2/2/2024 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Shockingly open and accessible for just 7 years young. Delicious. Stuffing to go for years.

1/29/2024 - jdcarucci wrote:

so closed, tight and primary. I can't imagine this has moved an inch since release. Needs years

1/29/2024 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Drank from magnum. Red-fruited and totally primary. Could easily go 5 more years.

12/15/2023 - jdcarucci wrote:

Decanted several hours, but thin and acidic. Way better on day two. Crazy to think this needs more time, but it does.

12/3/2023 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

In the perfect spot
Drink

11/9/2023 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Just barely on the cusp of the sweet spot, coming into the early drinking window.
Decant for 30 minutes or so, but this certainly has the oomph to hold for the medium term.

11/8/2023 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Delicious and ready

9/10/2023 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Hold until 2025

9/5/2023 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Drank the Graacher Himmelriech and the Wehlener Sonnenuhr side by side. Both delicious. The WS perhaps a little more RS. Both can easily go 5 more years.

9/2/2023 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Drank the Graacher Himmelriech and the Wehlener Sonnenuhr side by side. Both delicious. The WS perhaps a little more RS. Both can easily go 5 more years.

9/2/2023 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

So incredibly savory. Smelled like a horse and tasted like barbecued beef.
Right in the wheelhouse if this is your thing. Much calmer with more fruit on day two.
Last bottle.
Great to drink now.

8/19/2023 - jdcarucci wrote:

Plush. Early maturity. Def can drink now.

7/22/2023 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Put on tons of weight in the last ten months. Super savory now. Mature and delicious. Drink.

6/29/2023 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Still super ripping acid. Can drink now, or in 5 to 10 years.

4/16/2023 - jdcarucci wrote:

Served as part of a blind tasting
I think this particular bottle may have suffered from poor storage
Almost brown in color
Barely any fruit to speak of
Forest floor; mossy stone; cola; orange peel; dried strawberry; dried rose; still some tannin left
Seems way way way older than its 12+ years
Alas, I don't think this bottle is representative of the overall state of this wine... Sad.

4/16/2023 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Served as part of a blind tasting
Double-decanted 3-4 hours
Black as the dead of night
Smacks you in the face with new oak and bright red fruit; blueberry pie; vanilla; dill; still so youthful overall
Tannins are WILD
This is nowhere close to maturity; is delicious now, but can go for easily 20 years.

4/16/2023 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Drank as part of a blind tasting
Absolutely beautiful; electric and linear;
Undoubtedly riesling; undoubtedly RS on this, despite the 13.5% alcohol; tart as hell
Really delicious; put on tons of fat after 24 hours open;
Stuffing to go for years

4/16/2023 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Served as part of a blind tasting
Dark purple to black in color
This smells exactly like those pepper crusted salamis they sell by the deli; also blueberry and white pepper; Super savory; So completely in balance; no one element dominates; tannins are soft and beautifully integrated
Elegant as hell
Delicious to drink now

4/15/2023 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Served in a blind tasting
Orange degradation at the rim;
N: Dusty; green vegetables; potpourri; dried flowers; cherry is primary fruit; strawberry next; wood influence for sure
Unmistakably Italian with a juicy aftertaste
Delicious
Drink or hold

4/15/2023 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Served blind in a tasting flight
Golden straw in color
N: yellow apple; bruised orchard fruit; apricot; honeysuckle; lanolin
P: Honey, red apple, dry with RS; tartness
Delicious to drink now.

4/8/2023 - jdcarucci wrote:

Delicious and highly drinkable now, but I think has the potential to fill out a bit more. Drink or hold.

1/1/2023 - jdcarucci wrote:

Super tart and primary. Sit on this a while.

1/1/2023 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Delicious, crunchy and typical. Early maturity. Drink now or not.

11/24/2022 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Crunchy grippy raspberry. Delicious.

11/22/2022 - jdcarucci wrote:

Utterly delicious. Toasty. Leesy. Ripping acid. Drink now or whenever really.

11/13/2022 - jdcarucci wrote:

Fruit forward. Lacking in savoriness. Not particularly complex. Reminds me of a Crozes or middling st Joseph.

10/27/2022 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Spectacular. In a beautiful place right now.

9/17/2022 - jdcarucci wrote:

Delicious with a 90 minute double decant

9/9/2022 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Utterly delicious, electric lemonade. Off dry but acid RIPS. Backwards but starting to turn around.
Revisit in 2025.

6/11/2022 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Still surprisingly youthful - and maybe just waking up - at seven years old. Fruit is generally primary, even with several hours open. Drink now with a decant or continue to hold. Recheck in 2-3 years.

5/8/2022 - jdcarucci wrote:

Modern style. Drinking good now. Not much upside. Drink.

4/2/2022 - jdcarucci wrote:

Inky dark yet featherlight. Cranberry and cherry. Beautifully balanced. Deliciously drinkable. Incredible food wine. Drink now

2/26/2022 - jdcarucci wrote:

Not quite there yet. Still working its way out of the dumb/muted phase. Hold 3-5 years.

2/26/2022 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Totally austere.
Delicious and refreshing.

3/30/2022 - jdcarucci wrote:

In a beautiful spot with an hour decant. Banana hazelnut and caramel. Fat on the palate. Drink now or sit for 5 years.

3/26/2022 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Inky purple. Briary pepper. Blueberry. Fennel seed. Fruitier on the palate than you might think Highly drinkable but totally primary. Delicious now. Revisit in 2024

2/18/2022 - jdcarucci wrote:

Delicious cranberry juice. Adds fat with air. Delicious.

1/16/2022 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

In a good spot in early maturity, but I think due to a bad cork in this instance. Sonoma pre-mox? I feel like I popped this just before it was too late.
Delicious either way.

1/15/2022 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Dark purple. Cured meats. Fennel salami. Soprasetta. Toasted aniseed. Blackberry. Soy sauce. Savory as hell.
Not giving up much on the palate save tannins.
Decanting several hours....

Update: totally closed after several hours decanted. Needs years.

1/15/2022 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Insanely aromatic upon opening: white peach, lemon, orange, fennel, racquetball and so much more. So so so tightly coiled, you can smell the tension.
Palate is white cranberry, pineapple, ripping acidity, but plenty of rs to keep in balance. Finishes off dry.

Decanting several hours before dinner.....

1/3/2022 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Drank with Prime Rib on NYE. Decanted and consumed over several hours. Really beginning to land in a good spot. Drink now if you want, but I believe this just barely entering its prime drinking window.

1/1/2022 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Significantly more evolved than my previous note from 2+ years ago. Still not peaked but delicious with mushroom ragu. Drink or cellar. Revisit 2025.

12/23/2021 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Decanted about 30 minutes. Sweet black and blue fruit compote. Spicy. It's tightly coiled but it's gonna be great. Drink now if you want but better if you hold

11/13/2021 - jdcarucci wrote:

tight

11/14/2021 - jdcarucci wrote:

Decanted 5+ hours. Super tight. Primary. Green pepper. Wait wait wait. 2025 at the absolute earliest

9/29/2021 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Bought on release in July, 2017. This has really resolved beautifully in the last couple years to the point that the alcohol is completely integrated yet the fruit remains fully primary.
Strawberry and red cherry, almost pinot-like on the nose. Eminently drinkable now: tannins are super-fine grained. If you told me this was Beaujolais I would believe you. This is really in a great place right now. Bravo!

9/24/2021 - jdcarucci wrote:

Decanted maybe an hour. Drinking more than fine now. Savory beef and blackberries. Will be much better in two years.

8/4/2021 - jdcarucci wrote:

Tight and short. Cherry with a bitter finish. Potential is there but wait a while.

6/19/2021 - jdcarucci wrote:

Drank as part of a blind tasting
Youthful in aromatics, jammy, round mouthfeel, raising the question of new oak usage. Orange and black cherry on the nose. Heat/alcohol prominent.
This did not show great.

6/19/2021 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:

Drank as part of a blind tasting
Powerful and aromatic nose, dried red fruit, potpourri, dried herbs, burnt orange, licorice, cherry jolly rancher, forest floor.
Bone dry.
Unmistakably Italian.
Delicious now.