Jay Kline

9.2

Paolo Bea dinner at Semo. All wines were prepared by opening and slow-ox, prior to service. Abbreviated notes due to the setting. The The 2020 Santa Chiara appears a deep orange color with notes of marmalade, apricot, flowers, and varnish (VA). The palate shows low+ tannin and decent acid. Tasty, complex stuff as usual. A lovely pairing with gougère of prosciutto, green olive and honey. Drink now through 2030-ish. Bottle No. 2814/5940 — 4 months ago

Dan Dake

9.5

Old Nebbiolo: circa 1971. Shockingly, fruit still showing. — 8 years ago

Richard Lewis

9.2

Hints of strawberry (though in the distance) and dried leaves. Still acid and clarity after all these years. — 9 years ago

with Lynne

Greg Anderson

9.1

Perfectly well balanced delicious slight peach with delicate minealality. An easy drinking white wine — 3 years ago

with Virginia

Jay Kline

9.4

We opened a 2014 Paolo Bea “Santa Chiara” that was horribly corked and we were so gutted by the experience that we decided an immediate and measured response was necessary to make up fo the tragedy. So we opened a 2016 Granato. Aaaaaand, this was an absolute show-stopper for everyone who got to try it. Bright red fruit, minerals, and sex. Drink now with patience (last glass was best) or hold out for more. — 7 years ago

Jeff Christner

9.0

Lush and round. Very pleasing. — 10 years ago

Young Bock Lee

9.8

intense mineral note comes up fist, toasty, brioche, yellow flower, apricot on the nose. med body, med p acid, med p intensity, tight bubbles, touch of sweetness, these sweetness are well mingled with dry minerality and structure of chardonnay. delicious italian champagne. Drunk with pizza with lot of veg(asparagus, mushroom, saluumi)... — 10 years ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Having some previous experience with this wine, I knew it was going to need some significant air so I opened the night before and Audouzed until just before our dinner of Cacciucco (a traditional Tuscan seafood stew). So we’re talking close to 20 hours and I think that was just about perfect.

The 2018 “Harenae” pours a deep ruby color with a translucent core. No signs of sediment. Medium viscosity and just a slight staining of the tears. On the nose, well…I’m already swooning. The freshest Morello cherries with a mix of Tuscan herbs, black tea and dry earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with firm tannins and quite a stiff spine of acidity too. Again, the sour cherry fruit is predominate but it’s so perfectly ripened. There’s other crunchy red fruits too: some cranberry and some pomegranate along with some limestone minerals. The finish lingers for well over a minute.

It’s been 15 months since my last note on the 2018 “Harenae” and I find myself just as smitten as I was in late 2020. I’m captivated by its energy and purity of expression. Evolution has been slow and considering the structure, I fully expect this to be drinking well for at least another 8-10 years. But the freshness is really quite something to behold so I have to recommend getting that experience for those who are curious. Just give it plenty of air before you settle down with it. For what it’s worth, we drank this alongside the 2015 Paolo Bea “Santa Chiara” and both were a lovely accompaniment to the Cacciucco. — 4 years ago

Bryan Flewelling

9.3

It’s like drinking the generational wisdom wrought by Bea’s family in liquid form. It’s a grace to have had people who held onto tradition in the face of progress. They conserved rather than progressed, and I’m happy they didn’t bend with the times. Markedly more tannic than the Santa Chiara and the same flavors dominate, but are deeper. — 9 years ago

Nano Malefico

9.5

Capo Santa Chiara per festeggiare il 4 Luglio — 13 years ago