Borgogno Barolo Riserva 1961 700ml

95 points James Suckling: "An ethereal red with amazingly complex and subtle aromas of dried rose petals, red cherries and star anise. Cedar too. It's delicate yet dense and changes every minute in the glasses. (6/7/13)"

92 points Antonio Galloni (Wine Advocate): "[$250 list] The 1961 Barolo Riserva, a library release directly from the Borgogno cellars, offers up plenty of dried cherries, dried roses, licorice and tobacco, all framed by firm, dusty tannins. Despite its mid-weight body and age, the wine shows plenty of depth and fine overall balance. Borgogno offers an incredible range of older vintages. The estate decants these older bottles to remove sediment, tops them off with wine from the same vintage and re-corks the wines prior to selling them. In the past, I haven’t been a huge fan of the library releases because a number of bottles have come across as over-manipulated and exceedingly fresh to the point of delivering little of the mature-Barolo experience readers expect from a 50-year old wine. Not here, though, the 1961 Riserva is simply beautiful from start to finish. (Feb 2010)"

92 points Decanter: "The 1961 and 1937 are the only wines in this vertical made during Cesare Borgogno's reign, with this 1961 being the oldest vintage in Borgogno's library release stocks. An abundant year, it has some similarities with 2004 - a late spring preceded a dry, warm summer with harvest well into October. The colour is surprisingly deep with a less overt garnet hue, yet moss, sous bois, beef stock and vegetal notes are appropriate for its age. The palate is very umami in character, with iron and tobacco offsetting pressed rose. Granular tannins continue to bolster and preserve this wine. Alcohol 13.5%. (Jul 2018)"