Fresh, clean and green apple, with some light floral an a clean nose. Also a hint of grapefruit and a very light earth note. Medium plus acidity, with almost no tannin and a medium finish.. Some slight depth to this wine. Not just a simple tank gavi.

Fruity and forward with radiant red and black cherry fruit, with forward fragrances and cinnamon spice. Tank freshness of youthful fruit. Fleshy palate with plenty of young radiant fruit, a medium body, some med grape tannins and a lingering fragrant medium finish. Slightly lower acidity. Fine fresh effort with beautiful fruit. One of the better dolcettos that I have ever had.

If the Pio dolcetto was one of the better dolcettos that I have had, I can definitely say that the Pio barbera was the QPR favorite of the night and a top of its class barbera. This is 91 plus. Fine red fruits of cherry and rhubarb with some nutmeg and pumpkin spices, fresh cut cedar planks and plenty of depth. Also some minerality to this vintage. A hint of vanilla and some soft oak maturity, even with the 2009. And perhaps a light hint of cocoa powder. That is all on the nose. Palate has depth, structure and medium plus acidity, medium to medium plus tannin and a medium plus to long finish. Great complexity, balance and depth. What an excellent QPR wine. And, on a side note, I believe that there will be a revival of barbera in the wine world. It has some noble pedigree that is evidenced here. Just ready to drink, but will improve in the next two to three years, and will drink for five more.

Aromatic and fragrant, with plenty of finesse and some seductive complexity and abundant fine perfume. A classic barbaresco from a classic vintage. Fine and mature red cherry fruits, some rhubarb, interwoven spices and oak and lots of mid-floral blossoms. Also some dried orange peel notes. Seamless palate with plenty of fragrant notes on the finish. Soft supple medium plus tannins, high acid, and seamless on the finish. This wine is all about the balance. Strong effort, and while it was overshadowed by some of the other Pio wines tonight, I have a feeling that on its own it would have been appreciated even more. While most of us wine drinkers respect strength, many times we gloss over delicacy and balance. This wine has those hard to find traits.

Classic profile barolo. Beautiful depth and approachable concentration. Dense, deep and fine black cherry and black fruit notes, with lots of deep blossom floral, violet and rose, deep perfume with a palate of somewhat angular full tannins, high acidity, medium plus to full body, and a streak of clove on the nose and finish. Will need 4 to 5 years to be approachable (even though it is tasty as a lineup wine now) and will drink for a long time after that. A beautiful wine. Highly recommend.

This wine has such a deep and complex, exotic nose! That is really what takes the attention. So many exotic asian spices, cedar hint, deep perfume, deep black fruit notes, and some underlying minerality. But those layers and laters of exotic spices! Highly concentrated with high tannins and acidity and a very very long finish with intricate complex notes that are not even worth naming. Just enjoy them! Full of masculinity. So deep that it needs at least 5 to 7 years to open up and then will get better with decades. Outstanding and powerful wine that blew everyone away.