The day started innocently enough with the 1999 Chateau Ausone. This is drinking really well right now and is enjoyable with its deep black fruit core (plums, cassis, blackberries, and black raspberries) and smoky and crushed rock nuances. The palate is full-bodied yet the wine carries the high levels of tannins really well creating this rounded, smooth texture. Great freshness.
When Simon pulled this magnum bottle of 1996 Falletto di Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Asili Riserva it signaled that the party was about to get serious. And it did not disappoint. Initially muted; very tentative with whiffs of truffle, smoked meat, wet clay and dried herbs barely perceptible on the nose. The palate showed a remarkable elegance with a silky mouthfeel and this deep core of dusty cherry and a tangy cranberry note on the lengthy finish. As the wine warmed up in the glass, the bouquet became more pronounced, detailed and complex. Savory with sweet cherry notes layered with iron, licorice, fig and dried tobacco. A sophisticated wine that kept on changing as it sat in the glass.