Elijah Forrest

10

Fruity, smooth, and delicious — a month ago

Daniel Bloom

9.3

Sometimes you take a blind chance and get rewarded.
N: Cedar, Rose, Woodsmoke(appropriately),Liquorice, tar. Chocolate.
P:Med bodied and not overly wooded(yay!) Slavonian botti for 36 mo.excellent acid tannin balance, lots of sous-bois, tomato, mint,
Chocolate. meat. As it airs, the palate is richer. Nice work here.
I looked them up and see the Riserva spends half it’s time in smaller barriques. No thank you. Without gloss, this really shines.

Deeelicious on a smoky night.
Thanks@ Garagiste. — 3 years ago

Barbara Spizzirro

9.0

Dolcetto with some spine. Attack no impressive, but kicks into gear mid palette and finish. Impressive dolcetto. $35 — 5 years ago

Shengli Hu

9.0

Pale ruby with orange rim. Aromatic, Tart and ripe red fruit: sour cherry, raspberry, pomegranate, some blackberry, def VA, lifted fruit and floral note: Roses, violets. On the palate there is amaro-like bitter smell, tar with notes of gravel and wet stone. Some oxidation-dried out quality. No new oak, but definitely some old, large botti or something similar. Grippy tannins. Long finish. A thing of beauty. — 6 years ago

Sherwin Taghdiri

9.0

A nice soft fragrance of dark cherry, vanilla and strawberry. Drinks very smoothly with flavors of spice, dark berries/cherry. Opens up very nicely once it breathes and is easy to drink! — 7 years ago

with Anne

Martin Bergo

9.4

More brick hues; robust and delicate nose of asphalt, diesel hints, white flowers and citrus; nice round tannins, medium acids and alcohol, dark fruits, and a miles-long finish. Small production in the south, single cru Spuntali also made in large botti. — 7 years ago

Manuel Buergi

9.0

A special bottling of the producer Villadoria, 100%-owner of the "Cappallotto" MGA in Serralunga d'Alba (next to "Baudana" & "Meriame") and home of the famiglia Lanzavecchia. "Paradiso" is the official single vineyard here (best exposition, old vines). The vinifciation is traditional in botti grandi. A very beautiful, succulent entry level Serralunga Barolo, showing quite youthful in 2010, as expected. Dark fruit, menthol, lavender and a bit of leather are the prime flavors. High tannins, that are well integrated. Pretty good structure and length. — 8 years ago

Elizabeth Renick

9.2

#agentinaWine Great wine! Had it alone and with food. Paired well with Steak, and Chicken with Spicy Marinera, also with Salmon! Very good. — 9 years ago

Jay Kline

9.4

La Ca’Növa is now under fifth generation leadership; they used to sell all their fruit to Gaja. Super traditional methods with a twist; they used botti made of Austrian oak instead of Salvonian. Vigna Bric Mentina is a sub cru of the Montefico MGA where the soils are relatively sandy.

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of two hours. The 2015 “Vigna Bric Mentina” pours a garnet color with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity and no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe Morello cherry, raspberry, strawberry, roses with freshly cut stems, cedar chest, dried herbs and gravelly earth and minerals. There’s also a kiss of VA, just in case you needed a reminder that this is a traditional Italian wine, lol! On the palate, the wine is bone dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and slightly savory. This is absolutely baller. How did I sleep on this producer for so long? Oh yeah…I remember: access. I live in Omaha. Welp…now I have another producer to chase. Drink now with patience (enjoy the ride!) and through 2045. — 3 months ago

Jamie Lauder

9.5

2001 vintage.
Cherries with balsamic and herbs on the nose.
This wine is soooo well developed.
Roasted cherries and berries, worn leather and violets with truffles minerals and earthiness.
This wine was aged 41 months in botti before release.
This was a special night that required a special wine.
— 5 years ago

David Kaplan

9.6

This Soave Classico Vigneto Sengialta Balestri Valda 2017 comes from a single hillside parcel of black basaltic soil planted to Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave. The grapes are hand-harvested, fermented separately, and matured in neutral 2000-liter botti for twelve months. In the glass, the wine has a saturated, deep yellow-gold color, with flashes of green-gold just at the edge. Aromas of sun-warmed yellow peaches, crystallized honey, marzipan, and acacia blossoms emerge at first, then alternate with fleeting suggestions of beeswax, grated nutmeg, and sage, as the nose evolves in the glass. On the palate, the wine honeyed and opulent, with a round, juicy core of sweet stone fruit and honey that echoes the nose, along with plenty of dry extract, deep saline minerality, and ripe tartaric acidity. The layered sweet core of honeyed melon and almond paste is seasoned with delicate bitterness, and the long elegant finish is punctuated with fine mineral grip. Drink now – 2030 (yes, the wine is irresistible today, but according to Laura Rizzotto, a bottle that hid unnoticed for fifteen or more years in a good cellar would be a treasure). — Moore Brothers, Brooklyn — 6 years ago

Shun Kikuchi

8.9

Balanced. Red cherry, plum, earthy and some black berries, botti aged stability, with some ripasso. Dry, mid+ acidity and mid- tannin. Straightforward and mid+ intensity aroma. Good with food. ABV13.0%. at Estro Vino in Venice. — 7 years ago

Martin Bergo

9.3

Light ruby with some brick hue and a viscous swirl; earthy nose, spices like thyme and sage; more complex taste with finer tannins, darker fruit, and longer finish than the Pieve. Around 12.000 bottles produced; large botti used. — 7 years ago

Michael Chelus

9.0

Blackberry, cherry, raspberry preserves, smoke, vanilla tobacco and oak. Good structure and soft tannins. — 8 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of 90 minutes. The 2019 “Margheria” pours a pale garnet color with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with gorgeous notes of ripe red fruit: Morello cherry, raspberry, orange zest, roses, talcum powder, dried herbs, and dry earth. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with high tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long, super grippy and slightly savory. Ooooof, I love Azelia’s expression of Margheria. It’s so transparent, so elegant. Drink now with patience but better after 2029 and through 2059.

For those who care: Historically, Luigi Scavino (Azelia) tended to treat their wines slightly different, dependent upon MGA. Margheria was getting their most traditional treatment being aged exclusively in Slavonian botti. FWIW, I always felt this was their most exciting single MGA bottling. Now, I believe all of their single MGA’s are treated in the similar, aforementioned fashion. The results speak for themselves. — a year ago

Martinez

9.0

Trinchero’s flagship wine. 100% Barbera from very old vines in Asti, aged for 3-4 years in large, old oak botti. Complex nose. Juicy red fruit, tobacco. Fresh, lively at 16 years old. Good acidity — 4 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

This bottle was one in a brace of Brunellos, generously shared and curated by our friend Tim.

Served blind after a lengthy slow-ox, I knew we were drinking Brunello di Montalcino but that’s it. No visual signs of age. Initially quite the performer with gorgeous cherry fruit, baking spice, earth, mushroom. On the palate, slightly darker fruited, cocoa and what I sometimes refer to as “Tuscan dust”. After about an hour, I started to pick up a touch of brettanomyces which made the earth more pronounced. Another remarkable quality of this wine was its plush texture; almost velvet-like.

Revealed as the 1997 La Rasina. I believe this is my first experience with this producer though I’ve seen it around for years. This came across a touch modern yet I was told that this was back when botti were being used. Regardless, a lovely wine and a lovely showing for a 23 year old wine. At about hour two in the glass, I thought this started to lose some of its energy, just as the “La Palazzetta” started to come into its own. I would drink these sooner than later if I had some hanging out in my cellar. — 6 years ago

Vay John Blazina

9.3

Dark red color with a lovely complex nose and a dark body with a full complex body that took about a week to fully develop and integrate open under Vacuvin at room temperature but was worth the wait as it out rated a 1989 chateauneuf du Pape & a 1986 Cote-Rotie. Lovely long aftertaste. A bargain! 9.3/10 — 7 years ago

Martin Bergo

9.5

Brick color; perfumed nose with honeysuckle and lillies accompanied with concentrated dried fruits; powerful almost port-like on the palate with dried red and black fruit and caramellized nuts and a very long finish. A cru made in botti in the center of the region of around 4000 bottles. — 7 years ago

Joe D'Angelo

9.9

Poggio di Sotto only produces their Riserva Brunello only in exceptional vintages, and the 2013 is an absolutely brilliant release from this renowned estate in Montalcino. This is beautiful Sangiovese Grosso comes from 20+ year-old vines which are planted to rocky marl soils that are farmed biodynamically. The Riserva is aged for 5 years in 25 to 35-hl Slavonian oak botti, and 1 year in bottle prior to release. The result is a stunning expression of Brunello that begins to impress with striking its purity and gorgeous aromas of dried wild berries, crushed flowers, spices, white truffles, leather and hints mineral nuances all taking shape in the glass. On the palate this medium-bodied red is about balance and precision, while displaying outstanding structure with remarkable focus through the long, lingering finish. While the 2013 will require some additional bottle age before it becomes fully accessible, it certainly possesses the potential to have an incredible evolution and extremely long drinking window ahead. Year after year Poggio di Sotto's Riserva is one of the finest Brunello’s made in all of Montalcino, and the 2013 is certainly no exception. — 7 years ago