Popped and poured, served blind. A slick bricking at the rim of the glass. Beautiful nose of roasted plums, cherries, balsamic reduction, florals, with a touch of leather, non-descript wood; quite savoury. On the palate, dark fruits, black cherries, leather. Fairly low tannin and high acidity frame the moderate length finish. To me, this is a touch out of balance, with the acid taking over. A particular rowdy crowd this evening, as one of the tasters is called out for not assisting in finishing the bottle.

Popped and poured, served blind. On the nose, red fruits of strawberries, cherries, raspberries, a hint of spice, and a faint chemical odor. On the palate, equally offensive, with raspberry puree and drain cleaner. This is quite sweet, with a bit of heat on the finish. Tannin is quite low, and acid is moderate. The table did not finish the wine, it was put aside for cooking, but the table was concerned that adding this wine to a dish may render it inedible. At this point, we learn that Dave thought he'd be real cheeky and spend the budget ($40 max) and get two wines, instead of one.

Decanted for about 30-45 mins, served blind. On the nose, very pure red fruits, cherries, herbs, coffee, with an off-putting note of rubber and slight fecal matter. On the palate, dark cherries, raspberries. Moderate acidity, with very mild tannin. Moderate length on the finish. As with the last, the table opted not to consume the remainder of the bottle. Exceptionally poor value, and lacked typical Brunello characteristics.

Decanted for approximately 30-45 mins, served blind. Nose of dark fruits, white pepper, slight florals, crushed stones and a hint of mint leaves. On the palate, dark fruits, pepper, wet stones. Fairly mild tannin, with moderate acidity. Nice length on the finish. Good stuff. My favourite value play of the evening, with it's Northern Rhone character.

Decanted for approximately 30 mins, not blind to me. A nose of candied cherries, florals, baking spices of cinnamon and nutmeg, tar, herbs, fennel, with a touch of leather and earth. On the palate, cherries, spice. Great acidity and slightly drying tannin in the mouth, but in a good place right now. Moderate length finish.

Popped and poured, served blind. Nose of bright red fruits, very green; heavy herbs, stemmy, fresh cut grass. On the palate, raspberries, herbs, medicinal tinctures. This was Dave's second wine, that went over slightly better than the first. As with the first wine, this was poured back in the bottle and relegated to the kitchen for cooking.

Popped and poured, served blind. Well, after unleashing two real stinkers on us, Dave decided he would redeem himself. Nose of red and black cherries, leather, tar, horse stable, sweaty ass, earth, with slight floral notes. On the palate, nice bright red fruits, leather, earth, spice; moderate tannin remains, ample acidity, nice long finish. This is a bit of a chameleon wine, as I was headed to Italy on this one, despite having it previously, and thinking it was of Southern Rhone character. Great wine, happy to have a couple tucked away as this is still getting better.