Dinner With Two 2001 Baroli

Last night was premier for grilling outside - finally there is something you could call spring in Sweden! Anyway, some nice steaks, oven potatoes and a Madeira sauce called for a Barolo. Or why not two...

2001 Barolo Vignolo Riserva, Cavallotto
This needed some time in the glass and the decanter, but when it opened up - what a wine! The nose is deep, complex and lovely perfumed with scents of crushed roses, sweet red currants and cherries, dried mushrooms, bakelite ans dry spicies. Hauntingly beautiful. Some sweet/sour cherries. Very, very fine.
The taste is purity liquified with sweet lingonberries, forest floor, rosehips and dry leather. The tannins creepes up on you in the end of the finish. Although drinking beautifully this night, this nectar should have some more years in the cellar. Great stuff!
95p   (tasted 2012/04)

2001 Barolo Vigneto Campo, La Spinetta
This is a whole other creature - darker, sweeter, broader - but not better. Just another shape of Barolo. The nose is very upfront and jumps out of the glass with notes of sweet black cherries, dark chocolate, warm wet earth, cookie dough and sweet flowers. Very deep and intense. There is a lot of oak on the nose, but in my view it is nicely integrated. You can still feel the origin of the wine.
The taste is big, sweet and powerful with wave upon wave of black fruit and notes of ginger bread, chocolate, mint and cherry jam. The finish goes on for over a minute. Very, very intense and very, very good.
93p   (tasted 2012/04)

Two very different characters of great Barolo, and on this night I prefered the Cavalotto, but I would drink them both anyday!