Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Wine Tasting back to the 2003 Vintage - Thursday, January 16, 2025 - 7:30 PM
“High and fine literature is wine, and mine is only water; but everybody likes water.”
― Mark Twain
That’s all I drink is wine and water with a little Tequila and Scotch mixed in for good measure. It’s all coming out in my new book the “Two Bottle Per Day Wine Diet”. I’m in training and must stay in good drinking shape for all these “Once in a Life time” wine tastings coming up in January.
This rare offering of Rinaldi’s top cuvée which, through 1994, was the Brunate Riserva (100% Brunate) of the best vintages in the last 30 years in the Piedmont. From 1993 on, this wine has been called Brunate-Le Coste and is made from approximately 60% Brunate and 40% Le Coste. Finding these wines is not very easy as most of the estate’s production is quietly sold to longstanding private customers in Italy, Switzerland and Germany.
As explained in the info below in the review by Antonio Galloni this Brunate-Le Coste wine will no longer exist due to a recent change in Piedmont wine law that states there can’t be less than 85% single vineyard to have that vineyard cru name on the bottle and you can no longer list more than one single vineyard cru name on the label. The 2009 vintage was the last of the Brunate Le Coste making these older vintage wines even more valuable today as they will not be made like this in the future.
Updated Notes: Law Changes and Rinaldi
The major thing I wanted you to know is that the wine we've known as BRUNATE-LE COSTE was made from 60% of Brunate and 40% of Le Coste fruit. That wine is now simply labeled as BRUNATE and is now an 85% Brunate, 15% Le Coste split. A BRUNATE labeled Barolo can only add a maximum of 15% non-Brunate fruit, per the new law. You cannot have two vineyard names on a label any longer in Barolo. If you produce your wine that way, you must create a "fantasy name" (i.e. "Tre Tine").. The production is now much less on this bottling from Rinaldi, I do not have exact numbers but I know that we are now getting a significantly lower percentage of cases imported to the US.
The wine we've known as CANNUBI-SAN LORENZO / RAVERA has historically been a blend of those two vineyards. Now, beginning with the 2010 vintage that bottling is now called "TRE TINE" which means "three vats" and is a blend of those two areas (50% Ravera, 30% Cannubi/San Lorenzo PLUS 20% of fruit from Le Coste)
Join us as we experience 10 vintages of Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo going back to the 2003 vintage including the newest releases from the 2020 vintage. The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $495 + tax. For Reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.
Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Wine Tasting
Thursday, January 16th
7:30pm
2003 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste DOCG
2005 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste DOCG
2007 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate-Le Coste DOCG
2015 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Tre Tine DOCG
2017 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate DOCG
2017 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Tre Tine DOCG
2018 GIUSEPPE Rinaldi Barolo Brunate DOCG
2020 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo 'Tre Tine' DOCG
2020 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate DOCG
2020 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Bussia DOCG
Menu
Selection of Cheese and Charcuterie
Beef tartar Served with Bone Marrow
Duck and Foie Gras Sausage Pasta with Goat Cheese and Sundried Tomatoes
Prosciutto Wrapped Kurobuta Pork Loin Served over Barolo wild Mushroom Sauce
Tiramisu
The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $495 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com. Please let us know when you make your reservations if you have any food allergies or aversions and chefs Toni and Dani will be happy to accommodate you.
Wine Spectator Posted: September 4, 2018
By: Bruce Sanderson
Giuseppe "Beppe" Rinaldi, proprietor of the Giuseppe Rinaldi estate in the Italian wine appellation of Barolo, died September 2nd after recently being diagnosed with bladder cancer.
He was 69.
"Beppe Rinaldi was a special person, low-keyed, very knowledgeable about the history of the Barolo area and a staunch traditionalist, just like his father and grandfather," said Dominic Nocerino of Vinifera Imports, Rinaldi's New York importer, who began working with the estate in 1980.
Rinaldi, a veterinarian by profession, took the reins of his family's winery three decades ago after the death of his father, Battista. The Rinaldi family had first started selling grapes in the late 1800s; Rinaldi's grandfather, also Giuseppe, began bottling and selling wines in the 1920s.
Despite the changes occurring in the Barolo region in the 1980s and '90s, Rinaldi continued to make wines much like his father and grandfather had, blending crus to find a balance. He produced two cuvées, each a blend of vineyards, fermented in wooden vats and aged in large, neutral-oak barrels: Brunate-Le Coste and Cannubi San Lorenzo–Ravera.
When labeling laws changed with the release of the 2010 vintage, Rinaldi blended three of the vineyards, calling the wine Tre Tine, or "Three Casks," and bottled the Brunate separately. Known for their youthful austerity and ageability, Rinaldi's Barolos were pure and complex. Beppe's other nickname was “Citrico,” or “the acidic one,” for his directness and acerbic wit.
Rinaldi was joined in the Winery by his eldest daughter, Marta, an enologist, in 2008, and younger daughter, Carlotta, an agronomist, in 2012.
“The winery is in good hands with his children," Nocerino told Wine Spectator. "Beppe will be greatly missed, but his legacy will live on in the wine world."
In addition to his daughters, Rinaldi is survived by his wife, Annalisa.
All the wines from Giuseppe Rinaldi in the store on SALE!!
2020 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Magnum
Price: $1350.00 Your Price: $1188.00
2020 GIUSEPPE Rinaldi Barolo Brunate
Price: $656.25 Your Price: $577.50 Quantity in Stock: 7
(95 points) "The 2020 Barolo Brunate is stellar. I especially admire its mix of soaring intensity and energy, and yet the wine also remains light on its feet. Ethereal, nuanced and classy, the Brunate is a super-classic Barolo with the refinement of the present day. Dark fruit, spice, leather, menthol and licorice build into the potent, substantial finish, with notes of minerals and blood orange that linger. Drink: 2028-2045. (Jan 2024)" Antonio Galloni (Vinous)
2020 GIUSEPPE RINALDI BAROLO TRE TINE MAGNUM
Price: $1362.50 Your Price: $1199.00
2020 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Tre Tine
Price: $662.50 Your Price: $583.00 Quantity in Stock: 12
(95 points) "Lifted aromatically, with impeccably polished tannins and fine balance, the 2020 Barolo Tre Tine is super-impressive. In its first vintages, the Tre Tine was pretty imposing and linear from a tannin perspective, but the 2020 stands out for its exquisiteness and balance. Like most wines in this vintage, it is on the lighter side, but that is in no way a bad thing. Drink: 2025-2040. (Jan 2024)" Antonio Galloni (Vinous)
2020 GIUSEPPE RINALDI BAROLO BUSSIA MAGNUM
Price: $1362.50 Your Price: $1199.00
2020 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Bussia
Price: $662.50 Your Price: $583.00
(96 points) "The 2020 Barolo Bussia opens with a burst of dark fruit, spice, menthol and licorice. Layered and light on its feet, the medium-bodied 2020 particularly reveals its explosive energy and intensity on the back end. This is super classy. Drink: 2028-2045. (Jan 2024)" Antonio Galloni (Vinous)
2019 GIUSEPPE RINALDI BAROLO BRUNATE MAGNUM
Price: $1350.00 Your Price: $1188.00 Quantity in Stock: 6
2019 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate
Price: $650.00 Your Price: $572.00
(100 points) “The 2019 vintage is the first Brunate fully tended by Carlotta and Marta, following their father, Beppe Rinaldi's death. Typically blended with 15% of the Le Coste MGA for an acid drive, its southern exposure seems to be beneficial in this austere vintage. Fermented in oak vessels with natural yeast and aged for 36 months, the nose is a smorgasbord of details from liquorice and earth to pot pourri and mint leaf. There's a fresh pomegranate and red cherry core, and a finish of rhubarb and orange peel. The elegance of the tannins is great – velvety and dense – with refreshing acidity and polite alcohol. This Brunate has gorgeous balance between grace and power that will keep it going for decades. The best 2019 tasted. It will be officially presented in April. (AF)” (2/2023) Decanter
2019 Giuseppe Rinaldi 'Tre Tine', Barolo DOCG, Italy Magnum
Price: $1300.00 Your Price: $1144.00 Quantity in Stock: 4
2019 Giuseppe Rinaldi 'Tre Tine', Barolo DOCG, Italy
Price: $650.00 Your Price: $572.00 Quantity in Stock: 21
(95 Points) Tre Tine is Rinaldi's blend of Ravera (60%), Le Coste (20%) and Cannubi San Lorenzo (20%), confirmed on the cork. Harvest began in the middle of October with the southern expositions such as Cannubi and Le Coste, and ended with Ravera, a late-ripening southeast-facing site close to the forest. ‘In 2019 we had cool nights and the grapes were properly ripe,’ said Carlotta Rinaldi. Sweet violet dominates the nose, allied to restrained blood orange, wild strawberry and a whiff of funkiness; volatile acidity here is slightly received. The attack is refreshing, with juicy, velvety tannins leading to an elegant finish. Decanter
2019 Giuseppe Rinaldi Bussia, Barolo DOCG, Italy Magnum
Price: $1335.00 Your Price: $1174.80
2019 Giuseppe Rinaldi Bussia, Barolo DOCG, Italy
Price: $650.00 Your Price: $572.00 Quantity in Stock: 19
(97 points) "The 2019 Barolo Bussia, a new wine in this range, is fabulous. It is also a very serious, almost somber Barolo endowed with huge fruit and equally imposing tannins. Sage, mint, dried herbs, crushed leaves and spice lend compelling aromatic intensity to this deep, layered Barolo. Exotic hints of orange peel, spice and sweet dried cherry linger on the explosive, soaring finish. What I love most about the Bussia is its complexity. Each taste reveals a new shade of its glorious dimension as the 2019 builds into its seriously long, resonant finish. This is a tremendous debut from sisters Marta and Carlotta Rinaldi. Drink: 2029-2059. (Jan 2023)" Antonio Galloni (Vinous)
2018 GIUSEPPE Rinaldi Brunate Barolo Magnum
Price: $1312.50 Your Price: $1155.00
2018 GIUSEPPE Rinaldi Brunate Barolo
Price: $637.50 Your Price: $561.00 Quantity in Stock: 4
(95 Points) Rinaldi's 2018 Barolo Brunate is one of the more satisfying wines of the vintage. Austere, medium in body and classic in feel, with that extra bit of textural resonance that is such a Brunate signature, the 2018 has real potential. Dark cherry, melted road tar, tobacco, spice, menthol, sage and licorice all build in the glass. The 2018 is going to need a few years to soften and start hitting its stride, but all the ingredients are there. It's a powerhouse, that much is certain. Vinous
2018 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Tre Tine Magnum
Price: $1025.00 Your Price: $902.00 Quantity in Stock: 6
2018 GIUSEPPE Rinaldi Tre Tine Barolo Piedmont
Price: $637.50 Your Price: $561.00 Quantity in Stock: 11
(94 points) The Giuseppe Rinaldi 2017 Barolo Tre Tine was bottled in September 2020, and Carlotta Rinaldi tells me that the wine has gone through various moments of openness and shyness since then. The wine was a little closed when I tasted it this past summer, but its evolution is far from over. As you contemplate the bouquet, you sense lots of fruit, yet there is no excessive ripeness like you might expect from this hot and dry vintage. It shows elegant fruit weight, streamlined and silky, with dried violet, spice and rusty nail. It carries a medium texture that is elongated by the wine's integrated tannins and acidity. Tre Tine is a blend of fruit from Ravera, Le Coste and Cannubi San Lorenzo, and these latter two vineyards were harvested especially early in this vintage, starting on September 13, 2017, which is unusual for Nebbiolo. - Monica Larner Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, September 2021
2017 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate 3 Liter
Price: $2550.00 Your Price: $2244.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
2017 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Magnum
Price: $1325.00 Your Price: $1166.00 Quantity in Stock: 6
2017 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate
Price: $662.50 Your Price: $583.00 Quantity in Stock: 11
(95 Points) The 2017 Barolo Brunate is a dark, powerful wine. A huge swath of tannins gives the Brunate its feeling of gravitas. Readers will have to be patient with the 2017, as it is going to need a number of years to come together. Dark cherry fruit, lavender, sage, licorice, spice and earthy notes build into a crescendo of aromas and flavors that is just captivating. The 2017 finishes with tremendous substance and intensity, both of which bode so well for the future. Galloni
2017 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Tre Tine Magnum
Price: $1325.00 Your Price: $1166.00 Quantity in Stock: 6
2017 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Tre Tine
Price: $662.50 Your Price: $583.00 Quantity in Stock: 3
(95 Points) The 2017 Barolo Tre Tine is fabulous. A wine that marries classicism with the racy personality of the year, the 2017 hits all the right buttons. It's a wine that satisfies all the senses, with more than enough to please both the hedonistic and intellectual senses. Everything about the 2017 is spot on. Bright red berry fruit, rose petal, mint, lavender and spice build into the delineated, salivating finish. As always, the Tre Tine is a bit more linear than the Brunate. In 2017, it is one of the wines of the vintage. Don't miss it! Galloni
2015 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate
Price: $700.00 Your Price: $616.00
(96 Points) The 2015 Barolo Brunate benefits from a thicker soil profile in this vineyard that consequently bumps the wine's aromatic intensity and staying power up a notch or two. This wine is almost crunchy in texture, with a subtle snap or crackle as it hits the palate. It shows enormous beauty and richness with a dark fruit profile followed by elements of spice, tar, tobacco and moist potting soil. There are floral notes as well with rose and lavender. This wine will reward those with the patience to wait. Wine Advocate
2015 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Tre Tine
Price: $695.00 Your Price: $611.60 Quantity in Stock: 34
(95 Point) This wine celebrated its 100-year anniversary in 2016. Representing its 99th birthday, the 2015 Barolo Tre Tine is a blend of fruit from Ravera (60%), Le Coste (20%) and Cannubi San Lorenzo (20%). These sites encountered some challenges with hail in the 2014 vintage that resulted in a 30% loss of fruit. The Rinaldi family saw hail in the Brunate and Cerequio area in 2016. But the 2015 vintage saw smooth sailing and what winemaker Marta Rinaldi calls "a return to normalcy." She says fermentations proceeded beautifully and without any holdups. This Barolo opens to a medium-dark garnet color with bright fruit tones followed by licorice, tar and delicate balsam herb. The wine offers a degree of softness that comes through in the quality of the tannins and the texture of the mouthfeel. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate Monica Larner 06282019
2014 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Tre Tine
Price: $700.00 Your Price: $616.00
(92 Points) "The 2014 Barolo Tre Tine will surely benefit from extra time in the bottle. The wine was still a bit rigid and nervous when I tasted it (despite the fact I tasted from a bottle at the winery that had been open since the previous evening). This blended wine sees fruit harvested from Le Coste in mid-October and Ravera during the third week of the month. Despite the timid bouquet, the mouthfeel shows power and depth. I was also surprised by the level of fruity ripeness and plumpness that emerges from the bouquet. There is a touch of astringency on the finish that should iron out within the next five years or so." #237, 6/18. Monica Larner, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2012 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate 3 Liter
Price: $3150.00 Your Price: $2772.00
2012 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate
Price: $687.50 Your Price: $605.00
The 2012 Barolo Brunate is powerful and dense in the glass, but also quite expressive for such a young wine. Dark, and brooding, with fabulous mid-palate richness and depth, the 2012 packs a serious punch. Readers will find a Barolo that brings together a slightly slender, cool-climate sense of structure with good early approachability, all of which make the 2012 quite appealing even in its youth. A blast of sweet red cherry, plum, licorice, leather and spices leaves a strong and lasting impression...94 Pts Galloni
2012 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Tre Tine
Price: $687.50 Your Price: $605.00
The 2012 Barolo Tre Tine is lifted, precise and gracious, with beams of firm supporting tannin that give the wine its energy and sense of proportion. Tasted next to the Brunate, the Tre Tine is distinctly more aromatic, delicate and feminine in style, with plenty of bright red fruit and floral overtones. I also tasted the 2012 from a bottle opened two days prior, and the wine had retained pretty much all of its precision. Although the Brunate is the most coveted wine at Rinaldi, the Tre Tine has been impressive in its first three vintages. The 2012 is no exception. Tre Tine is a blend of fruit from the Rinaldi family's holdings in Cannubi (San Lorenzo), Ravera and Le Coste...94 Pts Galloni
2005 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste
Price: $675.00 Your Price: $594.00
The 2005 Barolo Brunate/Le Coste presents a darker shade of red fruit along with a more muscular, dense personality. This too is a relatively soft style for Rinaldi, and while some of the complexity of the finest vintages appears to be lacking, the wine nevertheless offers compelling balance and harmony. 92 pts Galloni
2005 Giuseppe Rinaldi Cannubi S. Lorenzo Ravera Barolo
Price: $675.0 Your Price: $594.00 Quantity in Stock: 9
Beppe Rinaldi is a revered traditionalist, following the techniques Battista and Giuseppe had employed in the early and mid 1900's. Wines are macerated on their skins for a long time, and aging takes place large botti. The results are powerful, deep Barolos that are met with the precision and aromatics that make them incomparable. They offer wild spices, gamey notes, and of course Nebbiolo's tell-tale tar and roses.
Essentially two Barolos were made, the Brunate-Le Coste and the Cannubi (San Lorenzo)-Ravera. Laws recently changed and now multiple crus aren't permitted on labels. Starting in 2010 the Brunate-Le Coste was bottled with a higher 85% Brunate and just 15% Le Coste (the maximum legal addition). The Cannubi (San Lorenzo)-Ravera began to implement wine from Le Coste and the new name for the bottling is "Tre Tine" (three vats).
2003 Giuseppe Rinaldi Brunate Le Coste Barolo
Price: $695.00 Your Price: $611.60 Quantity in Stock: 10
(92 Points) Rinaldi’s 2003 Barolo Brunate/Le Coste is deeply flavored and intense, with more than enough fruit to balance its tannic structure. The characteristic balsamic notes that are typical of this wine literally jump out of the glass. This seriously long and powerful Barolo is also remarkably accessible and is a great introduction to one of Piedmont’s great wines. When tasted separately the different qualities of the two vineyards are striking. Brunate provides the muscle and complexity, while Le Coste gives the wine a measure of softness. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2019
2003 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Cannubi (San Lorenzo) / Ravera
Price: $695.00 Your Price: $611.60
(91 Points) The 2003 Barolo Cannubi(San Lorenzo)/Ravera is sweet and ripe with the essence of perfumed sweet cherries and raspberries. It is made in a soft, seductive style that is unusual for this producer and which makes the wine very accessible even at this stage. It is a great choice for near-term drinking yet also possesses enough freshness to age for another decade or more. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2019. Wine Advocate #173, Oct 2007
2001 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Cannubi MAGNUM
Price: $1625.00 Your Price: $1430.00
(94 Points) The 2001 Barolo Cannubi/S.Lorenzo-Ravera is striking. Sweet red cherries, flowers, mint and spices are some of the many nuances that emerge from this fresh, vibrant Barolo. The Cannubi/S.Lorenzo-Ravera is often overlooked, but that would be a mistake here. The 2001 has put on serious weight over the last few years. It is a sensual, powerful Barolo that can be enjoyed now or cellared for another decade-plus. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2021. eRobertParker.com #200, Apr 2012
1994 Giuseppe Rinaldi Brunate Barolo
Price: $762.50 Your Price: $671.00