Jay Kline

9.2

This bottle of 2010 Roberto Voerzio “Brunate” was generously provided by a friend who wanted to share this with me after service along with a few others from Tasting Group. Opened, splash decanted and consumed over three hours; served side-by-side with the 2010 Pecchenino “Le Coste”. The Voerzio “Brunate” was a relative hermit. Even after three hours in the decanter, it remained a bit of a wallflower while the Pecchenino was a whirling dervish on the dance floor. The classic structure of 2010 and the austerity of “Brunate” made for an impenetrable fortress, keeping the fruit under lock and key…and behind a moat and a drawbridge and stone walls with soldiers and trebuchets for that matter. Despite all of that, one does get the sense there is a deep core of high quality fruit recessed underneath the surface. It’s dark and mysterious…and simply hard to access at this moment in time. For what it’s worth, Voerzio’s holdings in “Brunate” come from the western portion of the MGA, on the La Morra side, right next to Oddero’s holdings. Frankly, this is going to need a long, long time in the cellar before it shows really well. If i had any in my cellar, I wouldn’t touch again until 2030. — 2 years ago

Adam Kincaid

9.1

This is a fun one for me. The winery sits on a limestone outcrop where Charlemagne had a large fortress. His warriors in the Roquetaillade were legendary hardos who famously ate sword tips in their salads. Hilarious!

This red blend is a highly extracted red that needs a lot more time in the bottle to mellow out, but drinks spectacularly once it relaxes. Briar and charred oak, blackberries and dark moody fruit.

The Roquetaillade warriors wouldn’t even need sword tips in this. — 3 years ago

with Jillian

Susan Dworkin

9.0

May 2020
Take out dinner from the Refectory
Mother's Day dinner with Emily and Georgie during Covid pandemic shelter in. David came to visit later that week. We had to wear masks during the visit. Best to be safe. — 4 years ago

Anthony De Blasi

9.2

Started of as a bar of steel, an armed fortress. Too tannic and closed. After a couple of hours the first lines of defense dropped and it started to reveal its red fruit as well as balsamic and menthol notes. Pencil shaving too. If you have any put them in a forgotten corner of your cellar as this upcoming star will need quite some time. — 5 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

Wonderful aromatics of ripe plum, spice, pepper, dried meat, liquorice and iron. The medium bodied palate reflects the complexity of the nose with savoury dried red and black fruits with spice. I love these cool climate Shirazes which have the spice pepper and liquorice yet are quite rich in intensity and remain medium bodied. The product of old vines planted in 1965 when Forest Hill was established and making it the oldest vineyard in the Great Southern, near the town of Denmark. I bought this as an Aged Release from the Cellar Door pre-Covid. These days it is difficult to enter fortress Western Australia. — 3 years ago

Eric Urbani

9.0

Well integrated. — 4 years ago

MICHAEL COOPER DipWSET

Owner TomeVinos wine shops, WSET Level 3, Blogger www.spanishwinesandmore.com, blog.tomevinos.com

9.0

Really ripe and rich. Too much me thinks. The freshness and crisp texture that I love in the #sangiovese grape has been lost in a blend with #cabernet and #merlot Oh yeah and then there’s the price! Completely too expensive, average price is about 120€ in Europe with no VAT included. #biondisanti #toscano #tuscany #italy Castello di Montepo is a Tuscan wine estate in the Scansano district of #Maremma Toscana, founded in the 1990s by Jacopo Biondi Santi of the famous Montalcino family.

The winery is housed in the castle Montepo itself, a single fortress building set on a rocky outcrop
In contrast to the Biondi Santi Brunello di Montalcino estate, where large Slavonian oak casks are used for maturing wines, the wines here are aged in French oak barrels. — 4 years ago

Josh Morgenthau

9.5

God. I loved when this was natural winemaking. Whatever Fred was doing in 2015, it was magic. I remember loving this bottle so much when I had it in 2017, I bought 3 to cellar, even though it was $50 and I didn’t know the producer and it was cab franc grown in sh-t terroir. And now I wish I’d bought a case. This has a vibrancy when you first smell it that’s indescribable. Even though it smells of manure and horse stable in a low key, cool way. When the roses and violets and berries hit, well damn. The fruit is so ripe, but cool. Completely generous but also still young, built like a fortress, and with the most ghostly pleasant tannins. The palate is so clean, sweet, cool and complex. Ethereal and transparent. What a joy! I will struggle to resist but I think i should wait 10 years to open the next of my last two bottles!

Glad I opened this for delectable post 1,000. — 3 years ago

Allyson O'Keefe

9.0

Machete and Team Fortress 2. Decent night. The last of my Christmas wine. …Gasoline, boysenberry, & blackberry on the nose. Sharp, almost tangy front. Notes of black tea & leather on the front. Plum, blackberry, & blueberry mid-palate. Tannic raspberry finish. Not quite as lush as other vintages. That tangy-ness sticks with you. Still beautiful, though. — 3 years ago

Ericsson

9.4

I’ve been after this bottle for about a year; a great friend’s recommendation planted the urge to search.

On the sight it is an inky dark color with a watery rim. On the nose I get black cherry with a hint of dark chocolate. On the pallet I get the dark fruits followed by rich earthy flavors. It is full bodied, high alcohol, with fortress like tanning structure and the finish goes on for several minutes (literally).

Blew my mind. You know how they say Cabernet Franc’s offspring are Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon? Well, this bottle holds that truth! 100% Cab Franc; the producer is certified biodynamic, unfiltered. 2011 vintage is drinking great right about now, could also be cellared for another ten years easily. — 5 years ago