Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

All of the grapes from the vineyards owned by the Latour family are vinified and aged in the cuverie of Château Corton Grancey in Aloxe-Corton. The winery was the first purpose-built cuverie in France and remains the oldest still-functioning. Medium pale lemon color with aromas of stone fruits with a slight nutty floral character. On the palate flavors of peach and melon with lemon citrus and savory notes. Medium+ finish, lively acidity, ending with fruit, toasty oak and minerality. Nice! — 12 days ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.4

Just love this wine! Nice blend of grapes from the Bierzo Valley, biodynamic. Deep Ruby with loads of Berry fruits aromas adding some sweet floral spice and flinty notes. On the palate flavors of cherry, raspberry, and strawberry with a juicy mineral edge. Well balanced and integrated with fine chalky tannins, lively acidity and a long finish ending with fruit and spicy notes. Tremendous value for such a complex wine. — 3 months ago

Doug Powers

9.1

I bought and drank a fair amount of Allegrini Palazzo Della Torre back in the late 1990s, and always enjoyed them. First time in the past 20 years, this seems a little softer and polished, a little lower ABV (13.5 vs. 14+ in earlier vintages), this is vinified using conventional fermentation as well as some ripasso fermentation (think Amarone drying grapes on straw mats), and has some very nice complexity and length, very nice!! — 5 months ago

with Jim

Adam Gäfvert

9.3

Medium bodied, Dark berries, orange peal, violet, roasted coffee beans, forest floor. If you like your cabs very smooth with not much tannins left, this is at its peak. Personally I wouldn’t mind a bit more tannins structure. Drink now. — 2 years ago

Jay Kline

9.4

This is my 3000th tasting note on Delectable so I suppose I should celebrate by opening something fun. Flaccianello? Ovviamente!

While it’s labeled an IGT and colloquially considered a Super Tuscan, Flaccianello delle Pieve could legally be labeled as a Chianti Classico Riserva. However, Giovanni Manetti of Azienda Agricola Fontodi opts not to do so (despite the fact that he’s the current Chairman of the Conzorsio). The name, “Flaccianello delle Pieve” comes from the eponymous single-vineyard; the original source of grapes. However, around the turn of the millennium, Flaccianello became a blend of Fontodi’s best fruit throughout the estate. Over all the years, despite the changes in fruit source and aging regimen, Flaccianello remains 100% Sangiovese and 100% Panzano in Chianti.

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of a couple of hours. The 2011 pours a deep, translucent garnet with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of ripe and dried Morello cherry, raspberries, red flowers, leather, mushrooms, cigar box, menthol, organic earth and wonderful fine baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acidity. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long, delicious and warming as the alcohol is pretty elevated. But whoa…what a beauty.

Okay, yeah…this is a modern take on Chianti Classico but my goodness, this is undeniably delicious and unabashedly Italian. Back in 2011, Flaccianello was aged in a combination of barriques from Troncais and Allier, all 100% new; an era that was arguably the most modern for this wine. Over the last 10 or so years however, there has been a shift towards less time in new barrique and large casks have now been introduced for the last six months of cellar aging. While I look forward to trying some of these more contemporary examples, I am very impressed with this 2011 and expect it will continue to show well through 2035. — 2 months ago

carmen

10

omg. what a fun little glass! it’s very tannic even grainy. it’s lush with red fruit - cherry, raspberry, strawberry. it’s not a piquette - it’s 50% riesling / 50% carnigan grapes.

i had with steamed pork bao at maketto. great pairing. — 6 months ago

Stuart Peisner

9.0

This is one of those wines your gonna love it or not. Great fruit in middle and finish. This blend has a lot of different grapes. I think it’s a very good wine. — 2 years ago

"Odedi"

9.0

Pale lemon in color with a light golden hue.

Ripe citrus fruits on the nose with earth and spices.

Medium bodied with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with mild complexity.

Showing apples, ripe citrus fruits, apples, earth, herbs and vegetables.

This 4 year old is drinking very fresh right out of the bottle. Soft, smooth and elegant.

Needs a few years in the bottle to mature properly, and will continue to age nicely in the next 10 to 15 years.

Easy drinking and good by itself or with food, and gets more complex as it opens up.

A good quality wine, but I expected a little more at this price point.

A great sipping wine, balanced and elegant.

I paired it with cheeses and crackers.

Trebbiano grapes were aged in used large oak barrels for 12 months.

12.5% alcohol by volume.

90 points.

$150. — 3 months ago

Victor Hsu

9.1

This IS Santa Barbara County Pinot! First taste was a big burst of fruit. Not too sweet, not simple and unsophisticated, not a jammy Zin bomb, mind you. Instead, more like a zing of bright, pure, winey fruit. Remarkable and memorable. We had the 2022 vintage in a magnum bottle so perhaps that helped preserve its freshness and purity. We enjoyed this Big Mama at the Palm Restaurant in downtown LA, celebrating my daughter Rachel’s graduation from UCLA Law School. Congratulations, Rachel! — 4 months ago

Willie Carter

9.2

Probably my favorite and, in my mind, the most consistent Spanish wine out there. A deep dark plum color in the glass. The nose absolutely shines with cedar and plenty of spice. There’s a bit of smoke here along with cherry cola and a little more spice. Dried herbs and chocolate round things out.

A preponderance of Tempranillo with a nice chunk of Garnacha in the blend. Obviously still so young but readily approachable and enjoyable now. The extended aging makes a world of difference with this wine vintage in and vintage out. Rich and full of personality, this is a beautiful wine that’s just going to continue to grow with age. — a year ago