4/9/2024 - SteveN100 wrote:

Quite young still. Has the body to deliver more in a few years when I expect it will score a bit better.

3/30/2024 - SteveN100 wrote:

Wonderful wine that still has a thick layer of tannins within it (at least in this bottle). Again, I found the floral notes that accompany younger bottles of this wine (roses, honey, apple blossom(?)) to be gone. Other than that, beautiful wine without the herbaceousness some other barbarescos have that can be off putting.

3/23/2024 - SteveN100 wrote:

Opened up after a short decant. Very little tannic edges left in this bottle. Dark cherry, light mushroom, and tobacco.

12/24/2023 - SteveN100 wrote:

The nose was just so alive on this one it was just shocking. This wine has a lot of runway left. Solid tannins and a long finish. Relatively high ABV at 15.5, but not out of the ordinary for Napa cabs. Wonderful wine.

12/17/2023 - SteveN100 wrote:

Too young just yet, but had to give it a try. Ripe fruit, immense cherry nose and abundant tannins.

9/30/2023 - SteveN100 wrote:

Drinking well now with a decent amount of runway left. Light strawberry notes along with some mint. Tannins have smoothed out quite a bit, but some roughness left for aging to address.

9/3/2023 - SteveN100 wrote:

Deep purple color with no hint of fade or browning. Blackberry and heavy dark fruits on nose and palate. Did not choose to decant this and just let it unfold in the glass. Great wine, a bit to high of an ABV for me, but a superb bottle regardless.

8/7/2023 - SteveN100 wrote:

Corked

7/31/2023 - SteveN100 wrote:

Feeling like this one has peaked. Either that or I got a bad bottle. Pretty flat and underwhelming. Have one bottle left. Hope that one redeems this one.

7/31/2023 - SteveN100 wrote:

Polished, crisp and drinking well right now.

7/1/2023 - SteveN100 wrote:

Exceptionally smooth tannins. Light cherry in nose, ABV of 14.5. Drinking well right now.

6/12/2023 - SteveN100 wrote:

Obviously very young still. Found the cab component to be a little overwhelming at this stage and something that I expect will integrate better as the wine ages based on older vintages. Have always found this to be a wine that punches above its weight and expect to score it higher in a few years.

5/29/2023 - SteveN100 wrote:

Coloring has lost its brightness, orange around rim. Still has some edgy tannins, so this has a bit more room to run for those sitting on a bottle or two. Hint of strawberry, clear cherry notes, balsam perhaps rosemary. Quite good from a great vintage.

4/27/2023 - SteveN100 wrote:

Took some time to open. Had a bit of an off putting nose at first, but it sang the day after opening.

4/11/2023 - SteveN100 wrote:

Young and tight. Needs at least another 5 years to start smoothing down some of the tannic edges.

4/9/2023 - SteveN100 wrote:

Easter 2023. Wonderful, but came up short vs a 2015 Schrader RBS.

1/30/2023 - SteveN100 wrote:

Delicious now with a long decant, but really needs more time. Great QPR here in a vintage that has a hard time doing any wrong. Acidity is quite high at the moment, but that should wane as time passes. Will wait a few years to open another.

12/26/2022 - SteveN100 wrote:

This one still has lots of room to run. Would recommend a lengthy decant. Personally, I think this is a wine that punches above its weight with strong cherry and rose on the nose, tight tannins (hence the decant) and just a polished finish. Excellent.

11/30/2022 - SteveN100 wrote:

Very enjoyable and drinking well right now. Still has some fruit and light tannins, so could go a bit longer in the cellar to round it out more fully.

11/17/2022 - SteveN100 wrote:

Drinking well now. Not surprisingly this took some time to open up. My preference is to drink wines on the younger side since they still seem to hold their fruit and nose. Same case here. For my tastes, this has about another 5 years left in it at most.

11/12/2022 - SteveN100 wrote:

Wine itself was excellent, but cork broke on removal. Made for a less fun drinking experience with this bottle.

10/22/2022 - SteveN100 wrote:

Can this not last 16 years? Stored in Eurocave since purchase.

10/22/2022 - SteveN100 wrote:

Bummer.

7/2/2022 - SteveN100 wrote:

Drinking very well right now. Agree with other posters that this is a very balanced wine. Strong blackberry notes on nose and palate. Tannins have smoothed out considerably with little left to age out IMO. Beautiful wine.

6/19/2022 - SteveN100 wrote:

Holding up quite well. Tannins are still very much present. Bottle could use a good decant (or one could just let it lie for another 5 years). Excellent wine from an outstanding producer.

5/13/2022 - SteveN100 wrote:

Remarkable how young this wine is tasting right now. Smooth with flowery nose. Nice low ABV at 13. Really enjoyable.

4/29/2022 - SteveN100 wrote:

Great QPR from from a maker whose first tier wine is one of the best of its kind. Great entry level wine.

3/27/2022 - SteveN100 wrote:

Drinking nicely right now. Smooth, with soft cherry and very slight menthol notes.

3/20/2022 - SteveN100 wrote:

Excellent quality to price ratio. Agree with one of the other posters here that this wine was still very tight. It needs a decant, but nothing overly long.

3/20/2022 - SteveN100 wrote:

Tasting great right now, but loads of tannins still obviously. Will wait a few years before opening another.

3/13/2022 - SteveN100 wrote:

This one still has some tannins that could use a little more time. Will say that it faded fast after opening.

3/7/2022 - SteveN100 wrote:

Delicious blended wine. Would recommend a good long decant. Still has some edgy tannins, so more time in the bottle needed for those who prefer them smoother. Wine could go another 5 year IMO.

2/22/2022 - SteveN100 wrote:

Holding up well, but moving away from the fruit forward youth I prefer. Nice mid level ABV of 14%, so no residual heat.

1/17/2022 - SteveN100 wrote:

I think that this wine punches WAY above its weight considering that I got it under $100. Excellent QPR. The ABV is 14%, which is a throwback of sorts these days with most cabs now hitting 15%+. Just a delicious, enjoyable wine.

1/11/2022 - SteveN100 wrote:

While drinking well now, this could definitely use some more time. Setting down my only other bottle for 3-5 more years.

12/21/2021 - SteveN100 wrote:

Drinking quite well right now.

11/6/2021 - SteveN100 wrote:

Not among their best.

10/4/2021 - SteveN100 wrote:

My last bottle. Sorry to see this go, but enjoyed every last drop of it. Still had some healthy tannins present, so anyone thinking of waiting longer to pop this one will be fine.

10/1/2021 - SteveN100 wrote:

Agree with another poster here. Not a great QPR here.

9/1/2021 - SteveN100 wrote:

Nose was off to start, but with some air things opened up nicely. Good everyday chianti from a winery with better tiers above this. Their Flaccianello rates as one of the greats. This one needs more time.

8/14/2021 - SteveN100 wrote:

Delicious and seems to be peaking about now.

7/7/2021 - SteveN100 wrote:

Drinking well right now. Not a huge Volnay fan, but clearing out some older bottles and had to try this out. Tannins are still a bit edgy but mostly smoothed out at this stage. Good fruit. Still has a little room to run.

7/5/2021 - SteveN100 wrote:

Delicious. Great summer wine with a hint of lemon.

7/1/2021 - SteveN100 wrote:

Surprisingly good given the price point. Should have bought more.

6/19/2021 - SteveN100 wrote:

Popped my last bottle of this and it was just tremendous. This definitely still has room to run. Tannins were more rounded, but not completely smoothed out yet. Coloring was still dark red with no movement to brick-ish hue. Fruit was so fresh. Flaccianello is just a superb, albeit pricey, example of the best a Chianti can be.

6/13/2021 - SteveN100 wrote:

Surprisingly good for the price. This one definitely punches above its weight. Still quite tannic, but great blackberry floral notes and rounded fruit on the palate despite the tannic dryness. Agree with others that with some more aging this will really be quite good.

4/16/2021 - SteveN100 wrote:

Regrettably, toast. Waited too long to open this.

4/12/2021 - SteveN100 wrote:

Heavy blackberry notes on the nose. Tannins still quite present. No heavy heat alcohol-wise. This one needs more time in order to figure out what it wants to be when it grows up.

4/7/2021 - SteveN100 wrote:

Great everyday value. An enjoyable Rosso from a very good Montalcino maker.

2/14/2021 - SteveN100 wrote:

Another good value. Compare this too to Querciabella, another good value in a very good Chianti year (and an even better Brunello one).