1982 vintage. Great, upper shoulder fill. Long, aging cork fully saturated but removed with a Durand. Splintered a little upon removal. Decanted and threw less sed than expected. Decaying leather, cedar, hot gravel and lightly roasted button mushrooms in the nose. Light-medium/medium body. All this + some undying cherry and plum flavors mixed in amongst remaining tannins. More thrust and fruit than anticipated with expected structure firmly in place. Really beautiful specimen. Based on this bottle, can hold steady without dropoff for another 4-5 years. 1.12.24. — 8 months ago
I honestly don’t understand why people are hating on this wine. To me it does have an uncharacteristic blueberry/blackberry note. It’s has an earthy/cooked button mushrooms/Forrest floor thing going on as well. I think its great, so don’t listen to the haters! — 3 years ago
Glou glou but also polished. Not rough around the edges. Just a nice, fruit forward, easy drinking quaff. — 3 years ago
A Benjamin Button wine. When I opened it last night, it initially was quite disappointing. Old, browning color, nose showing little fruit and mostly dried underbrush. But it began to perk up with an hour or so of air, so I saved the rest for tonight. And it’s pretty nice tonight! Strangely, the color has gotten more youthful looking. The nose shows dark macerated cherry with a significant iron note to the earthiness. A lifted menthol/ camphor thing. In the mouth, it’s got a nice freshness, and hits more like a Chianti Classico Riserva from Castelnuovo Berardenga than a typical Brunello. Dark cherry and lots of savory minerality. A little, nice bitter note in the close. Not super deep or lengthy, but a tasty wine nonetheless. Be sure to decant and give this wine lots of air. — 6 months ago
“Remarkable when good. Almost always rustic. Let’s see how the bottle opens up tonight.”
DC’s comment pretty much sums up my somewhat limited experience with the wines of Lorenzo Accomasso, and evidently this bottle has done little to change our opinion. While it was certainly the most complex number of the night as it was constantly evolving with air, the level of volatile acidity in the 13’ Riserva Rocche dell’Annunziata was really testing my limits. Having said that, if my more extensive experience with the wines of Musar is of any relevance, this is bound to do a Benjamin Button and freshen up with another decade in the cellar.
Opened some 5 hours before our tasting session, it was all dark and brooding in the first pour. Plums, mocha, spiced meat, and leather aromas, all enveloped in a rather pesky sheen of acetone. Subsequent pours seemed to bring more elegance with aromas of dark red cherries, licorice, dusty rose petals, and even hints of iodine developing. The acetone note was somewhat tamer later in the night, though still very much discernible. The palate mirrors the nose - all dark fruits, leather, tar, sweet spices, and a touch of VA warmth at the start; more red-fruits, licorice, and heaps of black tea by the end of the night. Concentrated and beautifully textured, with fine yet austere tannins. Overall, a bottle I’m grateful to drink and ponder, but best to keep others under locks for another decade. — a year ago
Toronto Wine Tasting #thewinewasgood — 7 months ago
Broadening my horizons and so very glad I did. Echos of burgundy but all it’s own at the same time. A wine that makes you pause and think. — 7 months ago
A stained cork from bottom to top gave me pause. Phew! All good. Dusty notes dominate early on with stewed plumbs and Aussie scrub (underbrush) not far behind. Let’s see where we are in an hour. Sixty minutes on firmly delivers with a weighty 65% Cab Sauv with, dare I say it, a slight nod to Napa. Chewy tannins with continuous dust rounds it all out. I like this wine. As to down the road…I think we’ve arrived au point. — 2 years ago
This was good but not great, just a couple things that weren’t there. Great raspberry-cherry nose. Wonderful as it hits the pallet and a great finish. But, had a bit of an acid bite in the middle, just a bit, but enough that it gave me pause and then made me search for the finish, which was great. — 3 years ago
Matt Perlman
Transcendent experience—waves of honey, apricot, salted caramel, white button mushroom, waxy and viscous without being at all ponderous. Remarkably fresh for its age — 2 months ago