I recieved a bottle of 1971 Vendemmia Barolo red wine. says on the bottle- valfieri di maregof cugnosco Alba Italy.
Find a friend that reads Italian and go here: http://www.lavinium.com/italiano/annate.htm Here is my favorite bottle! Image Unavailable, Please Login
The only time I've ever seen the face on that bottle has been after I'm out after a fifth of walkers. Sorry I couldnt help.
Best way to figure out if a bottle of wine is good or not is to drink it!!! Same goes for cars except that you drive them...before you drink the wine. Seriously, just drink it and let us know how it is. Vincent.
Barolos (made from nebbiolo grapes) generally age well, but my guess is, unless it was stored properly (correct temperature and humidity and layed on its side) it is now vinegar.
What Vincent and Paul said - methinks the best thing to do is have a hearty meal prepared, this bottle and another bottle ready to uncork - along with being prepared to properly decant the contents of the bottle if the cork is a bit on the dry side, but the wine isn't vinegar (yay). On the other hand, if this bottle fails to please (boo), you've still got the other one and are prepared to enjoy the evening. If the '71 turns out to be fine, it will be a spectacular evening. If it isn't, you'll get sympathy sex (yay), so either way, it'll be spectacular.
I think you may have this backwords. The word Vendemmia in Italian means Grape harvest. It is found on a lot of Italian wine bottles. It sounds to me like your bottle is from the 1971 harvest. Also Valfieri Is the name of one of Italy's great Nebiollo Producers. Valfieri is an estate owned by the Riccadonnas family. They have 2 vineyards in the Piedmonte, which is where I believe your wine is from, and 1 in the Trentito Alto Adrige which produces mainly whites. Di in Italian means of, and Alba is a city in the piedmonte where as it happens, the Valfieri estate is located. I am not sure what Maregof Cugnosco means but my guess is it is a place in Alba. So, I think the phrase Valfieri di maregof cugnosco Alba Italy probably translates roughly into The estate of Valfieri of Maregof cugnosco in Alba Italy. It is also possible that the Maregof Cugnosco is a family name. Some of the producers in Italy are small family growers that sell thier grapes to the larger estates for blending with other grapes. It would probably help to determine if this wine is a blend or a pure varietal. Barolo though is considered to be one of Italys more important wines!