Riserva Bramaterra Nebbiolo Blend

1990 | Red Blend
(60% Nebbiolo / 20% Croatina/ 10% Vespolina / 10% Uva Rara)
Tenuta Monolo (Umberto Gilodi); Riserva Piedmont; Bramaterra, Italy
(88-90; Drink 2010-2020)

1989 | Red Blend
(60% Nebbiolo / 20% Croatina/ 10% Vespolina / 10% Uva Rara)
Tenuta Monolo (Umberto Gilodi); Riserva Piedmont; Bramaterra, Italy
(90-92; Drink 2014-2024)

2002 | Red Blend
(60% Nebbiolo / 20% Croatina/ 10% Vespolina / 10% Uva Rara)
Tenuta Monolo (Umberto Gilodi); Riserva Piedmont; Bramaterra, Italy
(91-93; Drink 2020-2030)

2000 | Red Blend
(60% Nebbiolo / 20% Croatina/ 10% Vespolina / 10% Uva Rara)
Tenuta Monolo (Umberto Gilodi); Riserva Piedmont; Bramaterra, Italy
(91-93; Drink 2020-2028)

Far better than prior bottles of 2000 a year or so ago, I'm now convinced those earlier bottles were flawed in some fashion.

Just perfect. No formal notes.

Very good but showing very young. Tobacco, red cherries, spice and so complex but also showing young. Juicy and clean. Tannins are sandy. Needs air.

Glorious nose of fresh woodshop shavings, dried cherry and dried roses plus smoke and wet earth. Also tree bark. The full mature nebbiolo symphony in effect. Cigar, tobacco, and so much more. This is singing. Some fresh mid season cherries are emerging with some coaxing. Gorgeous loamy minerality. What a nose. 9.5 nose for now. Juicy palate with high acidity and. blend of early season and sour cherries. Stunning purity and finesse. This is so so classy. Now with air the nose is getting layered and more complex. Tbis is a 9.6 now. Wow this is amazing. The finesse is top notch and the fruit is youthening up as it airs. Benjamin Button wine! Velvety tannins and sweet and sour cherry fruit. Complexity explosion on the finish. Simply stunning. After 24 hours the nose is riper but also has complex tertiary aromas that are very floral and loamy. Really so clear and vivid. So juicy and clean and wonderful finesse and unreal fruit. Maybe the best fruit out of all of these vintages. 9.5 to 9.6 overnight.

Now we’re talking—the acid hound’s (me) question answered of how much air/ decant does an ‘89 wine need? A lot, as in multiple hours. When the unfurling begins, this is a quiet, contemplative Nebbiolo blend with those rose petal & violet notes vibrating but at a lower ebb, like a star. It’s a very pretty star too, but you really need a dark sky to truly appreciate it. All kinds of tertiary things going on in background too (?), like dried porcini & beef jerky. Tasted over 5 days, with a half bottle used to store it.

Nose is smokey with charcoal, dried cherry, cuban tobacco, spices and florals. Very subdued but expressive at the same time. Needs air as these all do. Lovely wet earth and tree bark. Wonderful density on the aromas and so compact. Killer palate. Loads of concentrated ripe cherries and so silky with velvety sweet tannins. This is so good and maybe the juiciest one i’ve had yet. It’s at that stage of youthful and aged and this has just insane balance and purity. Really terrific acids and length here. The finish is super long and just lingers so much. Awesome and will only improve with air and age. A stunner. Now with air nose is getting honeyed and has cherries galore. Lovely wood shavings as well. Wow is this juicy and so high toned. It’s insane how the fruit is still basically primary. Wow what a wine. So good. This has 25 years ahead of it. Easy. Nose now developing macerated late season cherries. Amazing airy, salty sea air now. Just so complex and has so much aromatic depth. Really elegant and such ripe and juicy tannins. Now many hours into it the elegant is off the charts. A stunning Bramaterra. Really wonderful and expressive fruit.

Nose has not changed much overnight. Maybe more mushroomy. Palate is stunningly elegant and has the. best finesse of any Alto P wine i’ve ever had. 9.6.

A mixed bag, possibly due to a semi poor ( crumbly) cork. Aged Nebbiolo can sometimes feel to me like Ms Haversham’s preserved room-fascinating how some of it’s spirit has been kept alive, but ultimately too musty to enjoy. Let’s see how next bottle fares.