March 17, 2024 - Not bad - the nose is the star - mint, alpine, a bit of tar, etc. - fruit is fading while plenty of acidity- borders on tart - definitely needs some rich food to match. Drink up
March 17, 2024 - corked. 3/4 of my bottles ended up this way.
February 25, 2024 - Agree with other notes. It has some aged Nebbiolo character but gives the impression of tiring and fading. Somewhat thin on the palate with tart acidity..
January 14, 2024 - On my third of four bottles purchased, I've finally found one that's rather good! I suppose the first two were flawed.
For a 14-year old wine, this has some gentle secondary aromas of cedar, spices, and a little tar.
On the palate there's more of the same - cedar, graphite, some tar, and even a bit of fruit left. The finish is a bit drying, and lasts about 10-15 seconds. Overall impression is of a wine that is fading but still has some spark left.
This has ended up being an enjoyable bottle. Even so, I still maintain that the value just isn't there - for around $45, I can find better and more-reliable bottles with ease.
October 17, 2023 - This tastes past its prime. Unyielding nose, a bit of a vinegar-y note on the palate that didn't resolve with time in the glass. Maybe a bad bottle? I didn't much care for the first bottle of this I had last year either, but it's hard to know for sure.
December 13, 2022 - Drinkable but unremarkable. The nose was muted. The palate was soft, with leather and red fruit notes. The finish was rather short.
Popped and poured, and consumed over a few hours. Maybe next time I'll decant more and see if that improves things.
October 20, 2022 - Decanted three hours. Pure spring water. Pine, cherry liqueur, wood smoke, earth. Hint of cinnamon spice on the nose. Elegant and sappy, great concentration. Soulful wine.
December 29, 2021 - Med garnet. Pronounced. Med+ tannin, silky. High acidity. Low alcohol. A gem of a wine with so much unexpected youth. Alpine, mineral and earthy style. Rose, red cherry, raspberry, dried herbs, medicinal. Eucalyptus, wet leaves , forest floor. Vanilla, coffee, leather, tobacco. Long tangy, juicy bloody orange finish.
Complex. Outstanding. Open 2 hours before.
NB:
Nebbiolo 70%, Vespolina 20%, Uva rara aka Bonarda Novarese 10%.
Maturation: 3 years in oak barrels + 1 year in bottle.
The vineyards are surrounded by forest woods of Natural Park of Monte Fenera and located in “valloni” (big valleys), which are steep and difficult to work at 500meters asl.
BOCA sub soil, is composed of pure solid porphyry, a type of iron rich granite that generates Nebbiolo driven wines with a well known "swampy", mineral/rocky and bloody character.
Boca is a DOC area for red wine in the Italian region of Piedmont. The zone includes in its entirety the eponymous municipality of Boca, as well as parts of Cavallirio, Grignasco, Maggiora and Prato Sesia on the left bank of the Sesia River in the province of Novara. If the grapes come from classified vineyards, Vigna can be indicated followed by the name of the vineyard. The wine is blended from Spanna = Nebbiolo (70-90%), Vespolina and/or Bonarda Novarese = Uva Rara (10-30%) There is also a Riserva with a higher alcohol content.
ON THE LABEL THE VERY RARE BLACK SWAN, LOCAL TO THIS AREA, IS PORTRAYED ABOVE THE “VALLONI”.
January 22, 2021 - Beginning maturity. Delicate nose opening up after a while, lovely violets and cranberries. Medium(+) acidity, medium(+) crushed tannins, medium body, good length. Slender, finely textured and complex. Beautiful elegance.
70% nebbiolo, 20% vespolina, 10% uva rara.
November 17, 2019 - Showing quite well right now. Everything started to come together at the 4-5hr mark. Huge nose of rose petals and berries. On the palate some red berries, spice and beautiful tannins that give way to a very long finish. For me the highlight here is the freshness and acid.
70%. Nebbiolo, 20% Vespolina & 10% Uva rara. No harm to open now if you have enough to spare