5/7/2024 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

Telltale apple sauce, ginger, honey and quinine. Very tangy with nice acidic lift. Although I like this wine, not sure if it will be a 10-12 year vintage. Seems to lack a bit of character older Bourg have shown .

4/27/2024 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

This is an absolute masterpiece of a wine. Hot vintage in Oregon with lots of wines showing pruney notes for a long time and this wine astounds. Relatively clean for a Cameron wine. Showing a touch of effervescence and zingy acidity, red raspberry fruit and autumnal bitter tea, Just a delight. Well stored bottles have some time to drink up but why wait ?

4/13/2024 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

Cork slipped out quite easily with my Durand and initial thoughts were negative. But then a quick sniff and we have a very correct wine. Extremely tight bottle with superb structure and class. Highly recommend decanting and giving plenty of air. Sweet fruit, fairly linear even with air, tannins, acid and length abound. Just a beautiful wine and if this bottle is any barometer of others, then wait if you have more

1/22/2024 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

About 3 hours in a decanter really helped this wine show a very complete and elegant side of nebbiolo. Crunchy fruit, depth, pure and with fairly resolved tannins. Most of my 2016's are going to continue sleeping but this one is ready to go in my opinion. Lovely stuff

12/23/2023 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

Youthful. Bright. Fresh best one I have had and just a hoot at a little blinder out in east cleveland. I would considr this vintage better than the 2005 from which I have had a few bottles over the years. classic cedar and tobacco with pure frutis and no overt oak at all In a great place but this bottle is going nowhere at this pace.

9/14/2023 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

Opened for our tasting group along with 3 other 1999 Barbaresco Rabaja and Rio Sordo from the Produttori along with the Cigliuti Serraboella.
I only gave the wines 90 minutes to breathe and they clearly needed more This was the lightest of the 4 but over the course of many hours leftover after the tasting this wine shined. Both the Pora and Rabaja seemed to ebb and flow I guess as the tannins receded. All the wines changed pretty drastically with air. The Rio Sordo faded and was entirely the most open and fleshy It was my least favorite The group overwhelmingly loved the Cigliutti the best Great tasting and good wines.
I knew that air was crucial but this was a hastily arranged afternoon tasting. All in all the Pora was gorgeous and beautifully showed fruit acid tannin. As mentioned austere at first but slowly showed it’s stiff.
Bought on release.

4/14/2023 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

Drink up. I concur with the previous posting from a couple years ago … dark, moderately interesting , correct varietal components but asking too much at 17 years old. a California / modern palate might find this as compatible We enjoyed the bottle but I’ve had lovelier aged examples of this. 1998 was crazy good at 17 years old

3/14/2023 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

Tasted alongside a '99 Brezza Bricco Sarmassa. This was in fine shape with a lighter color, more elegant fruit and a fantastic saline quality on the finish. This was fantastic from the get go and developed into a very compact and linear wine. A small touch of wood in the mid palate. Still many years left to go on this bottle if I had the same one in my cellar, I would try again in 3 years.

12/22/2022 - ciaovito Does not like this wine:

Brett bomb. With time a little of this funk dissipated but the wine never became pleasurable. There seemed like good acidity and fruit under this veil of stink ... have lots of costanti in the cellar hope they-re better

6/4/2022 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

Last bottle from this vintage and sadly the 2021 might not make it to this market...this wine has never been less than stellar in any vintage and this bottle sings with purity and a striking fruit/acid combo of peaches, apricots, talc, geraniums and much more. complex and still strong on day3 ... just love the serious vibe of this wine and it never disappoints. drink/hold until you need some whammy in your day

6/3/2022 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

very good and correct. not a generous fruit yet, but fruit abounds and tannins persist especially in the front teeth. fennel, tar, leathery damson plum and a coolness in the drying finish are harbingers of future pleasure. will revisit tomorrow. structured and light in color. needs 2-3 years more agree completely about the short finish which will ultimately reveal this wine as mere very, very good in comparison to other Vajra bottlings... Bricco delle Viole and Ravera being my favorites

3/21/2022 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

What a super showing this bottle was tonight. 4th of a case. Very difficult vintage . Producers spent time lining up sugar to add to the wines. That seems unfathomable now, but it is the truth. Very sublime and well made. The tannins long gone. Light color, 13.2 abv. sleek, balanced with sneaky power. its weightless texture really stands out for me the wine put on some weight and color after a couple hours and the fruit took on a sweetness of merinque with cranberry and pomegranate wow kinda blows my mind how good this is for 2011

2/27/2022 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

PnP, beautiful nose of classic, cool fruit, roses, fennel and tar. Tension, acidity, tannins are all in balance with fruit buffering the mid palate. Loads of pleasure for a wine in an "off" year. I will check back in the fall to see where this has been going. No hurt to try if you have several.

2/15/2022 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

As good as it gets really in chardonnay from Oregon. What a great bottle. As mentioned previously, there have been some oxidized examples as I had one that was flat and blowsy a couple years ago... but this one is a stiunner. Old world. Fantastic length and a middle palate of energy and balance. Nothing over the top here. Dynamic and delicious. Got one more for a future meal.

1/25/2022 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

What a surprise to find this in my cellar Not expecting much from a wine is a great approach generally and this bottle moved the needle. Not the definition of complexity but it has beautiful fruit, green pepper, spice and a fresh earthy texture Very enjoyable and I can’t remember what this cost but it couldn’t be more than 15 dollars. Home Run !

1/24/2022 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

PnP. Fantastically pure nebbiolo. Vibrant and forceful. Quintessential aromas of tar, licorice, cherries, cinnamon and spice that adds a load of complexity and a strong tannic spine which promises continued development. Perhaps I drank this too early but it reveals the magic of the grape in any ways. I was prompted into the 2011 after drinking the 2010 on Friday. Both wines are showing the same in flavor profiles but I think the 2011 is a more age worthy vintage in Barbaresco generally.

1/16/2022 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

PnP. Great nose. Raspberries. Kirsch. Grenache aromatics that began tight but slowly developed into a very good wine A firm line of Mourvedre never softened up for me and this shows a long life for this wine. Wait 3-5 years for further improvements Drinkable now if you have a few.

1/15/2022 - ciaovito Does not like this wine:

corked badly

12/20/2021 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

This is just fantastic, old school, Chateauneuf... stoney and bloody fruity for miles and a dry crisp long finish I am really happy with this bottle and paired with fatty copa salami and some tomato foccacia it was super
Wine continues to unravel in glass way way better than the browns are playing right now..... Great tailgate wine on a cold wet monday

11/26/2021 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

Extremely tight. Maybe a mistake to open but have wanted to try this since release and it was Thanksgiving. Just a linear beast of a wine with strong chardonnay character and acidity that needs some time to let the bottle soften and meld. My god... this is going to be great in 4-5 years and beyond in my book. HOLD

11/19/2021 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

Firm and fairly unyielding in a good way. Just lovely structure with a dark, brooding core of acids and fruits that seem too young right now. A beautiful drink. Fantastic Chianti. Pure and righteous keep or hold very very good with enough air this is impeccable Total wine Congratulations Marco

11/17/2021 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

Very tight and measured for 60 minutes.. this slowly relinquished it’s grip and beautiful flavors emerged. Structure and tannin in spades. Very atypical for the vintage which produced some warm grapes. No rush to open and drink . It’s bound solid and ready for glory.

11/14/2021 - ciaovito wrote:

Lets face it...this is not a great wine. Is it any good? Not sure yet. Reading thru previous notes of this wine before I opened this I told myself "Can it be that bad"? It kinda is pretty bad. The overt sulfur is apparent immediately. What the hell have they done to this wine? It has a fairly tannic backbone and there is a bit of fruit and I am all of 5 minutes into this wine and will be patient and re-cork to taste tomorrow. Not very optimistic but hell crazier things have happened

Stop the presses! Crzy good! F$ck this is good Dry Long Extremely Freisa Earthy Savory Could go on and on F**K me serious juice

11/14/2021 - ciaovito wrote:

Another beautiful bottle of Collier! My impressions are not very similar to some of these other tasting notes. Beeswax, lime peel, guava, stone fruits abound and I love this wine. Yes, of course, there is tons of acidity and I am an acid freek so this is not a hindrance to my palate. Day 2 much more open and ready to please. The fruit is a bit more round and the acid still present but aiding not abetting sell me all your bottles please
Onto Day 3. More electric than ever. The fruit is widening and fleshing out. There’s an oak thing, minimal, going on which just appeared. Nothing gone missing. I would give a good bottle another 3-5 years. 10 years sounds tight.

10/28/2021 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

PnP at a steakhouse... muted upon open but gained complexity and color with an hour of air. We concluded the wine firmed up a bit and the tannins became more apparent after an hour and a half. Could be the vintage and possibly picked early because of the heat but just guessing here. Very elegant for a 2000 Barolo with beautiful fruit and all the right stuff in place. Drink or hold

10/26/2021 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

Absolutely blown away by this bottle... have had 3 now since March '21 and 2 have been off the charts while the 3rd was all band aids. Tonight needed a long hang time in the decanter as it was very very funky on the opening. It gradually grew into a stunner with 4-5 hours in the decant. Cannot recommend trying this more. Incredibly complex and large. The tannins suggest more development but no reason not to pop this. Give it some air

10/21/2021 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

Very good wine that expresses the region well. Totally in agreement with the previous notes...if you can find this wine buy it and drink it. A roller coaster of flavors and textures that thrill

10/20/2021 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

Terrific and pure. Lovely nebbiolo nose leaning traditional. I think this has years ahead of it. Shut down on us after an hour open. I have one more and won't try for 3-5 years. 2010 has a lesser reputation in Barbaresco than Barolo but I haven't seen proof yet

10/6/2021 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

Stunning bottle of wine that kept getting better with air. Wish I had more. I love this winery. Under the radars. To seek out

10/3/2021 - ciaovito wrote:

Not exactly light on its feet. This bottle showed lots of dark, unfocused fruit with a heavy, syrupy finish. With some air this lightened up a bit but this is not what I want in a wine. Might be a tad off. Expected lots more from this producer.

8/30/2021 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

Pristine bottle. Surprisingly fresh and grippy. A wonderful showing tonight as the wine showed well upon opening and continued to impress for the entire time open No huge hurry but why wait Drink !

8/6/2021 - ciaovito Does not like this wine:

Heavy bottle...over the hill a bit. Tried to enjoy the wine but it just seemed tired and not giving much pleasure. The acids are long gone and virtually soft, uninteresting stuff ...drink up

7/31/2021 - ciaovito wrote:

Really moving into form here. Explosive aromatics. Dry extract. Tannins. Everything you’d expect and lots of Nebbiolo character. This will be really zooming in 3-5 years. Fantastic arc happening here Love all the details and character

7/4/2021 - ciaovito wrote:

Warm day of 84 farenheit … musky ripe fruit driven nose still has a solid tannic spine… drank with smoked New York beef … Very good.

6/10/2021 - ciaovito wrote:

This is really good. 2011 was a cool year in Oregon and if you have them in your cellar start drinking them. This wine was beautiful in the nose with wild cranberry and pepper scents. Drank over 3 hours. Screw cap. Great wine. Great winemaker.

4/26/2021 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

In a great place. Been drinking off a case of this since release. WOW. Just beautifully complex showing a very faint trace of horse saddle and acidity for days. Much pleasure. A lot of wine for the price. Year in and year out this is my best QPR along with Caprili for Brunello

4/19/2021 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

Restrained. Old World. Very enjoyable. A friend brought a bottle of this over to the house for an evening talk. Not a huge Walla Walla fan here but this was very good It didn’t hit me over the head with a barrique 2 x 4 and that was a good thing. I’ll be looking for more of this. Lots of pure fruit. Medium weight. Juicy and velvet.

4/13/2021 - ciaovito wrote:

Well maybe not the best choice for last bottle of the night... thought this might be big and flabby and boy was I wrong Just gorgeous and ready to start drinking if you have any left. It blew the 2006 Rancia away by a mile.

4/5/2021 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

Tight and ungiving for 30 minutes. Opens up slowly. Cherry jam, anise and spice. Sturdy profile. Needs more time to show its best but I’m enjoying this wine immensely. Everything is there for another 10 year run

2/23/2021 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

Utterly poignant wine devoid of any fruit but seemingly full of it. Restrained nose Nothing really suggesting greatness but this might be the best wine I’ve come across the last 6 months. This is just a wine of extreme purity without any liabilities. A cohesion of variables and textures that catch your attention on the back drop. It’s a beautifully aged wine that never wants attention but thrives in it anyway. Hard to express how great this is. I’ve recently had ‘05, ‘09, and ‘15. Been buying and drinking these since the 2001 vintage. Stupendous showing. Points ? All of them

2/10/2021 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

Magnum. 4 friends. Birthday dinner. Casual. Fried rice and Korean cut short ribs on the egg... just beautiful wine and ready to go. Mellow and singing with a quiet power. No reason to wait if you’re holding. I’ll start drinking up the 750’s Just sublime.

1/30/2021 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

Dusty but floral nose with decent intensity. Color is fading and this bottle is definitely in a secondary phase of evolution. Tastes old world, Burgundian, subtle and delicious. I love the fruit, compact delicate and in the background of a wine with great textural presence. I think this wine should be in the short term lineup if you have this cellared.

1/18/2021 - ciaovito wrote:

Didn't really like this on day 1. It was sweet, simple and very much showing a hazy, grenache character of slightly stew tomatoes. Day 2-better, had with fried rice which wasn't a great compliment but not bad. Today, Day 3... kinda what i wanted 2 days ago. Really has tightened up and become more serious. Bloody, garrigue, sage, black fruited, tannins that have emerged and at point. A finish that brings mouth watering acidity and extends the wine into a long finish. I wish I would have waited for 5 more years. Highly recommended with a lot of aeration and/or more time

12/8/2020 - ciaovito Likes this wine:

Tasted blind. Lots of oak notes for the first hour. Opened up beautifully and is obvious an excellently made wine. Very nice driving acidity that keeps the tannins in check. Could not get over that my first guess was Rioja. Almost pickle like oakiness that just barely receded as it was unwinding. Check back in 5-7 years. I really liked it by the end of the bottle, but that oak???

12/4/2020 - ciaovito wrote:

Very correct chablis showing nice minerality, salinity, sea breezes and a developed frame. Considering the vintage (warm) and price (22) this is a good weekday white wine for a nice al fresco dinner

10/25/2020 - ciaovito wrote:

Just a great wine. Beautiful acidity. Great fruit. leather tannins in check as it opens up, it just unwinds beautifully with a tight finish that really keeps the fruit in check. Love this

10/23/2020 - ciaovito wrote:

Ok ... haven't really heard much good about the 96's opening up but what the hell, I tried one. Really shut down upon opening and took a good 2 hours to shake off the rust and when it did, BOOM Loved it
Vanatou isnt the most traditional estate, but I have had a considerable number of Barbaresco from 97,98,99 vintages. Classic showing and very aromatic after it has opened up. The acidity is quite nice and the tannins are fine Like this and if you want points=93+

10/10/2020 - ciaovito wrote:

Very bright. Smokey. Zippy. Fruity nose and palate but with a nice, mineral type finish. Does wet cement sound bad? I don’t want it too. This is great for 17 retail. There’s a lot of wine here Just getting going and it’s a wonderful start. First time with this winery and I don’t know anything about them.

10/7/2020 - ciaovito wrote:

Very nice. Subdued beginning. Potential. Starts reaching a very nice balance Classy. Elegant but still a touch fleshy. But jeezus that’s nitpicking. The aromatics are on point and for 40 dollars a steal. Evolves

9/20/2020 - ciaovito wrote:

I just had to open one of these before they shut down...not disappointed! This is so classy and elegant and light with fairy dust. The wine bends effortlessly in the mouth with primary textures that are lifted by the most amazing sweet fruit. I hope I am alive in 15 years to try this again. If you have one now, just open one. Straight ass stone killer