2001 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Asili
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Tasting notes
The 2001 Barbaresco Asili is a Red Label in everything but name. It shows all the classic Asili signatures but with more darkness, breath and overall power than the 2000 tasted alongside it. Black cherry, plum, spice, leather, tobacco, menthol and licorice build in a substantial Barbaresco that hits all the right notes.
Critic scores
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Thankfully, we had better luck with the 2001 Barbaresco Asili. It just needs a few hours to open. When it does, classic Asili notes of crushed flowers, spice and red berries soar out of the decanter. As good as the 2001 is, it is not an eternal wine. I plan on drinking my remaining bottles over the next decade. I wanted a little more magic here.
Giacosa’s 2001 Barbaresco Asili graces the palate with dried rose petals, sweet tobacco, incense, smoke and orange peel. Just entering the early part of its drinking window, the 2001 is utterly mesmerizing in the glass. It is a bit more tannic than the 2007. At this stage, I would let the 2001 develop more complexity in the cellar. The Giacosa Asili is a wine best tasted young or with a decade plus of bottle age because the years between those stages can be a bit awkward. Still, the 2001 is magnificent.
The 2001 Barbaresco Asili impresses for its gorgeous inner sweetness and inviting, round fruit. The 2001 is pure Asili, but it has begun to shut down mightily over the last 1-2 years. Still, it is impossible to miss the pedigree of what is in the glass.
About the producer
Bruno Giacosa – now run by daughter Bruna – is a cult Nebbiolo producer, that has consistently made some of the best single-vineyard Barbaresco and Barolo from the 1960s onwards. The“red-label” Riservas are some of the finest and most collectable wines in Italy.