12/12/2023 - Tony Ling Likes this wine:

13.5% ABV. PNP into Sydonios Le Subtil glass (“Leaf” day): Pale ruby to the eyes.

On the nose this has hints of reduction upfront expanding into a spectrum of smoke, cured meat nuances. Ethereal, complex floral spices, red cherries (which is notably less purple than the last tasting).

On the palate this has a good balance of acidity, flavor intensity and suave tannins although alcohol is on the high end. Clean finish.

Great traditional styled Burgundian nose with great purity on the palate here. 94 points.

9/4/2023 - foyfrcs Likes this wine:

Medium ruby.
Still drinking ok.
On current evidence probably needs drinking up in the next year or so.
Still some residual red fruits but more tertiary flavours present.

3/4/2022 - forceberry wrote:

A blend of organically farmed Grüner Veltliner (75-70%) and Chardonnay (25-30%). Fermented spontaneously, aged in neutral oak barrels. Bottled with minimal SO2. 13% alcohol.

Rather youthful, medium-deep yellow-green color. Subtly reductive but otherwise clean nose with aromas of white peach, some fireworks smoke, a little bit of fresh pear, light waxy tones, a hint of fresh pineapple, a touch of sappy herbal spice and a toasty whiff of something that might be brioche or woody spice. The wine is ripe and quite concentrated yet surprisingly crisp and zippy at the same time with a medium body and bright, focused flavors of juicy white peach, some cantaloupe, a little bit of perhaps bretty funk, light lifted notes of citrus rind, a hint of tangy salinity and a touch of bright stony minerality. There seems to be a tiny bit of VA that doesn't really taste - it just gives the fruit a nice lifting touch. The high acidity lends great intensity and sense of structure to the wine. The finish is dry and zesty quite quite long flavors of white peach, some phenolic spice, a little bit of waxy funk, light stony mineral nuances, a bretty hint of leather and a touch of lifted VA.

A very nice, fresh and focused Austrian white that seems to be evolving in the right direction - at least when comparing this note to my earlier one from July 2020. Back then the wine was somewhat more closed and neutral in character, more dominated by reduction. Now, 1½ years later, the reduction has subsided to some degree (not entirely) and some subtly funky tones have emerged in its place. However, the wine doesn't feel natty or sauvage in any way and the wild nuances don't jump at you - instead they just lurk there in the background and they might help you guessing the wine is made in a rather hands-off way, if you were tasting the wine blind or didn't know the producer. All in all, a great wine - especially for a white from a producer known for his Blaufränkisch reds - and most likely going to improve for years more. Drink now or keep. At the local retail price (31,37€) this feels a bit expensive for the quality, but at the price you can see this elsewhere (18,90€) this really delivers.

1/17/2023 - burgund Likes this wine:

About time to drink. Compared to 2015 more sur bois and dry tanins. Colour more dull and brick coloured.

11/6/2022 - similia wrote:

Elio Sandri is sometimes criticized for inconsistency. I did not have enough examples to have a conclusive opinion on this topic. But this bottle was in a perfect state and highly enjoyable. It doesn't get much better for a Langhe Nebbiolo.

12/27/2022 - NickA Likes this wine:

Finally got round to trying this. Not sure it's actually particularly good! I did like the structure - pleasing acidity, noticeable (and a tiny bit drying) but fine, sandy tannins - but it seemed a bit overripe and there were some liquorice and clove notes that left me thinking of cough mixture. Surprised to find the 2017 more prettily aromatic and more delicate on the palate... I have 11 more, though, so will no doubt find out whether the wine will settle down into something more to my taste.

12/11/2022 - Sookin1 Does not like this wine:

The wine was flat. Only on the tannins. Probably kept it too long.

11/30/2022 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:

Piemonte: Back to the truffling!; 11/24/2022-12/3/2022 (Wineries and various restaurants): Our first Monvigliero of the trip which feels a bit like a miss but there is not so much of it around or to go around these days. It’s the classic stem-character - perhaps tea leaves, great fruit, more interesting and then just very light on its feet. Bright with a lot of depth of flavor. Always a favorite.

11/8/2022 - EskoR wrote:

In a bit of an unbalnced phase

10/16/2022 - jrick wrote:

Very awkward phase, mostly about tar, roses and medicinal herbs, very close. Quite tannic still. Hoping it is a tunnel because I have more bottles.

5/2/2022 - ubercuvee wrote:

Lovely wine, made the ‘16 Burlotto Cannubi next to it look overextracted and plodding. This is really lovely, but it’s hard to understand at 3x the price of 3016 Cappellano Rupestris and 2x the price of G Rinaldi Brunate ‘16, both of which I feel are objectively better wines

4/4/2022 - ubercuvee wrote:

Don't get the hype, very rough tannins. Maybe I didn't give it enough air and I respect the budget price point for cru wine, but I'd honestly much rather have Nebbiolo from G rinaldi or cappellano over this

3/27/2022 - vide wrote:

Good forward fruit, but a little acidic and lacking in substance.

Also. There was brick colour in my bottle, suggesting that the wine from this vintage may be on its way out. If you have a lot of these wines in your cellar, I'd check them out.

3/11/2022 - FamousWine Does not like this wine:

100% Nebbiolo. 14% abv. Tasting the 2016 vintage was a disappointment (flawed bottle I guess) and today's experience, in front of this 2018, is not much more pleasant. Despite one hour of aeration, the wine is completely mute and unreadable: no aroma, or very few, neither on the nose nor on the palate. After a longer time in the carafe, it gets a little more appealing but I put the bottle aside preferring to see it again the next day. On day 2, it's hardly better. The slightly warm nose presents herbaceous aromas of cherries, strawberries, potpourri of dried rose petals, orange juice and a hint of slate minerality. In the mouth, the attack finally looks more interesting than the day before but the following is not at the expected level. The aromatic intensity is so so weak: rose water, some strawberries, a few bitter red berries and a bit of herbal notes. Everything seems diluted and nothing seems really coherent. The body is light to medium with powerful and dusty tannins. Not easy to enjoy this bottle as seen. Another defective one or just in an awful spot right now? I'm afraid Sottimano is over for me.
[Photo on Instagram]

1/31/2022 - viniferatu Likes this wine:

Quite nutty and herbal, beautiful rich texture but not heavy, almond, dried green herbs, coriander, citrus oils, pear, quince, wet stone.... really interesting stuff

1/6/2022 - Brian of Mull Likes this wine:

Opened for 3 hours. Color is deep garnet with some purple hues. On the nose: Pepper, cassis, violets, iron/blood and a myriad of spices. Very impressive nose. It fills the room. On the palate: Cassis, violets, lavender, pepper, blood , smoke and pomegranate . This is really good. The fruit is voluptuous and the mouthfeel is silky . This is true Cornas. I have half a case and boy am I glad I cellared it all these years. Time to drink. If you are a Syrah fan this is pretty good value for a real old world one.

1/6/2022 - sleepyhaus wrote:

Not in a good spot last night. Just rather awkward, shifting between fruity and savory but without convincing in either direction. This should improve with another year or two, but I'm uncertain as to how much.

1/3/2022 - Vinogan(s) wrote:

Another nicely oxidized bottle like only superiore.de can provide you with

12/23/2021 - stet Likes this wine:

Color: brown garnet. Medium
Nose: that burnt pie crust and cherry that talks to you about old barbaresco. This was not a good year I surmise, and you can detect the oxidization - the madeirization almost
Palate: tannins high and acid high, fruit receeding. Nice tertiaries in the dry raisin space
Finish: medium

Old nebbiolo over the edge here i would guess. Still I polished up the bottle so? Best 1h out the bottle room temp

12/24/2021 - MuddyBoots wrote:

The trouble with this is that instead of simply sitting back and enjoying it for what it is - which is actually really quite good (combining the best qualities of two somewhat complementary grapes) - one starts to reflect on the nebbiolo/barbera blend. At first I thought the nose more Barbera influenced and the palate more Nebbiolo. By the second glass the nose more Nebbiolo. By the second day the Barbera seemed dominant. And so it goes.... Although one can see why as a matter of tradition this wine was produced, I find it hard to really get behind the notion of varietal blended wine in Piedmont. It seems to relegate terroir into a position of subordinate importance. The upside is that it surely transports you to Piedmont by marrying the most familiar flavors of the region in a single wine ! A single bottle delivered in error. The only other time I have had this is at Burlotto. A fun wine to serve blind in four or five years. And, by the way, it is very good.

5/30/2021 - dbkitc wrote:

Finally drinking well. Things have settled and integrated. Still bright and transparent. Cherry fruit, light body and a zippy finish. A quaffing wine with a bistro meal. Needed time to settle. (87)

10/12/2021 - Vinogan(s) wrote:

Another flawed bottle purchased from superiore.de (heat damage as usual). I wonder about my 2 remaining bottles - not! I already know the answer I'm afraid...

9/25/2021 - Papies wrote:

Soft light and bright. A bit of an entry level wine with limited depth of flavour and complexity. Worked ok with the spice at Som Saa , London but that’s all folks.

9/24/2021 - Papies wrote:

By the glass as part of the wine pairing at Ikoyi, London. Fresh bottle.
Frankly a very good and enjoyable wine but also we felt was very manufactured and pushed. Very smoky but smoky because of the charred oak rather than age of the syrah, round and polished and drinks very well but also felt like a bit more of a product of engineering than wine making. 88-89

9/10/2021 - Mikaelbe wrote:

Underwhelmed, maybe due to expectations of more energy and drive in the wine.

9/3/2021 - Simoncino wrote:

Not a Barolo fan, especially young, but this one keeps me coming back. It might be the touch of sweetness on the palate. The wine isn't for the traditionalists. I agree with the reviewer below, it's more of a Pinot lover's Barolo. No harsh tannins or tar in its infancy, just a lovely wine. Purchased thanks to Giacomo's recommendation at Enoteca Costantini, Rome. Hope to find more at the store in November.

8/25/2021 - Kriz wrote:

It's okay. There's fruit, grip, taste and acidity. Okay for it's level.

6/15/2012 - jgresham wrote:

Roses and black rasperries in a very delicate aroma. Strong tannins and acidity that have married well, but need time in cellar to grow into the magnificent wine this will become.

5/1/2021 - GuWin wrote:

Tight og syrlig per nå. Ubalansert - savner mer frukt - nå er den bare stram og uforløst. Håpet på en god match til tartar av tunfisk, det var det dessverre ikke. Kom seg heller ikke over natten.

6/14/2021 - dbast Likes this wine:

Definitely coming around but probably will benefit from one or two more years of aging before majorly diminishing returns. Raisins and raw meat on the nose. Not a dramatic amount of complexity but a good standard offering as far as barolo is concerned.

5/21/2021 - MemorialWineFan wrote:

Darker fruit.

4/10/2021 - btwine wrote:

Transposed from my wine.com rating.

3/18/2021 - David_K wrote:

Very tight, almost clipped. Good materials, needs time.

2/9/2021 - mclanew Likes this wine:

Slow ox for 30 minutes. At first it was a little reticent but after 20 minutes it came to life with aromas of blackberry, tar and violets. The wine is medium bodied, quite light on its feet for nebbiolo without a lot of evident tannin, simple and delicious. For everyday drinker this delivers the goods and at the price it’s a great buy

12/11/2020 - Wineslayer Does not like this wine:

Drink it while it's time. No pleasure at all. Very austere. Disappointed same vibe as in April 2020.

8/20/2019 - Ben Christiansen wrote:

That smells classically Tuscan. A beautiful pure sangiovese note leaning just a hair touch on the darker side. But not like Berendega. And that is lively and pure on the palate too. That is great stuff. In Castellare. Bigger botti barrels, Sloveninena and French.

12/3/2020 - Fractalage Likes this wine:

Quality juice!
The winemaker came from Angelus and Screaming Eagle.
2011 was not the best year for this cuvee, but this wine, so far, I've downed on my own about 30 bottles over the last 2 months. Yep. I'm doing a study on how palate changes over time with what is eaten and the state of the GI.

Basically, we never taste the same thing twice: Ever. Everything is in flux. Everything changes. The wine changes with air and age. The palate changes with food and everything else we put into our mouths and gut.

Wine tastes change with what we ate yesterday and the day before that.

So, how does this lend credence to wine reviews?
It's all bogus.
It's all relative.
Sure, some aspects of it can be consistent and might be useful, which is why I love AG.
But ultimately, it's all just BS.
We like what we like.
Everyone is tainted by price, by the label, and especially the word of the “experts”, except for those who put the time to really diving deeply into the stuff.

This experiment for me was really eye opening, as this wine NEVER tasted the same. Sure, it was very similar in many respects, but it NEVER tasted the same despite opening over 30 bottles almost one a day for a month.

11/21/2020 - drrobvino wrote:

3rd of 6 bottles, last tasted 1 year ago.
Consumed this wine at the end of a long evening of tasting other wines.
This wine is obviously brighter and more lifted than the wines from Calif...showing red fruits on top of black fruits, with minerality, tea, spice, and elegance. The tannins are unfurling a bit, but still quite compact, giving the wine permission to ask to be paired with food.
long and mineral-laden on the finish, drink this wine through 2027+.

11/14/2020 - vinelouse wrote:

Way too oaky for me and my guests taste.

10/2/2020 - Angelo de wine spice wrote:

October 2, 2020 - I expected a lot more from this wine. That is the third bottle I opened within a year, I think the quality of the cork is very bad !!!
And very quickly a musty taste to the wine come through, I have no word more than disappointment !!!
Unfortunately 👎🏽

1/16/2020 - Mikaelbe Likes this wine:

New to Bordeaux and was not fully sure to make out of this wine which I read and heard positive about, especially for the vintage. Seen some less than enthusiastic remarks here and can to some extent understand these, at least based upon opening an first day(s) of drinking...

Main point and message to fellow cellar trackers, and this comes after the 14th day of the bottle being opened, tasted a bit with quite regular interval - this is a terrific wine for the price point with patience rewarded. Just the fact that the wine is drinking very well after 2 weeks open and left only with cork as closure on the desk counter with room temperature should be a good indicator.

For me this started to fire on all cylinders after the 4-5 day, ceder, cigar box, fruits, the acidity and rounded tannins in harmony and very energetic and vibrant as well as focused on the 14th night from opening.

Really good and great wines requires time, this is in the first category now and who knows for the future (will drink well for many years without doubt and experienced Bordeaux drinkers can tell more if this will head to great...).

1/22/2020 - chablis28 wrote:

This one has a hole in its swing. Some what flat mid palate. Won't revisit. Was hoping to find a nice old school leaning, burger wine. Paid $16, drinks like $10.

10/19/2019 - Papies wrote:

Annual Pilgrimage to Piedmont - 2019 Edition; 10/17/2019-10/20/2019 (Piedmont, Italy): Tasted blind.We guessed early 2000s classic Barolo.
What a wine this is really as far as Baroli go not sure what more we could have expected. Bright and energetic , full of charm and elegance, dark cherries, floral, balance and devout of the strength of the 2008 we had a couple of days ago. Big but not full of muscle or heavy just a perfectly ripe and effortless class wine. 98-99 and the sky is the limit in terms where this goes and how long it ages.

6/18/2019 - Blair Curtis wrote:

Did not enjoy this nearly as much as I had hoped. For reference, I am a big fan of traditional Northern Rhone reds. Levet is a fave, along with Gonon and older Clape. This wine, bottled at 12%, is so lean that it is skinny on flavour. The good news is that it has none of the flavours of surmaturity...no jamminess or heavy sweet fruit. The bad news is that it also lacks the good flavours you want in a wine like this...there is no pepper, no meat, no smoke. Just a high-acid lean and tart wine. It was acceptable with grilled steak, but this is not a wine I would purchase again.

12/1/2018 - Skrutt (Formerly RotHead) wrote:

Still not sure what this is supposed to do for me that the "Basis" doesn't already do. I guess I simply prefer to drink the low key, sparse and bleak base wine on it own over drinking Liaison with food.

If I am to try this again it will be with a very light dish.

9/3/2018 - Rick & Ilsa wrote:

Coravin sample, no glass time. This wine smells of warm, dark fruits, black cherry, and a little smoke. On the palate, the tannins, herbs, and smoke mask what seems to be huge amounts of sweet fruit underneath. Coming across as a little bitter, with mouth drying tannins and medium acicity, this full bodied wine doesn't seem close to being ready to drink. This is the biggest vintage from this chateau since 2010 and that is just now starting to show well, despite the estimated CT drinking window. I know this chateau well, own multiple vintages, and am a fan, but this is going deeper into my cellar. I think this needs 2 - 3 years before it will begin to show its potential, and will continue to improve long after that. If you decide to try this, would suggest a long decant. For a Saint Emilion, 100% merlot wine, this is pretty big. 89 for now.

3/24/2013 - Tuvan Likes this wine:

Still too young

5/2/2018 - Stefanos T. wrote:

Yeaky...disgusting, oxidised. bad bottle?

10/17/2017 - jrick Likes this wine:

Spices, roses, rosehip and cherries on the nose and dried strawberry, cherry, rosehip and spices on the palate, the tannins feel nicely developed and not harsh. Pleasantly surprised by the open style and not having tried many Gramolere I wonder if maybe strawberries are a regular part of these wines, as I seldom find them in Barolo.

9/19/2017 - Tim Heaton wrote:

poor storage, or just a poor showing? either way, this was way off: muddy water and cocoa