1985 Barolo Bric del Fiasc
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Tasting notes
The 1985 Barolo Bric del Fiasc (magnum) shows mature aromas of beef bouillion, coffee beans and leather but it is fresher on the palate, where is offers plenty of sweet plum and prune fruit in an ethereal, classic style of Barolo. It is slightly more evolved than many other 1985 Barolos I have tasted recently and ideally it is a wine to drink over the next four to five years. Aged in large Slavonian oak barrels Scavino used prior to 1993.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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Paolo Scavino, and more recently his daughter, have always made fabulous Barolos, as evidenced by my previous tasting notes on the 1988s, 1989s, and 1990s. However, in 1993, he began utilizing small barriques (the percentage of new wood varies according to the vineyard), pushing his wines to an even higher level of quality. While the 1993s may not possess the power, intensity, and extract of the great 1990s, qualitatively they are equals. As a postscript, I had the opportunity to taste a mini-vertical of Scavino's Barolo Bric del Fiasc, from the 1990, 1989, 1988, 1985, and 1982 vintages. All of these wines were made in the old style, without aging in small oak casks. The 1985 (rated 89) reveals a certain flatness, and to my taste, was fully mature. It is not the first time I have tasted a 1985 Barolo or Barbaresco that has not lived up to expectations. Nevertheless, it is one of the finest and most complex tasting Barolos of that vintage - a year that appears to be on a fast evolutionary track.