1989 Barolo Cicala
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As a longtime fan of Aldo Conterno's Barolos, I must admit the current offerings are potentially the best he has yet made. No well-funded Nebbiolo lover will be able to resist them. Conterno's most flattering Barolo is the 1989 Vigna Cicala. Slightly less saturated in color than the 1988 Barolo-Gran Bussia, with a huge nose of smoke, jammy red and blackberries, licorice, herbs, and tobacco, this opulent, voluptuously textured Barolo has significant tannin, but it is nearly buried under lavish quantities of sweet, expansive fruit. This hedonistic Barolo should continue to evolve for 15 or more years. Of his 1989 Barolos, the Vigna Cicala is the one to drink first. Importers: Vias Imports, Great Neck, NY and Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA.
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After tasting the 1989 Bussia earlier this year, I was curious to check in on the Cicala. The Cicala is Aldo Conterno's most masculine Barolo, as the soils here are extremely poor, and thus yield wines of great structure. The wine is dark ruby in color, with no signs whatsoever of age. The wine is rich and decadent, with generous flavors of dark cherries, spices, tar, and plenty of tannins. The Cicala appears to still very young and in need of further cellaring.
From The Purple Notebook – Italian Dinner at Gidleigh Park Deep crimson. More classic, austere nose. Peacock’s tail. Fully opened out. Minerals. Lovely balance – much more classical than the Gaja wines. (JR)
The 1989 offering from the Bussia Soprano sub-vineyard of Vigna Cicala is a sensational bottle of wine. The earthy, raspberry, black-cherry, and tar aromas of the 1989 Vigna Cicala explode upward from the glass. This is the most massive and structured of the three single vineyard Barolos. The tannin and fruit extraction are both extremely high. This wine requires minimal cellaring of 3-5 years, after which it will last, perhaps even improve for 25-30 years. Every Italian wine authority, from the late Sheldon Wasserman, to Burton Anderson, to Victor Hazan, to Roberto Parkero, considers Aldo Conterno to be one of the great masters of his craft. The staggering display of wines he produced in 1989 and 1990 confirmed that no one in Piedmont is making greater Barolo than Aldo Conterno and his sons. If you love great wine, these are must purchases; if you love Barolo, a pilgrimage to your favorite Italian wine shop is in order! It is virtually impossible to pick a favorite among Conterno's 1989s and 1990s. However, the 1990s, which are not yet bottled, appear even more massive, structured, and tannic than the flamboyant, super-concentrated, flashy 1989s. Readers should keep in mind that the Barolo-Riserva Gran Bussia is released a year later than the other Barolos, so the 1989 will not appear in the marketplace until spring, 1995, and the 1990 a year later. Wine enthusiasts throughout the world should be beating a path to their retailers to buy the 1989s and to reserve the 1990s when they arrive next year. By the way, Aldo Conterno is one of Piedmont's sweetest people, proving that sometimes nice guys do finish first! Importer: Vias Imports, Great Neck, NY.