8/18/2012 - Beniavino wrote:

Had this last night but can't put it any better than Julius Squeezer just has below. Absolutely fantastic drink. Speaks of the fruit of which it is made and the place from where it's from.

5/19/2012 - Beniavino wrote:

Lots of lush fruit up front with a fine finish. Just a delicious wine.

10/22/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

Drank at BBQ at mine with D, H and R. Lots of nice fruit up front and decent length, but otherwise fairly non-descript.

9/3/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

Fantastic! Not a port aficionado, but this was lovely.

9/3/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

From memory, of a late bottle from dinner last night. Hugo brought it.
Nice nose, but the palate was special. Lots of fruit, but also caramels, odd for a cab sav.
Great QPR, as far as I know.

9/3/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

Nice colour, with orange-y rim. Aroma of dark cherries. A touch tart in the mouth. Nice length. Needs food.

8/26/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

I agree with other tasters - very good for the price (I paid A$7 at auction). Lots of fruit, and some interest and a little length.
Nice.

8/21/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

Lovely fruity, floral nose. Not much funk, as others noted. Long, ripe flavours. Continued to evolve after popping and pouring. Drank beautifully with cotechino and lentils. From a half bottle, at Sunnybrae.

8/18/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

Deep golden colour. Honey nose. Fairly advanced in the mouth and was perhaps better in its youth, but still quite nice now.

7/16/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

Tar on the nose. Lots of leather in the mouth. Showing it's age, but really this wine is drinking quite well considering it's modest provenance. Not much fruit left, but the tannins remain and with food this nebbiolo tastes rather nice. Length ok too.

7/5/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

The cork was fully soaked, as others have noted, with some white crust atop. Cork comes out truly, however, and I have a whiff. The nose isn't particularly strong at this stage and I decant half the bottle, leaving the other half for tomorrow. The colour is great considering the age and wine. Initial taste is some what short so I give it some time... Once dinner is done - Italian salsicce with salad, balsamico caramelised onion in bread - I dive back in for another try. There is already a marked improvement. More fragrance on the nose (still not massive), but a wonderful flavour now. Nice simple fruit, tannins integrated and, now, a nice long (at least 30 seconds) finish - a wonderful village Burgundy!

6/24/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

Great colour - almost murky looking. Beautiful sweet, pungent nose. Sour cherries up front and a long finish. Nice. Will improve I expect.

6/14/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

I still really like this wine! Particularly for $4 a bottle at auction. It has lasted really well, losing a lot of it's fruit but still finishing with that lovely phenolic taste and mouth feel. Well done.

6/11/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

There were some signs of a cooked bottle here so was a little worried. Needlessly as it turns out as this is a lovely chianti with sweet chocolately flavours.

6/1/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

Lovely.

5/24/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

Pale gold.Faint honey. Quite long, citrus finish. Nice.

5/21/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

Thought i may have enjoyed this more than i did. It may have been the Greek food we had it with... Just didn't have a lot of complexity.

5/14/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

Huge tannins, still largely unintegrated, at least at this initial pouring. Unrecognisable as a pinot noir.
Day 2 - Tannins eased slightly and it's more drinkable. It is still, however, a deep, deep mystery as to how the winemakers turned pinot noir grapes into this wine.

5/13/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

You know, this is still pretty nice. It came very cheap and is probably past its best but it stacks up against the 09 I had last year. Plenty of fruit and the colour is almost-but-not-quite salmon. Not particularly long and very forward, but quite pleasant!

5/8/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

Mothers Day Lunch at Scopri. Great colour. Nose evolved gradually. Palate really came alive when the food arrived. Tobacco, roses and truffle on the nose, but drank so sweetly with slow-cooked lamb and spatchcock.Beautiful wine.

5/8/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

Very nice and smooth. Lovely deep colour at this stage Beautiful floral aroma. Only quibble is that it's perhaps a touch too sweet.

5/6/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

Fruity. Nice length. Good drink. Has a few years ahead of it.

5/3/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

As per last note. Still pleasant to drink, but simply too old.

5/2/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

Way past it's prime. And yet... There are traces of a nice wine here. I am no burgundy expert but I can smell and taste some lovely echoes of pinot here. Still a beautiful nose; and great length. The flavours have simply broken down too much over time.

4/25/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

Nice leather and fruit aroma. After 5 or 6 hours breathing the tannins have really opened up and is drinking nicely. Not overly long, but a very, very nice drink with salsicce.

4/1/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

A great Australian Montepulciano. I was a little worried upon opening as it seemed a little thin, but after some airtime and accompanying food it was really delicious. Savoury and smooth, you could drink this all night. My last one though!

3/15/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

Drank at home with duck confit and pomme salardaise. Quite a closed nose first up - opened after a while in the decanter. A bang of raspberry in the mouth complimented the funky nose that developed after an hour. A lovely wine that was just superb with the food. Quite long, although the latter stages are not as full or fruity as those intense early moments. Really looking forward to finishing the last of the bottle.

3/3/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

A nice colour in the glass - certainly not as full-on pink/red as it appears in the frankly quite bizarre bottle. Has a real, funky pinot nose. A little plain at first sip, but that soon passes and it opens nicely. Very nice and dry with a little fruit up front that soon dissipates. Some nice length for a rose. The addition of food turns this into a really nice drink. Another great rose to add to the ever-growing resurgence. Delicious.

2/23/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

The initial aroma is quite funky, but full of blackberry and quite fumey. After an hour in decanter the perfume had opened up. Very fruity in the mouth. After 3 hours it's beginning to fade a little. Past its prime but still lovely to drink. I've left half of it in the bottle under argon so will revisit it on the weekend.

2/20/2011 - Beniavino wrote:

A very floral yet earthy, pinot-like nose. In the mouth there is cherry with some light tannins. Beautiful drink. Must try more of this grape when I hit Vienna in April.