Was inspired to open this due to a recent Sagrantino post on WB. Recent CT TNs suspect EOL, holdings (somewhat) suggest this may not be the case. Let's take the Pepsi Challenge... Opened and let bottle decant for about an hour+ to start. It starts scary, nose of heavy figs and overdone. Gave it more time, why not?! That blows off actually. Do not be lazy like me and use the bottle; decant in a wide base vessel as the glass I poured in and left alone evolved amazingly to real fruit emerging with tart (VA on after-thought) black cherries, leather, earthiness, hints of black tea. Moving on... the front is so different than what I expected. Not tart at all as this maybe the most well integrated end-to-end sip I've had in a decade, maybe more. Mature dark cherry and plums dancing with dusty/musty earthy forest floor, kissed w/vanilla and cocoa dust, and an all spice/nutmeg kinda splash. Middle gives way to a kick of acidity and some tart, faded; it tried. The back is a whole thing. All the front coming back to the party on a velvet carpet of tannins and earthiness fading to black tea and blackberry, late to the party. I've not seen something like this ever and it was a complete surprise and fortunate at that. Be patient with this yet also don't be shocked at how fast it can shift lanes on fruit, earth, tertiary nuances. The middle acidity throttles a bit up and down over time based on what's happening around it. Some of this is the sediment that is creeping in more on the later glasses, some not. All in all, wow, I don't put numbers on wine but this would be material. Was a "gift" in a way. I gave a friend a well kept '43 German Riesling for his Dad's BD; he insisted I take this. Good karma comes around. Right now, I just hope he and his Dad felt as much joy as I just did. Edit: Mine is No. 1322
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Frankly disappointing! It tasted tired, unbalanced and disjointed... slightly excessive alcohol, not much of the structure expected and just short on interest and complexity. Certainly not worth the price...
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Double blind. Mature aromas that are very madeira like with dried spice box and nuttiness. Good richness of sweet fruit that is now full dry. Interesting as a curiosity but not particularly enjoyable.
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Double Blind Virtual tasting (Chicagoland IL): An eccentric wine that I can easily understand both loving and hating. Old school character throughout with very mature red cherry with a tart, vinegary character that is bright but ultra tart. Meaty and earthy and very complex, but lacking brightness that many of us want in a great wine.
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I've had this wine a number of times over the years, but this is surely the best. I had been a bit worried about an overabundance of fig flavor, but this opened after a short decant as a large and vibrant bottle of exquisite red fruited wine, some element of darker fig like flavors but just the combination perfect balance of structural elements make this a great wine. By far the most sediment I've ever seen in a wine but not surprised. Not tired in any way. Drink now and enjoy.
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Lovely wine, seems like it's on a nice, solid plateau. For as nice as it was, and it was, it held onto its character, I'm not sure it was better than at, say, 12-15 yrs old. All this to say, It's aged nicely, but I think I may actually prefer them with a little more flesh. I can't say it has blossomed or transformed even if it has made it to a stately maturity.
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When pulling the cork, I was worried getting stewed initially on the nose. That stayed for a bit, but it was nothing like that on the palate, more red fruited and immediately accessible than I expected. Tannins completely soft and integrated, felt plush in the mouth. I liked it quite a bit especially when the stewed nose blew off. Second half of the bottle was really nice the next night also. A little more earthiness came through in the finish. Kevinacohn's reviews were right on the money about giving it plenty of air. Drink now or hold for several years.
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Every time I have this wine I'm blown away by what a great winemaker Paola Bea is. The wine is just beautiful, rich and complex, and unique to Bea and Umbria. Everything you could want from a wine.
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'inoteca Last Sip, Take 2 ('inoteca, New York, NY): It's worth my writing another tasting note for this wine to emphasize just how much it developed after two more days. More refined and less intense prune qualities. Now with four days of exposure to air, this has become at once in your face and subtle. And that's really Bea in a nutshell: if you're patient, the wines will show themselves to be enigmatic and intensely alluring. If you think your bottle is cooked, give it time to come around. Rated 2 on a scale of -1 to 3.
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'inoteca Last Sip ('inoteca, New York, NY): Poured by the glass from a bottle that someone ordered the previous day and thought was cooked. Their mistake (not flawed at all) and my gain. Tawny edges. A savory nose with prunes, raisins, hints of game, and leather. Nowhere near as herbaceous as the 2001, which I tasted a few weeks earlier. The concentration of flavors is intense, like Bea's Passito but without the sweetness. Will benefit from more time. Rated 2 on a scale of -1 to 3.
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Decanted 1 hour. Could have used more decanting time as it took another hour to begin to blossom. Gorgeous color, pure and earthy palate with a lengthy finish. A wine with soul!
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Noticeable bricking at the rim, the wine is surprisingly transparent (some suspended sediment visible despite the bottle standing upright for a week in the cellar. Faintly sweet, smell (raisins, port). On the palate lots of sweet fig (Fig Newton even), aged beef/blood, iron and a hint of allspice and leather. Finish is slightly rainey/figgy and sweet. Fully resolved tannin, lots of secondary character. Odd wine, I can see many calling it "flawed" or "oxidized", but it has a lot of character and strikes me as surprisingly similar to the Cannonau wines of Dettori. For me a wine of contemplation, but not for everyone....
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Bea Sagrantino had had consistent problems. Half of of the case has gone bad.. I can see from the comments on this wine even in later vintages, several people have had the same problem. It is obvious they have quality control problems. Stay away from this wine unless you want your wine to turn to vinegar
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As always, I'm a little bit of two minds on this one. The obvious initial reaction is that it is "stewey", cloudy, funky, murky and has some VA. Ultimately, the complexity and uniqueness of the flavors, together with the way it changes in the glass over time, make me a fan. Some of the flavors are too rich, gamey, and "dead meaty", with lots of iron and iodine. Definitely a wine of contemplation, although it would pair well with lamb shank.
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Dark garnet. Nose reminds of overripe fruit, underbrush, cigar box, incense. Moth is fresher, with mature dark cherry and a lively freshness. Very long finish.
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Developing, with lots of fruit left. Hugely ripe and sweet, with figgy ripeness and almost a Port impression on the palate. Enough volatile acidity (acetone) to diminish my appreciation of the wine. Really, just too big, ripe, and figgy-sweet for my taste. Needed a serious food companion; a friend loved it with his boar ragu, and less so without. Personally, the '05 Veo from young vines sagrantino is more my style, or even the San Valentino wines.
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Inscrutable initially. David insisted this needed air, so I returned to it after close to an hour in the decanter and found this had transformed. Amazing scent combining all sorts of red fruited and floral aromas with orange peel, leather, spices and figs. Very rich in the mouth, the flavours are almost a little port-like in their sweetness - but this feels so polished and elegant with a sense of lightness and grace, astonishing.
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Vini Rossi-L'Ultimo Piano (Asti Trattoria): The favorite sagrantino of one group, the least favorite of another. The fans: red brown hue – slightly orange rim variation, dried and concentrated baked fruits, cherry, raspberry, cranberry. Very rich, firm tannin, mouth filling fruit character, very persistent finish, great length (thank you, Bill of Mandola Wines). One taster noted it had a tawny-like character, with dark chocolate, dried fruits, figs, dried herbs, and, again, a long finish. Another thought of cherry brandy. You liked this wine a lot, or didn"t. The didn'ts: nasty nose, ethyl acetate, VA, stewed fruit.....dumped out. Sounds almost like port....you like it or don't. I've had numerous bottles of this wine in this vintage, and for those I drank it with, it was typically a tasty revelation, and had much more impact than an Arnaldo Caprai introduction. I think some of the Bea detractors enjoyed the dry character of the other sagrantinos in this flight, and this was rather like having a recioto among several valpolicellas........ Paolo Bea is a controversial one.
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Then to pair with the main course, four distinctive reds that were paired with Osso Bucco. A 1999 Paolo Bea Sagrantino de Montefalco Secco was opened up 3 hours before dinner, which helped to blow off some of the volatile acidity it showed. While this and other Bea wines are reported to take years to come around, this has not been my impression from tasting this one, the 1999, and a 2001 last summer. Who is to say what maturity is, but certainly this was showing secondary flavors that seemed to literally dance on the palate, with lush port-like fruit that exploded on the palate as inner mouth perfume. We had some discussion about how to describe this wine, with Steve suggesting the terms “porty and raisiny”, while others of us holding out for the distinction between these two. I guess this was a big one in its own way, but I was struck by how light it was on its feet, like Port without the high alcohol and sheer density, an acrobatic version of Pegau’s Cuvee da Capo. Certainly a highly original wine by probably anybody’s standards.
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This is the last of 6 bottles we brought back from a 2003 trip to Italy. We paired it with homemade fettucini and veal/porcini meatballs in tomato sauce. It was the hit of the evening. Incredibly fruit forward, well balanced, beautiful/brilliant red, smooth velvety finish. There was a light tar aroma at first, but dissipated with food pairing. Definitely decant, there was a lot of sediment and even a solid 'skin' of solids in the filter. It is definitely ready to drink now, I'm glad we didn't wait any longer. It made us pull up the photos and share the trip with our dinner guests.
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Dark and murky color. Potent nose of beef blood, leathers, sweet dark fruits and ether. Rather full-bodied with good richness of black rasberry fruit along with notes of tar, asphalt and hot violets. Finishes high in alcohol with substantial rustic tannins. I liked this much better young as it has now developed a confectionary sweetness and over-ripeness that becomes sickening after a glass or two. 84
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Intensely rich with ripe figs, dried cherries, mincemeat, blood, cloves and allspice....and the peculiar richness of iron-heavy foods.
Surprisingly sweet, with an almost amarone-like contrast between sweetness and more bitter and exotic flavors. This left me wondering if there could be residual sugar, though it seems unlikely... On day two, the sweetness had completely moved to the background, now just a hint or accent to an otherwise gorgeous wine. Based solely on this wine, and without tasting the '00 or '01 (both of which are resting in my cellar), I am skeptical that either of the other vintages can ever be as good as this....My guess is this is my favorite Bea vintage for this wine--it would just be hard to get it this right. (I do like the '01 version of the Riserva Pipparello better than the '99, though).
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Cloudy ruby color. Wild nose of black licorice, roasted expresso, camphor and sweet black prunes. A rustic wine with a thick texture, real black licorice flavors and a raspy finish. Stands up perfectly to barbequed beef and chicken kabobs. This is an authentic wine that's not for the faint of heart.
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This wine was a last minute substitution on a dinner party menu to pair with spiced short ribs. Originally was going to pair the dish with CDP. Between courses, I had an inspiration to pair this wine with the short ribs. It was unbelievable! The sweet tanins in this wine paired magnificantly with the spices (coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon). Wow! This wine always pleases and is meant to be paired with food, not consumed by itself. It is a powerhouse of fruit and sweet tanins and when I serve it, my friends fall in love with it.
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Eastman with Osso Buco. The usual Bea Sagrantino showing featuring highly concentrated sweet fruit, an element of VA that, for me at least, just add to "tone" and interest. Definitely a unique wine. Delicious drinking now, and suspect it will hold few years. Since first vintage was 1994, no long track record of evolution.
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Nose was initially closed, opened over time. Nose showed a lot of dusty rusticity, but with great unerlying power. Still shows very tannic on the palate, this is incredibly singular and individual... like nothing else I have tried to date.
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Very intense but balanced black cherry, licorice and tannic structure. Long fruity finish with a bit of a bite on the back end just to remind you that it's way too young. But boy is it good.
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8/18/2023 - LotionInTheBasket Likes this wine:
Was inspired to open this due to a recent Sagrantino post on WB. Recent CT TNs suspect EOL, holdings (somewhat) suggest this may not be the case. Let's take the Pepsi Challenge... Opened and let bottle decant for about an hour+ to start. It starts scary, nose of heavy figs and overdone. Gave it more time, why not?! That blows off actually. Do not be lazy like me and use the bottle; decant in a wide base vessel as the glass I poured in and left alone evolved amazingly to real fruit emerging with tart (VA on after-thought) black cherries, leather, earthiness, hints of black tea. Moving on... the front is so different than what I expected. Not tart at all as this maybe the most well integrated end-to-end sip I've had in a decade, maybe more. Mature dark cherry and plums dancing with dusty/musty earthy forest floor, kissed w/vanilla and cocoa dust, and an all spice/nutmeg kinda splash. Middle gives way to a kick of acidity and some tart, faded; it tried. The back is a whole thing. All the front coming back to the party on a velvet carpet of tannins and earthiness fading to black tea and blackberry, late to the party. I've not seen something like this ever and it was a complete surprise and fortunate at that. Be patient with this yet also don't be shocked at how fast it can shift lanes on fruit, earth, tertiary nuances. The middle acidity throttles a bit up and down over time based on what's happening around it. Some of this is the sediment that is creeping in more on the later glasses, some not. All in all, wow, I don't put numbers on wine but this would be material. Was a "gift" in a way. I gave a friend a well kept '43 German Riesling for his Dad's BD; he insisted I take this. Good karma comes around. Right now, I just hope he and his Dad felt as much joy as I just did. Edit: Mine is No. 1322
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2/12/2023 - vagrantone wrote: 86 Points
Frankly disappointing!
It tasted tired, unbalanced and disjointed...
slightly excessive alcohol, not much of the structure expected and just short on interest and complexity.
Certainly not worth the price...
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3/18/2021 - Nanda wrote: 87 Points
Double blind. Mature aromas that are very madeira like with dried spice box and nuttiness. Good richness of sweet fruit that is now full dry. Interesting as a curiosity but not particularly enjoyable.
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3/18/2021 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Double Blind Virtual tasting (Chicagoland IL): An eccentric wine that I can easily understand both loving and hating. Old school character throughout with very mature red cherry with a tart, vinegary character that is bright but ultra tart. Meaty and earthy and very complex, but lacking brightness that many of us want in a great wine.
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8/26/2020 - Louvin Likes this wine: 95 Points
I've had this wine a number of times over the years, but this is surely the best. I had been a bit worried about an overabundance of fig flavor, but this opened after a short decant as a large and vibrant bottle of exquisite red fruited wine, some element of darker fig like flavors but just the combination perfect balance of structural elements make this a great wine. By far the most sediment I've ever seen in a wine but not surprised. Not tired in any way. Drink now and enjoy.
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3/8/2020 - 14frimaire wrote:
Lovely wine, seems like it's on a nice, solid plateau. For as nice as it was, and it was, it held onto its character, I'm not sure it was better than at, say, 12-15 yrs old. All this to say, It's aged nicely, but I think I may actually prefer them with a little more flesh. I can't say it has blossomed or transformed even if it has made it to a stately maturity.
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10/17/2017 - portman63 Likes this wine: 91 Points
When pulling the cork, I was worried getting stewed initially on the nose. That stayed for a bit, but it was nothing like that on the palate, more red fruited and immediately accessible than I expected. Tannins completely soft and integrated, felt plush in the mouth. I liked it quite a bit especially when the stewed nose blew off. Second half of the bottle was really nice the next night also. A little more earthiness came through in the finish. Kevinacohn's reviews were right on the money about giving it plenty of air. Drink now or hold for several years.
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12/12/2015 - Nothung Likes this wine: 94 Points
Every time I have this wine I'm blown away by what a great winemaker Paola Bea is. The wine is just beautiful, rich and complex, and unique to Bea and Umbria. Everything you could want from a wine.
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2/7/2014 - kevinacohn wrote:
'inoteca Last Sip, Take 2 ('inoteca, New York, NY): It's worth my writing another tasting note for this wine to emphasize just how much it developed after two more days. More refined and less intense prune qualities. Now with four days of exposure to air, this has become at once in your face and subtle. And that's really Bea in a nutshell: if you're patient, the wines will show themselves to be enigmatic and intensely alluring. If you think your bottle is cooked, give it time to come around. Rated 2 on a scale of -1 to 3.
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2/5/2014 - kevinacohn wrote:
'inoteca Last Sip ('inoteca, New York, NY): Poured by the glass from a bottle that someone ordered the previous day and thought was cooked. Their mistake (not flawed at all) and my gain. Tawny edges. A savory nose with prunes, raisins, hints of game, and leather. Nowhere near as herbaceous as the 2001, which I tasted a few weeks earlier. The concentration of flavors is intense, like Bea's Passito but without the sweetness. Will benefit from more time. Rated 2 on a scale of -1 to 3.
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2/2/2014 - 14frimaire wrote:
Needs about an hour in the decanter. Beautiful. Very beautiful.
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10/2/2013 - cardsandwine Likes this wine:
Decanted 1 hour. Could have used more decanting time as it took another hour to begin to blossom. Gorgeous color, pure and earthy palate with a lengthy finish. A wine with soul!
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9/16/2013 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 91 Points
Deep and dark in color and robust fruit with soft tannins. In a good spot now but still fresh and young.
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2/11/2013 - Employee500 wrote: 93 Points
Noticeable bricking at the rim, the wine is surprisingly transparent (some suspended sediment visible despite the bottle standing upright for a week in the cellar. Faintly sweet, smell (raisins, port). On the palate lots of sweet fig (Fig Newton even), aged beef/blood, iron and a hint of allspice and leather. Finish is slightly rainey/figgy and sweet. Fully resolved tannin, lots of secondary character. Odd wine, I can see many calling it "flawed" or "oxidized", but it has a lot of character and strikes me as surprisingly similar to the Cannonau wines of Dettori. For me a wine of contemplation, but not for everyone....
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12/3/2012 - Cellarmaster wrote: flawed
Bea Sagrantino had had consistent problems. Half of of the case has gone bad.. I can see from the comments on this wine even in later vintages, several people have had the same problem. It is obvious they have quality control problems. Stay away from this wine unless you want your wine to turn to vinegar
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1/14/2012 - Employee500 wrote: 93 Points
As always, I'm a little bit of two minds on this one. The obvious initial reaction is that it is "stewey", cloudy, funky, murky and has some VA. Ultimately, the complexity and uniqueness of the flavors, together with the way it changes in the glass over time, make me a fan. Some of the flavors are too rich, gamey, and "dead meaty", with lots of iron and iodine. Definitely a wine of contemplation, although it would pair well with lamb shank.
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10/17/2011 - Ludi Likes this wine: 90 Points
Dark garnet. Nose reminds of overripe fruit, underbrush, cigar box, incense. Moth is fresher, with mature dark cherry and a lively freshness. Very long finish.
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8/12/2011 - 5laton wrote:
Developing, with lots of fruit left. Hugely ripe and sweet, with figgy ripeness and almost a Port impression on the palate. Enough volatile acidity (acetone) to diminish my appreciation of the wine. Really, just too big, ripe, and figgy-sweet for my taste. Needed a serious food companion; a friend loved it with his boar ragu, and less so without. Personally, the '05 Veo from young vines sagrantino is more my style, or even the San Valentino wines.
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3/27/2011 - rklafter wrote: 94 Points
at festa del barolo, a 3l found a place to be drunk. great verve with brisk acidity thrusting powerful fruit
right wine for right venue
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3/26/2011 - kenv Likes this wine: 96 Points
Gala Dinner of La Festa del Barolo (Del Posto Restaurant, NYC): 3L bottle from Rob Klafter. Rich, exotic, complex. A stunning wine with great potential.
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2/19/2011 - gzim wrote: 94 Points
from memory, rich, layered with an amazing mouthfeel... I'm a believer and will hunt for more!
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6/10/2010 - salil wrote: 93 Points
Inscrutable initially. David insisted this needed air, so I returned to it after close to an hour in the decanter and found this had transformed. Amazing scent combining all sorts of red fruited and floral aromas with orange peel, leather, spices and figs. Very rich in the mouth, the flavours are almost a little port-like in their sweetness - but this feels so polished and elegant with a sense of lightness and grace, astonishing.
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6/6/2010 - austinwinesalon wrote:
Vini Rossi-L'Ultimo Piano (Asti Trattoria): The favorite sagrantino of one group, the least favorite of another. The fans: red brown hue – slightly orange rim variation, dried and concentrated baked fruits, cherry, raspberry, cranberry. Very rich, firm tannin, mouth filling fruit character, very persistent finish, great length (thank you, Bill of Mandola Wines). One taster noted it had a tawny-like character, with dark chocolate, dried fruits, figs, dried herbs, and, again, a long finish. Another thought of cherry brandy. You liked this wine a lot, or didn"t. The didn'ts: nasty nose, ethyl acetate, VA, stewed fruit.....dumped out. Sounds almost like port....you like it or don't. I've had numerous bottles of this wine in this vintage, and for those I drank it with, it was typically a tasty revelation, and had much more impact than an Arnaldo Caprai introduction. I think some of the Bea detractors enjoyed the dry character of the other sagrantinos in this flight, and this was rather like having a recioto among several valpolicellas........ Paolo Bea is a controversial one.
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2/12/2010 - Cellarmaster wrote: flawed
Basically oxidized
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2/6/2010 - CSteefel wrote:
Then to pair with the main course, four distinctive reds that were paired with Osso Bucco. A 1999 Paolo Bea Sagrantino de Montefalco Secco was opened up 3 hours before dinner, which helped to blow off some of the volatile acidity it showed. While this and other Bea wines are reported to take years to come around, this has not been my impression from tasting this one, the 1999, and a 2001 last summer. Who is to say what maturity is, but certainly this was showing secondary flavors that seemed to literally dance on the palate, with lush port-like fruit that exploded on the palate as inner mouth perfume. We had some discussion about how to describe this wine, with Steve suggesting the terms “porty and raisiny”, while others of us holding out for the distinction between these two. I guess this was a big one in its own way, but I was struck by how light it was on its feet, like Port without the high alcohol and sheer density, an acrobatic version of Pegau’s Cuvee da Capo. Certainly a highly original wine by probably anybody’s standards.
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1/9/2010 - CSteefel wrote: flawed
Oxidized
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11/22/2009 - RJandGB wrote: 92 Points
This is the last of 6 bottles we brought back from a 2003 trip to Italy. We paired it with homemade fettucini and veal/porcini meatballs in tomato sauce. It was the hit of the evening. Incredibly fruit forward, well balanced, beautiful/brilliant red, smooth velvety finish. There was a light tar aroma at first, but dissipated with food pairing. Definitely decant, there was a lot of sediment and even a solid 'skin' of solids in the filter. It is definitely ready to drink now, I'm glad we didn't wait any longer. It made us pull up the photos and share the trip with our dinner guests.
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12/14/2008 - AllRed wrote: flawed
The Blind Drunks do Obscure Varietals with Jay McDonald (Matt & Jody's): Notes of beef bouillon and iron give way to herb and dark fruit tones, followed by soy. On the palate, this has a strange factory-processed meat flavor.
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1/15/2008 - dream wrote: 84 Points
Dark and murky color. Potent nose of beef blood, leathers, sweet dark fruits and ether. Rather full-bodied with good richness of black rasberry fruit along with notes of tar, asphalt and hot violets. Finishes high in alcohol with substantial rustic tannins. I liked this much better young as it has now developed a confectionary sweetness and over-ripeness that becomes sickening after a glass or two. 84
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9/20/2007 - Employee500 wrote: 94 Points
Intensely rich with ripe figs, dried cherries, mincemeat, blood, cloves and allspice....and the peculiar richness of iron-heavy foods.
Surprisingly sweet, with an almost amarone-like contrast between sweetness and more bitter and exotic flavors. This left me wondering if there could be residual sugar, though it seems unlikely... On day two, the sweetness had completely moved to the background, now just a hint or accent to an otherwise gorgeous wine. Based solely on this wine, and without tasting the '00 or '01 (both of which are resting in my cellar), I am skeptical that either of the other vintages can ever be as good as this....My guess is this is my favorite Bea vintage for this wine--it would just be hard to get it this right. (I do like the '01 version of the Riserva Pipparello better than the '99, though).
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9/19/2007 - OneLastSyrah wrote:
95-96-97 Tasting: Blind Red 9 - bonus pour from John. Grapey and slightly sweet with an aroma somewhat reminiscent of burlap underlying.
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8/5/2007 - NittanyLion wrote: flawed
Same as the previous bottle.
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8/5/2007 - NittanyLion wrote: flawed
Lots of browning, oxidized, boo!
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5/2/2007 - dream wrote: 90 Points
Cloudy ruby color. Wild nose of black licorice, roasted expresso, camphor and sweet black prunes. A rustic wine with a thick texture, real black licorice flavors and a raspy finish. Stands up perfectly to barbequed beef and chicken kabobs. This is an authentic wine that's not for the faint of heart.
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2/18/2007 - Cellarmaster wrote: 92 Points
This wine was a last minute substitution on a dinner party menu to pair with spiced short ribs. Originally was going to pair the dish with CDP. Between courses, I had an inspiration to pair this wine with the short ribs. It was unbelievable! The sweet tanins in this wine paired magnificantly with the spices (coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon). Wow! This wine always pleases and is meant to be paired with food, not consumed by itself. It is a powerhouse of fruit and sweet tanins and when I serve it, my friends fall in love with it.
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1/10/2007 - pbjosh wrote:
No formal note... sweet fruit, lots of remaining tannin and acidity, very little wood showing. Needs a lot of time yet but promises great things.
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12/31/2006 - cweiss wrote:
Eastman with Osso Buco. The usual Bea Sagrantino showing featuring highly concentrated sweet fruit, an element of VA that, for me at least, just add to "tone" and interest. Definitely a unique wine. Delicious drinking now, and suspect it will hold few years. Since first vintage was 1994, no long track record of evolution.
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5/12/2006 - sivilli wrote:
Nose was initially closed, opened over time. Nose showed a lot of dusty rusticity, but with great unerlying power. Still shows very tannic on the palate, this is incredibly singular and individual... like nothing else I have tried to date.
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11/26/2005 - Rieslingfan wrote: 94 Points
Very intense but balanced black cherry, licorice and tannic structure. Long fruity finish with a bit of a bite on the back end just to remind you that it's way too young. But boy is it good.
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