1998 Giacosa Barolo Le Rocche Falleto and 1998 Giacosa Barbaresco

Several wines lined up for a steak dinner with the stars of the bunch being the two '98 Giacosa's. In my limited experience with Giacosa wines, the young ones benefit from copious aeration.  

The '98 Rocche was slow-o'd overnight and then poured into a decanter to breathe for about 8 hours before dinner. This treatment significantly improved how the wine showed. 
As a side note, I will say that I had the privilege of enjoying a diverse array of Giacosa Barolo and Barbaresco at Festa del Barolo in Feb 2015. If I recall correctly, the vintages ranged from the mid to late '90's and then from '90, '89, '85, and then from '78, '74, '71. While all were drinking well, it was the beautiful wines from the 1970's which stole the show for me, and in particular a 1971 Barbaresco San Cristoforo which still haunts my palate today  :)   
I say this to emphasize the youth of the '98 vintage Giacosa's we enjoyed this past weekend. 
Following the '98 Rocche over the course of about 24 hours. Tight upon opening, it started to settle down once in the decanter for extended aeration. By dinner, the lovely signature sweetness began to come into its own. Very translucent and elegant color  (aptly passing the Soldera test). Nose stayed reticent until the very end of the evening. Burnished balsam-inflected cherry fruit with hints of spice and slight notes of anise. Everything in balance as would be expected from this pedigree. 
Quite a bit of sediment infused wine from the '98 Rocche was reserved and set to the side at the initial decant. These few ounces were slow filtered using a paper coffee filter. The results were spectacular on this "press run", with amplified floral aromatics and beautiful concentration of le Rocche fruit character.  Reminded of the great video that Roy Piper produced on why he likes to use press wine as part of his blend in making great wines. 

The '98 Giacosa Barbaresco normale is a very nice wine, more tannic than the Rocche and exuding flavorful but coarser fruit. Denser nose and more piquant palate. This would show better in a few years perhaps. 

Sadly, we had none of either Giacosa wines left over for day 2 impressions. 

'04 Castello di Neive Santo Stefano Riserva. .. pleasing but paled in comparison to the Giacosa's.  More exuberant nose, bigger fruit, darker color, more tar influence on the palate. We did have some of this wine left over that we enjoyed a couple of days later and it seemed to have improved,  exhibiting more sweetness in the tannins and more elegance in the nose. 

The '11 F. Alessandria Gramolere was opened and decanted for 8 hours prior to dinner. This is a lovely,  elegant wine on its own, but its youth showed significantly compared to the other wines. Extremely well balanced and burgundian in color and density.  

The '02 Forman Cabernet Sauvignon was a last minute addition to the line up. Popped and poured into a decanter.  It improved over the course of the evening,  but was overshadowed by the wines from Piemonte. This bottling was a bit subdued with a softer palate than I am accustomed to with Forman Cabs. The signature olive component that I enjoy in Forman Cabs was hiding that night and didn't seem to want to come out. I enjoyed this wine but have had better examples from other vintages.