Wow! Part of a once in a lifetime weekend spent with Vincenzo Abbruzzese at Valdicava tasting 15 different vintages of Valdicava Brunello and Valdicava Madonna del Piano and this was for me the wine of the weekend. Brilliant nose of perfectly balanced earth and fruit in a perfect drinking window. Cassis, lead pencil, and other dark fruits emanate from the glass. This wine opens beautifully in just a short time in the decanter. Looking down on Valdicava from Montalcino drinking this wine is one of my most special wine memories. If you can find this wine buy all you can get and thank me later. This wine will last many more years (although is perfect right now) and the general longevity of Valdicava Brunello is incredible.
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I opened the bottle I received from a friend with little expectation of the wine still being any good. I was pleasantly surprised as I found only slight bricking and a general color of a wine half its age. The nose was a touch muted but still had classic cabernet overtones. The tannins were fully integrated. More red fruit than dark fruit with just a hint of green pepper. The pepper was not at all unpleasant and reminded me of the normal greeness found in Italian merlot. Not an overly complex wine but very cool nonetheless. This was the transition year at Shafer and this was the only wine labeled cabernet reserve they made to my knowledge. I kept the empty bottle.
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Wow. I had two bottles of this last night and I'm still tasting it. Both bottles were in terrific shape and the wine has many years of life left even though it tastes fantastic right now. The bottles were remarkably consistent for such an old wine. Color was a dark ruby red with no signs of being on the down swing. Classic style Barolo with earth and sour cherry as the prominent smells and tastes. Well balanced with an elegant mouth feel. As with all Conterno these days it isn't cheap but I feel it was worth every penny.
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1990 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino
3/30/2013 - Oldworldwines Likes this wine: 99 Points
Wow! Part of a once in a lifetime weekend spent with Vincenzo Abbruzzese at Valdicava tasting 15 different vintages of Valdicava Brunello and Valdicava Madonna del Piano and this was for me the wine of the weekend. Brilliant nose of perfectly balanced earth and fruit in a perfect drinking window. Cassis, lead pencil, and other dark fruits emanate from the glass. This wine opens beautifully in just a short time in the decanter. Looking down on Valdicava from Montalcino drinking this wine is one of my most special wine memories. If you can find this wine buy all you can get and thank me later. This wine will last many more years (although is perfect right now) and the general longevity of Valdicava Brunello is incredible.
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1982 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
6/5/2012 - Oldworldwines wrote: 91 Points
I opened the bottle I received from a friend with little expectation of the wine still being any good. I was pleasantly surprised as I found only slight bricking and a general color of a wine half its age. The nose was a touch muted but still had classic cabernet overtones. The tannins were fully integrated. More red fruit than dark fruit with just a hint of green pepper. The pepper was not at all unpleasant and reminded me of the normal greeness found in Italian merlot. Not an overly complex wine but very cool nonetheless. This was the transition year at Shafer and this was the only wine labeled cabernet reserve they made to my knowledge. I kept the empty bottle.
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1985 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia
6/5/2012 - Oldworldwines wrote: 95 Points
Wow. I had two bottles of this last night and I'm still tasting it. Both bottles were in terrific shape and the wine has many years of life left even though it tastes fantastic right now. The bottles were remarkably consistent for such an old wine. Color was a dark ruby red with no signs of being on the down swing. Classic style Barolo with earth and sour cherry as the prominent smells and tastes. Well balanced with an elegant mouth feel. As with all Conterno these days it isn't cheap but I feel it was worth every penny.
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