8/31/2023 - KellyW Likes this wine:

Showed wonderful upon opening. improved over next several hours. Decanting would have really helped. Dense ripe dark fruits. Tannins became silky after an hour. Quite long.

11/15/2020 - KellyW Likes this wine:

Was not expecting the fireworks this bottle offered. Sweet core of pure sangiovese red fruited goodness. Fully resolve tannins. Velvety front to back. These wine can really age.

9/13/2018 - KellyW Likes this wine:

Very deceptive color in a Rayas sort of way. This kept growing with air. A complete well integrated wine with seamless palate front to back. Tannins perfectly meld into the fruit. A touch of brett gives it a hint of burgundy funk. Brunello like no other. Brilliant.

9/24/2016 - KellyW Likes this wine:

I have been very lucky having purchased two separate lots of this wine, every one of them so far have been pristine. Unheard of in today's white burgundy. The wine was crystalline. Rich yet restrained. Loads of mineral front to back supported by perfectly ripe fruit. After 3 hours the wine was not going to back down rather it evolved greater complexity and weight. A wine like this is the perfect tee shot that brings you back after 100 hooks and shanks.

9/24/2016 - KellyW Likes this wine:

Very light color that belies the concentration of fruit on the palate. Incredibly perfumed nose of red fruits, flowers and spice. Very good balance and length. Drinking surprisingly well at such a young age.

5/23/2013 - KellyW Likes this wine:

Yes there are Dunn HMs that you can drink and enjoy! This is one of them. Classically dense Dunn but the tannins have melted enough for all that packed-in fruit to explode both on the nose and the palate. If you want to drink a spectacular mature Howell Mtn. cab this is da bomb!

5/23/2013 - KellyW Likes this wine:

A real bruiser. Started out like port with a lot of sweetness on the palate. This opened up beautifully over a few hours. The dark fruits evolved into wild red fruits at the end.

4/21/2013 - KellyW wrote:

corked

3/6/2013 - KellyW wrote:

I have been lucky to have tasted a good number of vintages of Monfortino and this vintage is always such a pleasant surprise. Slight amount of bricking but absolutely no signs of cracking up. Very floral nose and a sweet core of fruit on the palate. I will drink my remaining bottles in the near future but really love this wine.

2/22/2013 - KellyW wrote:

I have been lucky to have tasted a good number of vintages of Monfortino and this vintage is always such a pleasant surprise. Slight amount of bricking but absolutely no signs of cracking up. Very floral nose and a sweet core of fruit on the palate. I will drink my remaining bottles in the near future but really love this wine.

2/22/2013 - KellyW wrote:

This was like drinking a fully coiled spring. Dense but not giving. Pre-natal. I do not remotely plan on opening another before 10 more years.

12/24/2012 - KellyW Likes this wine:

Fully mature sangiovese. Bricked but no signs of cracking up. Great sweetness on the palate. Very fine tannins. Lovely.

11/12/2012 - KellyW wrote:

Dinner at Villa d'Este. This was not a clean bottle. Previos bottles showed much more freshness and much cleaner. Some fely corked but it was not. Hope for better performance from nect bottle from case.

11/12/2012 - KellyW wrote:

Very, very young still. Drank along side 2001 La Tache which is a better wine for current drinking. The RSV will be a stunning wine in 10 years. Great depth and complexity but still neatly wound.

11/11/2012 - KellyW wrote:

A beautiful d'Alceo. Opened with some pretty stiff competition. Great balance this is in the perfect drinking window. Very fine tannins and long.

11/14/2012 - KellyW wrote:

Not one of the better bottles I have tried though some decanting would likely have made a huge difference. Still rather strict but very enjoyable.

11/14/2012 - KellyW wrote:

Arghh!! Very embarrassing. I gave this to Antonio Galloni for a dinner we both attended. Heat damaged.

11/11/2012 - KellyW wrote:

Shared this with fellow GJE members at WWS. A complete wine. Youthful concentration, pure red fruits in perfect balance with tannic structure and acidity. Lovely spice and mineral all in fantastic balance.

7/7/2012 - KellyW wrote:

From magnum. Still very young. Offering dark cherry and kirsch on the palate. Smoky spices. Tannins are still very grippy. Alcohol pokes through on the finish. Wait 5 years to try again.

6/24/2012 - KellyW wrote:

The last bottle I tasted was back in 2006. Thought that bottle was tired. Forgot I still had a bottle in the cellar. This bottle really sang. Solid core of dark fruit and the characteristic earthiness and vegatal note that could easily be confused with a great aged cabernet franc tasted blind.

6/22/2012 - KellyW wrote:

Past prime but still offered a nice core of fruit with fully resolved tannin.

4/15/2012 - KellyW wrote:

Popped and poured after a 1990 Faiveley Beze. Very fresh a ready to drink. Great fruit density. No green at all. Very long.

12/23/2011 - KellyW wrote:

I have drunk this on several occassions and am alway surprised how well it drinks at such a young age. We splash decanted this and initially it tasted like a cali fruit bomb next to the Echz. But with time it began to express its 'Tache-ness' with lots of spice and floral notes. Great density. Not a hint of mean green.

11/20/2011 - KellyW wrote:

This was a surprise for Eric as this is his birth year. I was bit concerned with the cork crumbling but was able to get the bottom of the cork out whole. As they say, there are only great bottles...and we scored big time! Not a George Clinton kinda wine. The nose was fresh, dense and pure. Old Barolo-like with tar and roses in the nose. We opened this first as i was afraid it may fade quickly. Not a chance. Improved all night.

12/4/2011 - KellyW wrote:

From magnum. Still rather monolithic and unevolved though the tannins have integrated. A well made wine but uninspiring.

12/4/2011 - KellyW wrote:

From magnum. Classic Pauillac nose of tobacco, leather and graphite. Solid core of ripe fruit. Great balance and poise.

8/16/2011 - KellyW wrote:

Opened at beach house for Erin's graduation with family. Nose of blood orange. Dry and lithe on the palate. Very enjoyable.

8/16/2011 - KellyW wrote:

Drinking perfect now. Hints of petrol on top of fresh melon and pit fruit. Honey and orange zest. Nice stony palate.

2/8/2011 - KellyW wrote:

This showed very, very young. Needed a lot of decant time but was gone in a blink. 10 more years and this will be amazing. Lots of structure. Smokey nose.

6/18/2011 - KellyW wrote:

Took to Vivace for anniversary dinner. No decant but probably should have. Nice complexity on the nose but rather muddled on the palate. Gained some more interest on the palate with time. Some herbal notes. Good fine tannin but a touch short on the finish.

4/26/2011 - KellyW wrote:

Lemon and honey. A bit of brioche. Very nice.

5/4/2011 - KellyW wrote:

Very Pauillac nose of dark fruits, leather, cedar and pencil lead. Distinctly Italian on the palate with good bright acidity and asian spice. Fine fully resolved tannins.

5/4/2011 - KellyW wrote:

Really sappy and intensly long. The fruit has evolved making it, dare I say, very Montrachet-like. Fine intense mineral coats the palate. This was likely painful to drink in it's youth.

5/1/2011 - KellyW wrote:

Long my favorite Franciacorta this was in a great place offering plenty of pears and brioche. Starts out very forward bu quickly pulls back on the dry finish.

1/30/2011 - KellyW wrote:

Should have decanted this earlier in the day as it could have benefited. Started sing just about the time the last glass was poured. Loads of brooding dark fruits. An initially tarry nose evolved into a very floral and complex mineral/iron nose. Densely fruited and long.

1/13/2011 - KellyW wrote:

Very comlex and floral nose. Tar and sweet red fruits. Very Burgundy like. Ripe silky tannins.

1/29/2011 - KellyW wrote:

A very pleasant Vougeot with good fruit density and fine tannins.

1/29/2011 - KellyW wrote:

Just starting to enter its drinking window. A big wine. Enthralling spicy nose. Very muscular on the palate. Dense ripe tannins. This will age a very long time.

1/16/2011 - KellyW wrote:

This has entered the prime drinking window. Very structured but offering plenty of decondary nuance. The fruit is very fresh buffered by plenty of acidity. Very long and generous.

8/30/2010 - KellyW wrote:

Not as precise as the Dauvissat. Still giving great Chablis pleasure.

8/30/2010 - KellyW wrote:

Brilliant. Very precise with a broad yet constrained palate. Great minerality

8/31/2010 - KellyW wrote:

A little past prime but still drinking nicely.

8/31/2010 - KellyW wrote:

Drinking perfect now. Fully mature with a long way to go. Stunning.

7/28/2010 - KellyW wrote:

After opening a completely oxidized 1999, I crossed my fingers and opened a 2002. I have to say that though the color seemed ok, maybe a hint deeper yellow than usual for it's age, this seems to be on the edge. The wine lacked the freshness and depth I would expect for a CC at this age. It seemed tired heading toward the wrong side of town. Very dissapointing for a wine I normally love.

7/25/2010 - KellyW wrote:

Wow! The nose is pure Pauillac with an added punch of framboise and current fruit. Cedar, leather and spice. No way would I pick this out as Cali Cab blind. Deep purple at the core this showed little sign of bricking. Still a baby but likely drinking at apogee.

7/25/2010 - KellyW wrote:

The last botle I served was slightly oxidized. This bottle was firing on all cylinders. Showing lovely petrol on the nose this is intense and bright on the palate. Very dense but classicaly St. Hune in its precision.

7/25/2010 - KellyW wrote:

Lovely spice on the noise. No green meanies. Very good concentration and very fine dusty tannins. Drinking very friendly.

1/14/2010 - KellyW wrote:

Next to the 2000 this seemed somewhat monolithic but this is a hugely endowed wine that may ultimately be the better. A darker smokier wine that at this stage the Aglianico characteristics are at the fore.

1/16/2010 - KellyW wrote:

What is not to love about this wine and its producer? Like the Il Carbonaione, there does not seem to ever be a bad vintage. Of the two Montevetrano we drank this night, the 2000 presented itself as clearly the better wine, if only for the additional bottle age. This wine is finally getting more secondary nuance but still gives loads of dense primary ripe fruit counterbalancing the copious tannin and acidity.

1/14/2010 - KellyW wrote:

Presented blind by Scott. This had me a bit baffled because the color was that of an aged pinot noir. Obviously unfiltered. Loads of red cherries and super fine dusty, powdery tannins. I thought this was older given how well this is drinking. A real stunner.