1990 Barolo Monprivato

The 1990s are similar in style to the 1989's, with sweeter fruit. The 1990 Barolo Monprivato is enormous, powerful, frightfully tannic, yet highly promising. However, if you are over 35 years of age you might want to reconsider buying this powerhouse wine. This old style, traditional producer believes in long macerations, resulting in frightfully tannic, tough, closed wines that are loaded with concentrated fruit. In lighter vintages there can be too much tannin and structure for the wine's extract. In years such as 1989 and 1990 (provided a reader is willing to wait 7-10 years), these wines should prove to be spectacular - classic, old style, textbook Barolos. All of these offerings are cleanly made, old styled, enormously thick and tannic Barolos that require 5-10 years of cellaring; they are capable of lasting for 30 or more years. Importer: Neal Rosenthal, Select Vineyards, New York, NY.