Fourth and final btl of this wine over the last 10+ years. Strangely, this one is the best so far. Not picking up as much of the rusticity or hard elements that I have in bottles past. This one (oddly) seems more fruit forward with candied cherries and gooseberry. There remains something about this wine that seems N Italian (lagrein-like). Nice mineral elements. Finish is longer than I remember. Not sure if this is a particularly good btl or the prior ones were a bit off, but this is a really nice wine with a unique flavor profile. Would seek this, or other casavecchias, out in the future.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Yeah, I agree with Studleytrey on many of his observations. This is a rather strange wine that I have a hard time placing. Blind, I would put it more in N Italian than Campania as it has some farmhouse red characteristics you find in the hinterlands of Piemonte, Lombardia, and Alto Adige. There is even something lagrein-esque about the way it is structured. There is a rawness to this that I dig and it is quite masculine. Lots of minerals and iron tonight. It is a bit dried out at this point as most of the fruit has been stripped away. I have one more bottle in the box I need to get to sooner rather than later. Not sure I would re-buy this one, but cool to geek out to. Nice for a cool Friday night amidst COVID waiting for the world to end.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
2 of 2 (although I did pick up a lonely '10 more recently). What a funky and unusual wine this is. I'm not getting any of the meaty elements I noted last time. This strikes me as an odd blend of ruché (with its floral elements and lighter constitution) and Côtes-du-Rhône (with its black pepper and minerals). Maybe a little like a darker fruited Beaujolais too.
Pretty dense coloring here, with tawny hinting garnet edges. Aromas of potpourri, soil, dark and dark red fruits, and minerals. Quite enjoy smelling this. Light to medium body, medium acid and finish, and flavors of dark and dark red fruits, black pepper, minerals, and a bit of lemon. An unusual, interesting, and enjoyable wine that's for lighter Italian fare and standalone sipping. I'd say it's drink up status if anyone's still got any of these.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
First of two and this is drinking well with fully integrated tannins. Dense coloring with garnet towards the edges. Savory, meaty wine with aromas of darker fruits (cassis, black cherry, black raspberry, plum), dried meats, earth, funk, and violets, maybe a bit of herbs. Medium body and finish, medium(+) acid, and flavors largely following suit. Worked great with pasta bolognese. 90+
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Good bottle. Not nearly the oddball it appeared to be in 2011. Resolved, rich. Medium to medium heavy on the palate, with lush mouthfeel. Distinct peppery note running throughout.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Cork 1/8th stained, extracted nicely. Clear ruby pour. Not much on the nose. Immediate lashings of cherry fruit, then dusty tannin. Drank without food; probably better with a meal.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
The last of my 7 bottles and I'm glad I'm having it now as while it's still good, I believe it's on the downward trajectory. This wine drinks the best on a fresh pour and does get a bit less interesting and stewed after an hour in the glass. So, on the fresh pour, on the nose this offers freshly laid road tar, graphite dust, chili dust, and dark cherry pit. Really luscious aromas. Thick, medium bodied palate, offering really fantastic pure strawberry reduction sauce (without the sweetness), and moderate tartness. That strawberry sauce note is so fantastic, though. The finish is again tart, with only moderate, integrated tannins. Lovely lingering acidity. Drinking beautifully today. Perhaps peaking on a fresh pour, but again, this does tend to fade as it sits in the glass over an hour. Score at peak.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Deep garnet. Deep nose of tar, rhubarb, and cherry. The palate is wild, horsey, oily, cooked cilantro,ripe plums, and bramble. The finish is full, smoky, brett, astringent with old leaves and fruit. Overall rustic but accomplished. Suitable for our flavorful rack of lamb, just not my style.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Well, this one is indeed bretty and almost "flawed". Still drinkable with dark super masculine dark fruits, tar, rusty nails, chewing tobacco, licorice, and fairly searing tannins. This is not a lot of fun and sort of a cold night stew in a leather bar sort of wine (or what I imagine might work there). This is an XYY super male kind of juice. The brett doesn't work here as I think it does in burgundy. I will see what the other couple btls are like in 3+ years but may be a bit dried out I predict.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Now THIS bottle tasted more like my note from 2010. Certainly some bottle variation going on here. We consumed this within 50 minutes or so and it was singing right out of the gate. Lots of deep dried fruit flavors with firm tannins on the finish, but nothing overpowering. Lots of graphite and flint flavors throughout.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This is very interesting. Unique but muted nose, dark cherry, black fruits, leather, and forest floor. Great balance and no discernable new oak. A very masculine wine. Needs food.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Deep garnet, bricking observable during decant. Woody, barrel smell (not fresh oak, maybe used?), blending into unique earthy fruit aroma (not familiar with this grape). First sips were like the nose and a little bit astringent even though the wine had good body. However, when paired with lasagna it became apparent that this is a wine meant to be paired with food, and not so bad! The centered earthiness cut thru and offset nicely the food flavors.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark purple color. This wine definitely did not look like an 8+ year old wine. I agree with the note below referring to this as a wine geek's wine. The nose was a mix of meaty, earthy, mineral driven notes along with some dark red fruit and peppery spice. More of the same on the palate with more tart red fruit flavors than dark fruit. Medium+ tannins and acidity. Finish was very short though and the wine lacked a smooth transition from the upfront flavors through the midpalate. I thought the wine was interesting though and it went well with food.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Solid Italian food wine which was tasty but not all that remarkable with Lasagna. Seems a little overpriced for what it is even at a discount. Perhaps my other bottles will show better in a different setting. I drank it in a social setting where the wine was not the primary focus of my attention.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pulled another bottle from the same source. This one was not oxidized, but again, a mere shadow of the wine I had in 2010. Too bad I picked up these additional four bottles. Some earthiness, and a lot of wet leaves on the nose. I get some graphite and some dark cherries, but there's still some slight notion of maderization. The palate is quite soft but tannins certainly build. Pretty muted, with some mineral flavors and it seems quite tired. Light acid on the finish, some odd tomato flavor, tart tea, and an odd mix of dark cherries and sweet sour patch kids. It really just seems like a wine that's over the hill. Bummer for my remaining three bottles.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Absolutely wretchedly oxidized. The cork was rock hard and after extracted I could blow air through it. No leaking, though. The wine was brown and smelled like sherry. Completely unpalatable. Down the drain.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark fruit (plum, blueberry), Earthy, tar, slight anise, minerality, leather, slight tobacco. Dirinking better than last bottle (more reminiscent of aglianico with stronger fruit & leather).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
No formal notes this time... opened last night and found the nose to be enchanting. This smells exactly what I love about rustic Italian wines. On the palate, it had a similar expression of earth, dirt, pleasing fruit, and rusticity, but even right away it seemed as if it was a bit "old." Strange, as the bottle from last year seemed quite fresh. I only had one glass last night and drank the rest of the bottle today after 24 hours under cork. It was definitely tasting a bit over the hill today as well, but still pleasing. Still, not quite as good as one year ago. I think I'll try to hurry up and drink what I have left, and all on pop and pours.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pop/pour. I can't really put any kind of score on this at present, as this is a real oddball, a wine geek's wine. On the nose, a sour rhubarb tire rubber / tar. On the palate, dense fruit that is nevertheless overpowered by a mouth-puckering acidity. Relatively strong tannins, but that could be because I neglected to stand the bottle up....there's a lot of particles on the side of my glass. Long, haunting finish that against all odds keeps me going back to this glass. Odd, and oddly alluring.
Update: Day 2 - much better for general consumption. More fruit, less sour. Still a fair amount of acidity that in some ways masks what is fairly rich fruit. This fruit does show through to a much larger degree. Overall more balanced. Most of the tannins noted on Day 1 have vanished, probably because the bottle sediment has settled after a day of standing upright.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Takes days to open, but once it does it's a treat. Very dark red, with a high-toned nose of tart plums, iron, cranberry, and mace. While this may be Casavecchia, not Aglianico, it certainly recalls many fine examples of the latter from similar terroir. Mightily concentrated in the mouth, with hard-charging acidity providing insistent rhythm for the generous sweet fruit and pepper/tobacco nuances. Those who are patient will experience this wine's greatness.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
OK, Second bottle of this and this one is just not good. Very pruney and overdone. I would swear it is cooked if I didn't know better. This one went down the drain.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Has a unique flavor I have never been able to put into words that I have tasted in Cahors or Loire cot. Pruney fruit, watermelon, grapefruit, stemmy, weedy, earthy with mineral. Tannins don't seem to interfere but their astringency is felt. Strong acidity and a sour flavor. I actually enjoyed this. Not straight forward pleasure, but interesting and strange. It grew on me. Offputting and pleasant flavors integrated into something very good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Bruiserweight red, brimstone-scented and lava-soaked affect akin to Aglianico, with a fair amount of ripeness and spice that recalls New World Syrah in some respects, without the globular blast of fruit. Big-boned and densely packed fissile material needs a few years to reach its half-life and calm down; could be great in 5 years or so.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Had with dinner; no formal notes, but really enjoyed this wine. Fantastic Italian wine... Campania through and through, despite me never having this varietal before. Definitely Aglianico like. Really nice minerality and earthiness blended with delicious fruit. Massive structure and tannins on the finish that will allow this to age for a decade plus. Closer to 91 than 90 points.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
First experience with the grape and I am a fan. Dark purple color, this has lots of blackberries and violets on the nose. Medium-full bodied, this has massive structure. Sweet core of black fruit and minerals on the palate, nice drying tannins on the back end. Needs about an hour to open up and I have a feeling this will get much better with time, but very nice today. This closely resembles a high end Tuscan red at a fraction of the price. 91+
PS. Day 3 - this is still going strong. A little more resolved on the acid and tannin side. A lot of cassis and some syrah-like spiciness have emerged. Delicious.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
no notes taken but from memory highly impressive...a wine with a ton of character. Opened only 30min before consuming so was surprised the wine was as open and the secondary flavors as developed. Great gritty tannins, with solid fruit and earthy, smoky secondary flavors.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This may be a little shut down. It is all about hard edges and angularity right now. Needs time for the hard tannins to calm down. The fruit and acidity should hold it together long term though. Won't touch one of these again for a few years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Frisky and not for the acetophobe. For me, grooved on an really nice vein like a hypothetical lemonade with pu-erh and cranberries. Very jagged frame and lacking integration, but also showing a rustic charm. Did very well with an eggplant lasagna.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Youthfull and vibrant but some jagged edges. This wine could turn out to be great in a few years, right now it's very acidic and tannic. Will hold my other bottle for a few years.
Tasted again on the second day and it is much improved. The nose is still pretty tight - dark fruit, spice and a touch of cleaning solution. The palate is quite silky and there is lots of tart, dark fruit as well as some tea and herbal notes. Medium long finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wildy spicy on both the nose and palate, dominated by pepper and hints of smoke. Medium bodied finishing long with a nice cedar highlight. Needs time or a healthy decant to tame the tannins. Probably a few points better in a couple of years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
12/12/2022 - RKatzDO wrote: flawed
Very different experience. This may have been cooked, but got on release. Would have been better for dipping sushi than in a glass.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/2/2022 - Neurowine1 Likes this wine:
Fourth and final btl of this wine over the last 10+ years. Strangely, this one is the best so far. Not picking up as much of the rusticity or hard elements that I have in bottles past. This one (oddly) seems more fruit forward with candied cherries and gooseberry. There remains something about this wine that seems N Italian (lagrein-like). Nice mineral elements. Finish is longer than I remember. Not sure if this is a particularly good btl or the prior ones were a bit off, but this is a really nice wine with a unique flavor profile. Would seek this, or other casavecchias, out in the future.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/30/2020 - Neurowine1 wrote:
Yeah, I agree with Studleytrey on many of his observations. This is a rather strange wine that I have a hard time placing. Blind, I would put it more in N Italian than Campania as it has some farmhouse red characteristics you find in the hinterlands of Piemonte, Lombardia, and Alto Adige. There is even something lagrein-esque about the way it is structured. There is a rawness to this that I dig and it is quite masculine. Lots of minerals and iron tonight. It is a bit dried out at this point as most of the fruit has been stripped away. I have one more bottle in the box I need to get to sooner rather than later. Not sure I would re-buy this one, but cool to geek out to. Nice for a cool Friday night amidst COVID waiting for the world to end.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/1/2018 - studleytrey Likes this wine: 90 Points
2 of 2 (although I did pick up a lonely '10 more recently). What a funky and unusual wine this is. I'm not getting any of the meaty elements I noted last time. This strikes me as an odd blend of ruché (with its floral elements and lighter constitution) and Côtes-du-Rhône (with its black pepper and minerals). Maybe a little like a darker fruited Beaujolais too.
Pretty dense coloring here, with tawny hinting garnet edges. Aromas of potpourri, soil, dark and dark red fruits, and minerals. Quite enjoy smelling this. Light to medium body, medium acid and finish, and flavors of dark and dark red fruits, black pepper, minerals, and a bit of lemon. An unusual, interesting, and enjoyable wine that's for lighter Italian fare and standalone sipping. I'd say it's drink up status if anyone's still got any of these.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/30/2017 - studleytrey Likes this wine: 90 Points
First of two and this is drinking well with fully integrated tannins. Dense coloring with garnet towards the edges. Savory, meaty wine with aromas of darker fruits (cassis, black cherry, black raspberry, plum), dried meats, earth, funk, and violets, maybe a bit of herbs. Medium body and finish, medium(+) acid, and flavors largely following suit. Worked great with pasta bolognese. 90+
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/4/2016 - vanpe003 wrote:
Good bottle. Not nearly the oddball it appeared to be in 2011. Resolved, rich. Medium to medium heavy on the palate, with lush mouthfeel. Distinct peppery note running throughout.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/24/2016 - Italiana Likes this wine:
Richer than I remember, very nice.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/19/2016 - Italiana Likes this wine:
Cork sound. Unique aromas and flavors. Lots of tension. Perhaps a little faded, but to me, clearly Italian.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/8/2015 - Italiana wrote:
Cork 1/8th stained, extracted nicely. Clear ruby pour. Not much on the nose. Immediate lashings of cherry fruit, then dusty tannin. Drank without food; probably better with a meal.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/21/2015 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 90 Points
The last of my 7 bottles and I'm glad I'm having it now as while it's still good, I believe it's on the downward trajectory. This wine drinks the best on a fresh pour and does get a bit less interesting and stewed after an hour in the glass. So, on the fresh pour, on the nose this offers freshly laid road tar, graphite dust, chili dust, and dark cherry pit. Really luscious aromas. Thick, medium bodied palate, offering really fantastic pure strawberry reduction sauce (without the sweetness), and moderate tartness. That strawberry sauce note is so fantastic, though. The finish is again tart, with only moderate, integrated tannins. Lovely lingering acidity. Drinking beautifully today. Perhaps peaking on a fresh pour, but again, this does tend to fade as it sits in the glass over an hour. Score at peak.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/11/2014 - SteveG wrote: 86 Points
Deep garnet. Deep nose of tar, rhubarb, and cherry. The palate is wild, horsey, oily, cooked cilantro,ripe plums, and bramble. The finish is full, smoky, brett, astringent with old leaves and fruit. Overall rustic but accomplished. Suitable for our flavorful rack of lamb, just not my style.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/1/2014 - jfd717 wrote: 88 Points
Tight and bone dry.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/10/2013 - Neurowine1 wrote: 83 Points
Well, this one is indeed bretty and almost "flawed". Still drinkable with dark super masculine dark fruits, tar, rusty nails, chewing tobacco, licorice, and fairly searing tannins. This is not a lot of fun and sort of a cold night stew in a leather bar sort of wine (or what I imagine might work there). This is an XYY super male kind of juice. The brett doesn't work here as I think it does in burgundy. I will see what the other couple btls are like in 3+ years but may be a bit dried out I predict.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/12/2012 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 91 Points
Now THIS bottle tasted more like my note from 2010. Certainly some bottle variation going on here. We consumed this within 50 minutes or so and it was singing right out of the gate. Lots of deep dried fruit flavors with firm tannins on the finish, but nothing overpowering. Lots of graphite and flint flavors throughout.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/11/2012 - Neurowine1 wrote: 86 Points
This is very interesting. Unique but muted nose, dark cherry, black fruits, leather, and forest floor. Great balance and no discernable new oak. A very masculine wine. Needs food.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/29/2012 - andtheodor wrote: flawed
Nasty. Cooked. The somm says brett but I think this smells like spoilage and tastes like vinegar. Ugh.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/16/2012 - ekirby wrote: 88 Points
Deep garnet, bricking observable during decant. Woody, barrel smell (not fresh oak, maybe used?), blending into unique earthy fruit aroma (not familiar with this grape). First sips were like the nose and a little bit astringent even though the wine had good body. However, when paired with lasagna it became apparent that this is a wine meant to be paired with food, and not so bad! The centered earthiness cut thru and offset nicely the food flavors.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/22/2012 - Rich S wrote: 88 Points
Dark purple color. This wine definitely did not look like an 8+ year old wine. I agree with the note below referring to this as a wine geek's wine. The nose was a mix of meaty, earthy, mineral driven notes along with some dark red fruit and peppery spice. More of the same on the palate with more tart red fruit flavors than dark fruit. Medium+ tannins and acidity. Finish was very short though and the wine lacked a smooth transition from the upfront flavors through the midpalate. I thought the wine was interesting though and it went well with food.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/27/2012 - K is for Kate wrote:
Solid Italian food wine which was tasty but not all that remarkable with Lasagna. Seems a little overpriced for what it is even at a discount. Perhaps my other bottles will show better in a different setting. I drank it in a social setting where the wine was not the primary focus of my attention.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/18/2012 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 85 Points
Pulled another bottle from the same source. This one was not oxidized, but again, a mere shadow of the wine I had in 2010. Too bad I picked up these additional four bottles. Some earthiness, and a lot of wet leaves on the nose. I get some graphite and some dark cherries, but there's still some slight notion of maderization. The palate is quite soft but tannins certainly build. Pretty muted, with some mineral flavors and it seems quite tired. Light acid on the finish, some odd tomato flavor, tart tea, and an odd mix of dark cherries and sweet sour patch kids. It really just seems like a wine that's over the hill. Bummer for my remaining three bottles.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/18/2012 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: flawed
Absolutely wretchedly oxidized. The cork was rock hard and after extracted I could blow air through it. No leaking, though. The wine was brown and smelled like sherry. Completely unpalatable. Down the drain.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/26/2011 - JJKinch wrote: 90 Points
Dark fruit (plum, blueberry), Earthy, tar, slight anise, minerality, leather, slight tobacco. Dirinking better than last bottle (more reminiscent of aglianico with stronger fruit & leather).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/26/2011 - David Paris (dbp) wrote:
No formal notes this time... opened last night and found the nose to be enchanting. This smells exactly what I love about rustic Italian wines. On the palate, it had a similar expression of earth, dirt, pleasing fruit, and rusticity, but even right away it seemed as if it was a bit "old." Strange, as the bottle from last year seemed quite fresh. I only had one glass last night and drank the rest of the bottle today after 24 hours under cork. It was definitely tasting a bit over the hill today as well, but still pleasing. Still, not quite as good as one year ago. I think I'll try to hurry up and drink what I have left, and all on pop and pours.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/13/2011 - vanpe003 wrote: 90 Points
Pop/pour. I can't really put any kind of score on this at present, as this is a real oddball, a wine geek's wine. On the nose, a sour rhubarb tire rubber / tar. On the palate, dense fruit that is nevertheless overpowered by a mouth-puckering acidity. Relatively strong tannins, but that could be because I neglected to stand the bottle up....there's a lot of particles on the side of my glass. Long, haunting finish that against all odds keeps me going back to this glass. Odd, and oddly alluring.
Update: Day 2 - much better for general consumption. More fruit, less sour. Still a fair amount of acidity that in some ways masks what is fairly rich fruit. This fruit does show through to a much larger degree. Overall more balanced. Most of the tannins noted on Day 1 have vanished, probably because the bottle sediment has settled after a day of standing upright.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/5/2011 - tcfishler wrote:
Takes days to open, but once it does it's a treat. Very dark red, with a high-toned nose of tart plums, iron, cranberry, and mace. While this may be Casavecchia, not Aglianico, it certainly recalls many fine examples of the latter from similar terroir. Mightily concentrated in the mouth, with hard-charging acidity providing insistent rhythm for the generous sweet fruit and pepper/tobacco nuances. Those who are patient will experience this wine's greatness.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/4/2011 - bwillia wrote: 75 Points
OK, Second bottle of this and this one is just not good. Very pruney and overdone. I would swear it is cooked if I didn't know better. This one went down the drain.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/19/2011 - spo wrote: 85 Points
Has a unique flavor I have never been able to put into words that I have tasted in Cahors or Loire cot. Pruney fruit, watermelon, grapefruit, stemmy, weedy, earthy with mineral. Tannins don't seem to interfere but their astringency is felt. Strong acidity and a sour flavor. I actually enjoyed this. Not straight forward pleasure, but interesting and strange. It grew on me. Offputting and pleasant flavors integrated into something very good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/3/2010 - Chomsky wrote:
Bruiserweight red, brimstone-scented and lava-soaked affect akin to Aglianico, with a fair amount of ripeness and spice that recalls New World Syrah in some respects, without the globular blast of fruit. Big-boned and densely packed fissile material needs a few years to reach its half-life and calm down; could be great in 5 years or so.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/23/2010 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 91 Points
Had with dinner; no formal notes, but really enjoyed this wine. Fantastic Italian wine... Campania through and through, despite me never having this varietal before. Definitely Aglianico like. Really nice minerality and earthiness blended with delicious fruit. Massive structure and tannins on the finish that will allow this to age for a decade plus. Closer to 91 than 90 points.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/19/2010 - pifcho wrote: 91 Points
First experience with the grape and I am a fan. Dark purple color, this has lots of blackberries and violets on the nose. Medium-full bodied, this has massive structure. Sweet core of black fruit and minerals on the palate, nice drying tannins on the back end. Needs about an hour to open up and I have a feeling this will get much better with time, but very nice today. This closely resembles a high end Tuscan red at a fraction of the price. 91+
PS. Day 3 - this is still going strong. A little more resolved on the acid and tannin side. A lot of cassis and some syrah-like spiciness have emerged. Delicious.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/29/2010 - andtheodor wrote: flawed
Uncommon Varieties: Cooked [Casavecchia].
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/9/2010 - JBVino wrote:
no notes taken but from memory highly impressive...a wine with a ton of character. Opened only 30min before consuming so was surprised the wine was as open and the secondary flavors as developed. Great gritty tannins, with solid fruit and earthy, smoky secondary flavors.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/9/2010 - bwillia wrote: 87 Points
This may be a little shut down. It is all about hard edges and angularity right now. Needs time for the hard tannins to calm down. The fruit and acidity should hold it together long term though. Won't touch one of these again for a few years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/7/2009 - AndrewSGHall wrote:
Consistent with previous.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/18/2009 - kingb22 wrote: 91 Points
Very solid wine. Dark fruits, lots of pepper - very Syrah-esque, but Italian as well.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/19/2009 - rjonwine@gmail.com wrote: 93 Points
Sandy's Not-Your-Usual-Varietal Tasting and Potluck (Chez Sandy, San Jose, California): Opaque black violet color; spicy plum, lavender, baked berry nose; ripe, rich, tasty, spicy plum, berry, black fruit, herbal and mineral palate; medium-plus finish
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/18/2009 - Tintin wrote: 90 Points
Rich with iron and minerally notes. Quite tasty.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/20/2009 - AndrewSGHall wrote:
Frisky and not for the acetophobe. For me, grooved on an really nice vein like a hypothetical lemonade with pu-erh and cranberries. Very jagged frame and lacking integration, but also showing a rustic charm. Did very well with an eggplant lasagna.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/5/2008 - Zinny wrote:
Youthfull and vibrant but some jagged edges. This wine could turn out to be great in a few years, right now it's very acidic and tannic. Will hold my other bottle for a few years.
Tasted again on the second day and it is much improved. The nose is still pretty tight - dark fruit, spice and a touch of cleaning solution. The palate is quite silky and there is lots of tart, dark fruit as well as some tea and herbal notes. Medium long finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/28/2008 - vanpe003 wrote: 89 Points
Wildy spicy on both the nose and palate, dominated by pepper and hints of smoke. Medium bodied finishing long with a nice cedar highlight. Needs time or a healthy decant to tame the tannins. Probably a few points better in a couple of years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment