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Community Tasting Notes (39) Avg Score: 90.2 points

  • 1/24 - ok you get what you pay for. The fruit dominates but the stuffing (tannin and grip) are gone. What many refer to silky tannins or what I refer to as grape juice with alcohol. Will be a great addition to my next beef stracotto braise. Ok, I tried it next day no gas. More structured and with better grip and balance. Will try again before adding it to the stew

    10/21 really amazing for a $28 bottle. Incredibly persistent even after 3 days. Rustic with wonderful nebilolo character. This shot will run for 15!more years

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  • Very tight and bricked after being open for 90 minutes-thought it was well past. But....after being open for about 4 hours this wine fully integrated and had lovely fruit, good acid, and a long finish. I've never seen such a transformation.

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  • Decanted for 2.5 hours before dinner. At opening it was tart, bright, and very closed. Opened beautifully after decanting. Not really classic roses and tar, but a touch of floral and funk on the nose, beautiful dark fruit and forest on the palate with very nice acid and smooth tannins. An excellent QPR. I have one bottle left and will drink it within a couple years.

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  • IN a great place. Feminine red berries with just enough lift.
    Paired great with Brisket & Gnocchi

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  • This wine seems to have matured a lot since my last visit.
    Nice dark berry with a tinge of violet candy, a slight astringency and drying tannins. Fruit might be fading ...

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Garagiste

  • By Jon Rimmerman
    12/20/2007, (See more on Garagiste...)

    (PIER Villa Riserva Barbaresco) Barbaresco Redux #3 Dear Friends, Here’s something that just came up and maybe it’s not the smartest thing to put this out on the same day as our Deal of the Year (the 1990 Vouvray) but I have to take this or leave it by tomorrow morning so I'll let you have at it until then. As long as we’re wrapping up 2007 with our very best deals and as long you keep asking for it, I'll keep asking them to pilfer other distributor and importer allocations of the late release 2000 Pier Barbaresco Riserva wines and give the final few cases to us. The reaction to this set of wines from our customer base has been a true delight - it shows that so many of you appreciate the highest quality bang for your buck and it also shows how hard that is to find that holy grail with Barolo and Barbaresco (especially Riserva). This is a final parcel of the ‘00 Pier Barbaresco “Villa” Riserva and it remains one of the single finest values for Riserva level-Nebbiolo left in Piedmont. This is the wine sourced largely from vineyard stock that abuts Gaja. I purchased two cases of this wine for myself as the price/value couldn’t be beat in Alba and I’ve already consumed five of the bottles (since October) - call me a glutton but for this low of a tariff, it’s a wine I can’t help but bring out at dinners and functions. Nearly everyone finds something to be wowed about, even if they are the most educated palates I deal with (I’ve learned that this wine shows best with 1-2 hours of air so give it some oxygen). This final parcel is from the same lot of 2000 vintage wine, directly from the cellars at Pier 2000 Pier Barbaresco “Villa” Riserva Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Italy5490
  • By Jon Rimmerman
    11/14/2007, (See more on Garagiste...)

    (PIER Vila Riserva Barbaresco) UPDATE: Wine of the Year People keep asking me my prediction on various wine of the year lists and currently the Wine Spectator Wine of the Year - I will stand by what I said last March that no matter what happens for the rest of 2007, Baumard’s 2005 Quarts de Chaume will be the WS Wine of the Year. Yes, Guigal’s 2003 La Mouline will be #2 or #3 (along with the 2005 Clos des Papes, maybe #2 again which it was a few years ago - although the Clos des Papes could sneak in as the WOTY) but I still think the Baumard will be #1, even though it already won the award back in 1998. Why? The entire Baumard portfolio was one of the highest scoring of the year and if nothing else, it is a tribute award to Baumard’s entire 2005 success and for their achievements over the last 15-20 years. Also, the 2005 Loire vintage was a breakout vintage for the area and it would be a progressive choice to give a Loire wine the top spot. Then again, I could be wrong... ...if I’m not, those of you that complained or sold your 2005 Baumard after the Schildknecht reviews may want to re-think that philosophy in the next few days...for those of you that bought this wine from us, it’s safely on its way to us from their cellar - they just held it a lot longer than they originally planned (I’ve heard of delays but a 6 month delay? Yikes). Always remember, in the end, it’s the winery that is in control of when you get your wine, not us - we are just the concerned conduit that receives the wine and sends it on its way to you. Sometimes a winery decides for one reason or another to keep a wine longer than anticipated but rest assured, as soon as they send it to us, we pack it on your behalf and either store it for you or send it on its way. Back to year-end lists... Our wine of the year is a tough decision, but we'll make one over the next 4-6 weeks and let you know in late December - maybe it will be a multilateral choice this year and we'll just call it our favorite wines of the year. In any regard, lists are fun during the holiday season but we will make it our goal to continue the quest to seek out the best bargains and deals we can until the end of 2007, hopefully to give your holiday budget a little spark. With value in mind, the wine below is a doozy... - Jon Rimmerman ***************************** Barbaresco Dear Friends, As far as deals go, this is right up there with the best I’ve seen from Piedmont in quite a while. For 2000 Riserva, the wine is one of the best buys you will see. For someone that is not a believer in the 2000 vintage, this wine made me put an asterisk next to that comment - it deserves the praise. From the Wine Spectator “100pt Vintage” (their highest scored vintage ever), the 2000 wines from Piedmont have always seemed too over-ripe and unfocussed to be called 100pt wines. The prices were also very high. That brings us to this wine, one I had to be cajoled into even trying as I wanted to ignore it due to the vintage - I’m glad I didn’t. This wine is so good, I though I had a “spiked” sample (which happens more often than many will admit), so I bought one at retail in Italy and it was exactly the same. If you are unfamiliar with Pier, that will not be for long - a house set on delivering traditional Barbaresco from top vineyards....at proletariat prices. Introducing the quality/value star alternative to the co-op Produttori: Azienda Pier. This winery has been in the hands of the same family for three generations, based in Treiso north of Alba. While they’ve always had access to excellent material, it was not until Pier Paulo took over form his father that the decision to ascend to Barbaresco’s top rung was made. The 2000 vintage is the first post-quality year and their top Riserva wines show the change. This is another winery that has not looked for the spotlight but it is going to shine on them - the wines are now too good. The 2000 Vila Riserva is their best wine and it is priced like a generic Barbaresco from a marginal vintage (the 2000 Rio Sordo Riserva is also excellent - both are line-priced the same, we are trying to get a small amount of that as well). From the first whiff, the Vila is serious - very serious with powerful, masculine aromatics that weave in and out with the more feminine brick and cherry grace of Barbaresco’s top cru’s. This is undoubtedly from the grapes used as Pier wanted a yin/yang and therefore blended grapes from Ca’Grossa and Nicolini to make this wine (and a touch from Tre Stelle for delicacy). The Vila Riserva is raised with tradition in mind but it is still very full and rich due to the vintage with notes of licorice root, rose, soil and red fruit swirling around the palate. It is starting to drink well now (if you like powerful examples) but it is best to decant for at least two hours. While I have no experience with this wine before this vintage, it should continue to age beautifully for another 10 years at least but it’s tough to ignore right now. This is another “ahead of the curve” offer so I urge you to take advantage of a price-point that is downright crazy. An amazing value and one of the strongest wines for the price from 2000. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - could have been one of our deals of the year but at some point I have to make these offers stand on their own without a SPECIAL or DEAL designation - I think you get the point...) ONE SHIPMENT ONLY with perfect provenance: 2000 Pier Barbaresco “Vila” Riserva Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Italy7420

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