Popped and poured, served blind. Very dark garnet in colour in the glass. No bricking. On the nose, blue fruits, citrus peel, grapefruit, spice, with a touch of crushed rocks. On the palate, ripe blue fruits, dark cherry, pepper, grapefruit and minerality. Very mildly structured; medium acid, with mild tannin. Finish is of moderate length. I actually thought this was Syrah from California, but it turned out to be Pinot Noir. Qualitatively, this is a well made, well balanced wine. A little riper than what I typically enjoy, but this would be a real crowd pleaser to have around the house.

Popped and poured, served blind. Deep purple in the glass, with a slint hint of bricking. Complex nose showing dark fruits, black cherry, licorice, iron, blood, tar, florals and dried tobacco. On the palate tart dark cherries, iron, meat, bitter chocolate, licorice and tar. Very concentrated and dense, with some big tannin and acidity, making way for a nice long finish. I knew this was Italian, and thought Nebbiolo, but I had no idea there was Barbera in the mix. Really nice wine.

Double decanted quickly to remove sediment and served blind to a few other guests, but not myself. As with the last bottle, some old seepage was noted upon removal of the capsule. On the nose, this lacked some of the heavy olive character that I enjoyed so much in the last bottle. It was still there, but slightly subdued. the nose also showed prunes, undergrowth, leather and smoked meats. Once again, this was not much of a pleasure to drink on the palate. Acidity is taking over, and the finish is quite clipped. Still some lingering tannin here. Great educational experience.

Decanted approximately two hours prior to serving. Served blind. Deep ruby in the glass, with a mild bricking at the rim. On the nose, red berries, blackberry, green tobacco, fresh herbs, smoke, earth and florals. Mirrored on the palate with black and red fruits, earth and pyrazine. Moderate tannin and acidity, in great balance. This is quite polished and elegantly styled, with low alcohol, but still exhibiting excellent power on the finish. On first sip, the finish built up like a crescendo and tailed off. I knew this was Bordeaux, but I think it was revealed before I made a guess.

Popped and poured. On the nose, caramel, roasted hazelnuts, burnt sugar, crushed apple skin, bruised apple, yeast and minerality. On the palate, bruised apples, wet stones, nuts, caramel. In the mouth this feels quite structured; some tannin gripping on the moderate length finish, and some big acidity. This bottle was a touch more advanced than the last one that I had, and was lacking a bit of the zip that I enjoy in champagne.

Popped and poured. Subdued nose of lemon zest and crushed rocks. Mirrored on the palate, with beautiful weight and texture. Nice long finish, ending with a hint of bitterness. Mouth watering acidity was an excellent compliment to the corresponding scallop dish. This was not very expressive at the moment, which was unfortunate, because it seems like everything is there.

Popped and poured. Deep golden colour in the glass. Initially, this was quite muted on the nose, but eventually gave way to melon, apricot, peach, stoney minerality, butterscotch and some overt oak notes. On the palate, this was massively textured, showing apricot, honey, marzipan and hazelnut. Not much in the way of structure here with low tannin and low acidity. The finish is quite long, but shows a bit of heat. An interesting wine for certain, but not particularly enjoyable to me. This needs more acidity.

Popped and poured. Fully saturated cork. Surprisingly nice colour, with a deep garnet core. Obviously, some heavy bricking at the rim. On the nose, heavy sherry notes, prune, raisin, burnt apples. On the palate, sherry and prunes. Acidity is taking over and there is still a whack of tannin. Finish is clipped, quite unpleasant to drink. Now, the above review does not do justice to the experience, in that we got to consume a piece of history. Thanks to LP for bringing this one.

Nose of prunes, wet dog, cardboard, moldy basement. Sadly, heavily corked. Big disappointment.

Decanted quickly for sediment and then served immediately. There was a bit of past seepage noted when removing the capsule, which had me concerned, although the cork still had a decent seal and came out in one piece. This was not at all like I expected. Really fresh on the nose, with really bright red fruits, savoury green herbs, fresh cut grass, crushed rocks, florals, briny olive, mint and fresh sea air. On the palate, very light weight, and elegant, showing red fruits, pepper, fresh picked herbs, minerality, olive and mint. Strong, refreshing acidity and fully integrated tannin. This paired really well with Patrick's wonderful lamb shank. Oddly enough, this reminded me more of a beautiful pinot than what I expected to be a powerful hermitage.

Decanted quickly for sediment and served beside the 1991 Chave Hermitage. Showing much different than the bottle I had just a few weeks ago. Very confected nose of raspberry puree, icing sugar, crushed rocks. Mirrored on the palate, with no structure. This was awful.

Decanted quickly for sediment and served immediately. This bottle was in fantastic shape with spinning capsule, great fill and mild staining a centimeter up the cork. On the nose, this showed cassis, leather, earth, truffle, forrest floor, fresh ground coffee, green tobacco, light bell pepper and cedar. On the palate, cassis, earth, mushroom, pyrazine, coffee and leather. Good balance showing medium acidity and a touch of drying tannin on the long finish. Excellent concentration. This is very typical, textbook Bordeaux. Not a wow wine, but very nice to enjoy over the course of a few hours.

I wish this had of been decanted for sediment, because I ended up with a ton of it in my glass. On the nose, I'm getting currant liquor, pyrazine, slightly medicinal, overlaid by metallic notes as a result of the sediment. I can't accurately judge this.

As with the Beringer, this was not decanted and I was the last pour at the table resulting in a ton of sediment in my glass. On the nose, some cherry, decomposing leaves, baking spice, but once again, overlaid with a huge metallic note from the excessive amounts of sediment in my glass. Tough to take a note on this one.

Popped and poured. Fresh nose of black cherry, florals, tar, spice, chocolate, licorice, oak and balsamic glaze. On the palate, cherries, baking spice, and licorice. Massively structured; tons of grainy drying tannin, mouth watering acidity. This wine along with the Palladino prompted a lot of discussion on Nebbiolo and its drinking windows. Personally, I get the quality of this wine, but it wasn't giving me a ton of pleasure right now.

Decanted quickly for sediment, served blind. On the nose, slight black cherry, moldy cardboard. Moderately corked.

Served blind, decanted quickly for sediment. On the nose, candied cherries, florals, tar, spice and iron, but still some slight mustiness. Mirrored on the palate, and seemingly a bit disjointed right now. Acidity is a bit out of whack and there is a ton of drying tannin. There are some nice elements to this wine, but I still felt this was ever so slightly corked. After my experiences with the 2004 and 2006, I will never purchase this producer. Every single bottle I've had has been a relative disaster.

Popped and poured. Deep golden colour, seemingly more oxidized than the last bottle. On the nose, mashed pumpkin flesh, honey, herbs. Overall quite vegetal and oxidative. On the palate, lacking acidity, very cloying and unpleasant. Not consistent with the prior bottle. There was definitely something wrong with this.