1999 Gianfranco Alessandria Barolo San Giovanni
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Tasting notes
The 1999 Barolo San Giovanni is laced with dark red and black fruits, melted road tar, graphite and violets, all supported by the firm, incisive tannins of the year. Aging in French oak has given the 1999 gorgeous texture and volume. The 1999 has developed beautifully in bottle and should continue to drink well for at least a handful of years.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Dark Ruby. The single vineyard San Giovanni opens with deeply expressive nose of spices, toasted oak, tar, licorice, and smoke followed by layers of sweet dark fruit that unfold with notable expansiveness on the palate. It offers great balance in an irresistibly sensual style and should drink well to age twenty.
The 1999 Barolo San Giovanni, the single-vineyard selection, is dark and spicy with ample vanilla and clove notes that accompany the kirsch and wild fennel with much intensity and penetration. Dense, potent, and ripe, very velvety but with an underlying tensile strength and grip to the tannins, its smoky fruit and ample tar and licorice flavors will provide excellent drinking from 2006 to 2020. A Marc de Grazia Selection, various American importers, including Michael Skurnik, Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300, Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700, and Estate Wines, Ltd., San Rafael, CA; tel. (415) 492-9411
Good medium red. Musky aromas of red fruits, chicory, game and truffle. Rich and suave in the middle, then very tannic, even brutal, on the finish, with the tannins cutting off the wine's fruit. In an awkward stage today.