2012 Fratelli Barba Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Vignafranca

Community Tasting Notes (24) Median Score: 87 points

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  10/15/2022 - bacchus wrote: 90 Points

  shared with pat at selkrik manor. i continue to prune the cellar of bottles with past due drink by dates. was holding on to this bottle since my last tasting inote indicated that it was still holding up well. i have enjoyed many bottles of this wine over the years from this and other vintages. this producer is one of my favorites from abruzzo in general and teramo in particular. adding to our fondness for this wine is the fact that it is produced not far from my wife's home town. i agree with the substance of the review from we but am assigning a higher score. the wine still shows dark color with no fading at the rim. dark skin fruit on the nose and palate. will enjoy remaining bottle soon. will do vertical with other vintages in the cellar.

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  10/1/2021 - bacchus wrote: 90 Points

  shared with pat at selkirk manor. celebrating surviving another week of pandemic. i continue to prune the cellar of bottles with past due drink by dates. no formal notes. this bottle did not disappoint. last tasted 5/2/2020. that note continues to ring true. no signs of decline. will keep remaining bottles a little longer to test how far they can go.

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  5/3/2020 - bacchus wrote: 90 Points

  shared with pat at selkirk manor to celebrate the end of another week of SIP due to COVID-19. i continue to prune the cellar of bottles with expired drink by dates. i was also concerned that other members were reporting bad experiences with this wine. this is my first time drinking this vintage. i had previously enjoyed several bottles of the 2006 which had a longer projected longevity. the 2012 also shows substantial staying power. I am partial to the wines of Abruzzo in general and Teramo in particular due to familial origin with several members still residing in the province. nevertheless, i feel that i am being objective when reporting my enjoyment of this wine. paired with roast beef. the wine showed well both with and without food. the wine presents with inky dark purple/blue color. luscious black cherry on the nose and palate. the wine drinks gorgeously now and can easily live one or two more years. at some point will do a vertical with the 2006 to learn which may have been the better vintage. looking over my notes from the 2006 vintage, there was some bottle variation observed which could explain variable notes from others for this vintage. or, it is possible that other members' bottles that did not show well may have suffered poor storage conditions somewhere along the way. i feel lucky that my bottle showed well and would consider buying more. thanks WTSO.

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  10/20/2019 - Laz4wine wrote: 82 Points

  Not quite as bad as my first bottle, but still not a lot to note here, not flawed/corked (I think), but just a smokey nose and dark-fruited balsamic notes, and still one-dimensional.

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  8/21/2019 - Laz4wine wrote: flawed

  WTF happened here, no fruit just a savory mess of balsamic, worcestershire, and soy sauce with barely any fruit, which was disjointed, funky and acidic well beyond reason. Perhaps flawed or over the hill? Definitely far from original WS90 TN (boysenberry, mocha, graphite, spice, smoke etc.) which sold me on buying.

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View all 24 Community Tasting Notes

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