1968 Mastroberardino Taurasi Riserva

Community Tasting Notes (23) Avg Score: 95.6 points

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  10/28/2023 - cct wrote: 98 Points

  My last bottle. Opened for a friend's 55th.
  
  Double decanted several hours ahead and runk over a few hours.
  
  A lung filling nose. Beguiling really. Dark cherries, roses, spice, bitter chocolate, ash and ferrous notes. Expansive on the palate, with "iron fist in a velvet glove" intensity. An effortless degree of power coupled with grace and ease. Incredible detail, near perfect balance and a sense overwhelming yet effortless beauty. With time it adds dimension on the palate, as well as more soil and ferrous notes to the incredible fruit and perfume. It doesn't taste like a Pomerol, but has a textural brilliance and palate presence that great Pomerol can have. Not that this wine should strive to be great Pomerol. This wine speaks for itself and is a testament to the potential nobility of Aglianico. This wine, for me, is one of the greatest wines that have crossed my fortunate lips. My last bottle, and often previous bottles spoil you, with the bottle rarely living up to expectations. While not the best bottle of this I have had, it was near perfect. Effortless. A wine that quiets a room. The last glass was the best. Calm, regal and likely to drink beautifully for decades more. Stunning. 98 and I might be being stingy.

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  1/1/2020 - SteveHyde Likes this wine: 91 Points

  My last bottle of this iconic wine opened for a simple New Year's dinner. Bottle in amazing condition. Bottom neck fill level. Good color. Cork sound. But it's clear that the wine is past peak now. Tertiary fruit is lovely, but faded. Tannin barely noticeable. Acid prominent. Yet it was a lot of fun to have the chance to taste this once more.

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  12/22/2018 - VlgJeff Likes this wine: 94 Points

  CES 50th Anniversary Dinner: Second of 2 bottles -- top shoulder; capsule clean. Opened later that day to hedge our bet on aeration. So, after 3 hours of slo-ox, we decanted for another 1+ hour.
  Same initial and interim impressions as first bottle. When consumed, the lack of air showed in the higher acidity and level of drying tannins -- meaning air is important!

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  12/22/2018 - VlgJeff Likes this wine: 96 Points

  CES 50th Anniversary Dinner: First of 2 bottles -- bottom neck/top shoulder; capsule clean. Gift from the L's spefically for this dinner. Opened 7 hours before dinner to "Audouze".
  Initial: nose revealed some red fruit and earth; palate yielded some light red fruit, earthiness, and way too much acidity and tannins.
  At 4 hours: red fruits continue to open up, along with some blue fruits, but acidity too strong and some drying tannins.
  At 7 hours: Clear agreement from all assembled that this wine weathered the last 50 years better than any of us. The color was a deep red core to a lighter rim. The medium plus palate was a mature presentation of red fruits (cherry + others) and earth, along with hints of herbs, smoke, and tar. The acidity was balancing, and the tannins were integrated. The finish was medium to plus, and relatively smooth.
  Hard to guess how long this wine will hold, but why wait as it's tough to imagine it getting any better.

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  11/11/2018 - joseduca Likes this wine: 94 Points

  incredible effort, strong and complex, lost a bit of the aroma but still gorgeous after 50 years... well done!

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