2012 Mastroberardino Villa dei Misteri Pompeiano IGT

Community Tasting Notes (1) Avg Score: 86 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View forceberry's profile
  • Report Issue

  10/5/2021 - forceberry wrote: 86 Points

  A blend of Aglianico (40%), Piedirosso (40%) and Sciascinoso (20%). Aged for 12 months in French oak barriques and then another 5 years in bottles before release. 13% alcohol. Tasted in a Villa dei Misteri 2007-2012 vertical.
  
  Very deep, dense and fully opaque blackish-red color with a very evolved syrupy-brown hue. The nose feels savory, very tertiary and somewhat restrained with aromas of pouch tobacco, some licorice root, light floral notes of violets, a little bit of sour cherry, volatile hints of balsamico and liqueur-ish sweetness and an oxidative touch of beef jerky. The wine is silky, textural and quite tertiary on the palate with a medium body and savory flavors of sour cherry bitterness, some crunchy cranberry, a little bit of cigar, light ferrous notes of blood, a hint of smoke and a sweeter touch of dried fig. The overall feel is quite structured and sinewy, thanks to the high acidity and quite grippy medium-plus tannins that slowly pile up on the gums. The finish is savory, moderately grippy and a bit tired with medium-long flavors of sour cherry bitterness, some sanguine notes of iron, a little bit of tart cranberry, light earthy tones, a sweet hint of dried figs and a slightly oxidative touch of soy sauce.
  
  A balanced but also surprisingly evolved vintage of Villa dei Misteri that feels quite tired and even slightly oxidative, even though the wine is only 9 years old. In our vertical, this was - along with the equally tertiary 2008 vintage - the most advanced vintage of all the six vintages, even though this was the youngest in age. Structurally, this wine was surprisingly balanced and enjoyable, the acidity and firm but not aggressive tannins being very much in harmony with the body and the fruit, but flavor-wise the wine seemed to have already passed its plateau of maturity, which is why it seemed to have already lost some intensity and started to get a bit flat and dull. Based on this bottle, I wouldn't cellar this vintage any further. It's a surprise how evolved all these Villa dei Misteri vintages have been, considering how Mastroberardino's Taurasis are not even ready yet at 10 years of age and can age gracefully for decades.

  1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.