Giuseppe Rinaldi | Barolo "Brunate - Le Coste" 2006 (Magnum 1.5L)

Two vineyard names on one Barolo label became illegal from the 2010 vintage; this 2006 magnum comes from the last four years Beppe Rinaldi could call his wine Brunate-Le Coste.

The label on this 1.5-litre bottle reads Rinaldi, Barolo DOCG, Brunate - Le Coste on the diagonal band, Annata 2006 on the crest, 14% vol. Ken Vastola's Fine Wine Geek register records the cuvée as a blend of two Barolo-commune vineyards, begun by Beppe Rinaldi with the 1993 vintage at around 10,000 bottles a year, typically 60 to 75 percent Brunate and 25 to 40 percent Le Coste from 1.2 and 0.6 hectares. Inagaki Shoten, the Japanese importer, explains the logic: Brunate takes the full southern sun, Le Coste faces east into weak morning light, and Rinaldi's Barolo is built on blending opposites. From 2010 a single MGA per label was allowed, so the Brunate now carries at most 15 percent Le Coste and the rest goes into Tre Tine.

Antonio Galloni's vintage report in Wine Advocate (February 2010) describes a warm 2006 summer saved for Nebbiolo by well-timed rain in August and September and by cool evenings in the final month, giving colour, acidity and powerful structure; he compared the year with 1999 with a touch more density. Inagaki lists the cellar routine: copper and sulphur only, wild-yeast fermentation in the open wooden tini from the grandfather's day, no temperature control, hand punch-downs, maceration beyond 30 days, more than 40 months in Slavonian botti. Galloni, in 2008, found the only concession to modernity there was a rotary telephone that irritated Beppe each time it rang.

Beppe Rinaldi, a veterinarian until he took over in 1992, died in 2018; his daughters Marta and Carlotta keep each step as it was.

In the glass

Galloni scored it 97 in Wine Advocate (December 2010, as quoted by Tribeca Wine Merchants): dark fruit around a deep, muscular core, then sweet balsamic and mentholated notes, spices, violets, leather and licorice, a classic among classics. Retasting for Vinous in March 2019 (as quoted by Tribeca) he went to 98: still tannic and virile, the most reticent Barolo of that evening, its dark balsamic profile super-classic. Houlbergs Vinblog, December 2024, found iodine, tobacco, camphor, dried rose, pine needle and tar, hard and muscular yet fresh at eighteen years.

When to open

Galloni's 2010 window was 2026 to 2046; in 2019 he widened it to 2021 to 2051 and asked for patience. Our suggestion: stand the magnum upright a day ahead, decant two hours, serve at 17°C.

At the table

Our suggestion: brasato al Barolo or roast game for a table of eight, aged Castelmagno to finish.

Quick facts

Provenance

Sourced from the Japanese importer.

Sources: Label; Inagaki Shoten (Japanese importer); Fine Wine Geek (K. Vastola); Bordeaux Index; Wine Advocate (A. Galloni, 2008, Feb 2010, Dec 2010); Vinous (A. Galloni, Mar 2019) as quoted by Tribeca Wine Merchants and Wine Watch; Houlbergs Vinblog