceptional wines are gobbled up like by cognoscenti and very rarely return into the marketplace. And as if that didn’t make things difficult enough there is simply not enough of his exceptional Nebbiolo d’Alba, not to mention Ruche, Freisa, Barbera and Dolcetto to satisfy local demand so forget about seeing these wines in the US.

It was with great anticipation that we were led into the house to join Giuseppe in his sitting room. For almost an hour while he lit and relit his beloved Toscani cigar we discussed life and politics, business and prosciutto. Once we had passed the oral exam we were treated to a few slices of spectacular prosciutto before being led down in the cellar.

With a mischievous glint in his eye Giuseppe asked what we wanted to try. When we respond “everything” he rolls his eyes and gruffly complains about having to open bottles of everything. In fact with each bottle open comes a gruff yet joking routine of surprise and bewilderment that we would want to try something other than Barolo, especially Freisa of all things!

This demeanor is not reserved for us though as minutes into our tasting we are joined by a regular customer of Rinaldis who is forced to sit and taste with us as he patiently waits to buy wine. Giuseppe even gives his friend a hard time about buying wine, complaining he is buying too much!

None-the-less we get a tour of the modest facilities including the new cellar one level down for a library collection that included shelves made with beautiful planks of wood and has a new, true cave dug out to one side. Unfortunately the cave is off limits today as its access passageway has just had a cave-in! Among the ageing bottles on the main level of the cellar are curing prosciutto, gift prosciutto, Giuseppe likes his prosciutto!, ageing tobacco for his Toscani and of course wine.

We were able to sample the entire line-up in bottle during this unique and slightly surreal visit and while the visit itself may not please everyone the wine speak for themselves. These are classics in the making

2006 Freisa – 88pts

Dark and floral on the nose with intense minerality 2+
Big, rich entry, really concentrated with earthy tannins and solid acids 2+
Dark berry fruit drapes over the slightly rustic structure with a gamy edge and emerging minerality on the back end 2+
Finishes a bit short but the mineral core leads to a richly fruited finale with dark, wild berry notes 2+

2006 Barbera – 93pts

The nose is bursting with juicy plumy fruit over a base of sand and concrete notes with cutting violet top notes 3
Pretty round in the mouth with lots of sweet fruit up front, soft tannins, and solid acidity 3
The plush, cashmere textured fruit creeps over the tongue blanketing it with sweet, ripe, plumy fruit and gentle suggestions of chamomile like herb tones 3
Finishes with moderate length and emerging mineral tones that lead to a mouthwatering blueberry finale 2+

2006 Dolcetto – 89pts

Really dark on the nose with emerging notes of seared plum, parchment, split leather and a bit of savory parsley root 2+
Soft acids in the mouth with lots of austere tannin, very focused 2
A bit tough in the mouth with drying tannins that clip the plum and mineral tone but do keep the wine taut and faceted in the mouth 2+
Finishes with great length and pure, clean fruit that gives unusually precise definition to the fruit that has an edge of bitter cocoa 3

2006 Ruche – 86pts

Opened for 2 days

Sweet macerated flowers on the nose are joined by bright lingonberry fruit and a bit of a terpene edge 2
Light and feathery in the mouth with a whisper of structure and a slightly viscous mouthfeel 2
Faded on the palate with delicate floral tones and moderately intense, anonymous fruit 2
The finish is very long with a bit of bitterness and a finale of bitter cherry fruit 2
A bottle of the 2007 was opened later and it should much better definition both on the nose and the palate with strong notes of tea and smoke but in all honest by then I did not have time to full assess the wine. I will have to return!

2006 Nebbiolo d’Alba – 91pts

From the Ravera vineyard in Novello
Adds acidity to the Cannubi-Ravera blend
7 to 10 day maceration followed by 1.5 years in large, old wood.

Very intense aromatics with great purity to the tobacco/herbal tones and deep core of wild cherry fruit, emerging notes of dry earth, leather and licorice add complexity 3
Exceptional balance in the mouth with a clear acidity and balanced, ripe tannins 3
Clean and refreshing in the mouth with excellent transparency to the low intensity cherry/berry fruit add the emerging vein of dark mineral and herb stem tones 2+
Finishes long with a brisk, mouth cleansing quality to the notes of sweet red cherry and herbal tea notes 2+

2004 Barolo Cannubi San Lorenzo/Ravera – 91pts

Not revealing much though with classic notes of concrete dust and beet root emerging, a touch of dried porcini and tar 2
Sweet and fresh on entry with seamless integration, really gentle tannins 3
Freshly fruited with notes of peach, red apple skins and dark berry tones. High-toned and elegant with a layered texture that is incredibly approachable and luxurious 3
Great length and a really pure feeling. Depth in hiding. This is reticent yet has all the requisite components to emerge as a classic. I wish I had a few hours to spend with this 3

2004 Barolo Brunate – Le Coste – 92pts

This is full on open with an incredible array of fruit liquor, rose, dark berry, earth, tar and balsamic notes that soar from the glass 3+
Big, rich and burly in the mouth with a wall of tannins and great acids 2+
Dark and earthy in the mouth with almost musky floral tones and rich, meaty dark bitter cherry fruit that struggles to emerge from behind the structure, very tight 2+
The finish is coy and teasing revealing only snippets of the huge complexity held in reserve. This is so young but given the promise and the track record this should be exceptional and one of the wines of the vintage 3
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