4/21/2024 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Aromas of violets, herbs and concentrated blackberries (reminded me a little of a Soothers cough sweet). Wonderfully concentrated and exuberant palate balanced with very good acidity and some tannic grip. A little spice and there was something mineral alongside the fruit giving extra complexity. Still quite youthful. Long finish.

4/1/2024 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Still too early. Medium garnet colour. Classic tar and roses nose with some red fruit. Medium/full bodied. Lively acidity but still quite tannic. Long finish. Palate still feels young and needs time to develop. I’d wait a while before trying again.

3/14/2024 - mjohn Likes this wine:

I didn’t take detailed notes, but I really loved this. Aromas of fig and cherry, a little amaretto. Plush texture, medium acidity and tannins. Long finish. Clearly modern in style but I don’t mind that at all. To be honest I think I enjoyed this a little more than the 2010 Brunello, such a fun decadent wine.

3/2/2024 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Aromatic nose of raspberries and blackberries. Medium bodied and juicy. A nice little bit of spice on the palate along with a streak of minerality. Medium acidity and some fine grained tannins. Long finish but with a little harshness. Very nice and drinking well with some air. Rapet continues to be pretty good value.

3/1/2024 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Decanted for two hours, but it didn’t really hit its stride until around the four hour mark. Wonderfully fragrant but the palate was initially quite closed. Medium bodied and fresh acidity, but quite prominent sandpapery tannins. Eventually the tannins gave way revealing vibrant cherry flavours. Long finish but not that much tertiary development yet. This is enjoyable with food and air, but I think I’ll wait a while before opening my next bottle.

2/27/2024 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Decanted 2 hours and then drunk over the following 2-3 hours. When I first decanted aromas of cured meat dominated, but receded to the background with time and more blackberry & floral elements came to the foreground. Towards the end started getting some pine tar and herbs.

Medium/full bodied, medium acidity and medium tannins. The mouthfeel was quite velvety with the tannins providing some structure. Quite long finish. The palate was dominated by dark fruit with some minerality but only a little tertiary development, so the complexity of the palate didn't quite live up to the nose.

This is a very good wine but like sid_loves_wine I felt this lacked some wow factor. I suspect this will improve & gain complexity, so it might be worth picking up another bottle to try in a few years.

2/23/2024 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Two hour decant. Nose of cherries and tobacco. Medium/full bodied with some alcoholic warmth. Bright acidity but very tannic and bitter finish. Scored it for today rather than future potential. This will certainly improve but today it is not as enjoyable as I had hoped based on past vintages. Wait.

2/11/2024 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Started off quite red fruited, a little disjointed and almost like a Langhe Nebbiolo rather than Barolo. But a couple of hours in a decanter did wonders. The wine filled out on the mid-palate and developed some dark fruit, herb, and spice aromas. Medium bodied, high acidity and still quite tannic. The finish is reasonably long and pleasantly spicy but quite drying. This is still young but I very much enjoyed it.

1/20/2024 - mjohn Likes this wine:

A little closed compared to when I had a bottle a few years back, but there are some aromas of plum, raspberry, vanilla and spice. Medium bodied with a lovely rounded texture. Medium+ acidity, a little tannic grip. Very long finish but still lacking the complexity that will surely come with age.

This is a very good wine, but I think it’s still early in it’s development and it would be best to wait a while.

1/16/2024 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Aromatic, notes of citrus, peach, saline and mineral. Medium bodied and rounded, a little grip and plenty of fresh acidity. A very long buttery, spicy and savoury finish. This is very good.

1/11/2024 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Intensely aromatic, red currant, raspberries, some florals and vanilla. Medium bodied. Quite high acidity and gentle tannic grip. Nicely balanced, rounded and smooth with sweet fruit and long spicy finish. Still quite young and fresh, it’s a shame I don’t have more to see how it ages.

12/27/2023 - mjohn Does not like this wine:

Very disappointing. Completely soaked cork. The wine has some faint floral aromas but very muted. The palate is dominated by searing acidity. The finish has a metallic tang. This is completely out of balance and nothing like the elegant 2017 I had a couple of years ago. Complete waste of money. I suspect there is a large amount of bottle variation due to the problematic corks. I’d suggest drinking up if you have these in the cellar.

12/11/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Not very aromatic but eventually opened to soft floral notes and strawberries. Fresh acidity and some tannic grip. Palate of red berries and a long spicy finish. I felt like this is in an in-between phase - not youthful fruit but not fully developed tertiary elements either.

11/29/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

A little muted, although more expressive by the last glass. This was PnP’d and I’m basing my score on the last glass.

Medium bodied, dark fruit, layers of spice and sweet tobacco. Balanced medium acidity and firm tannins. Long finish, complex and elegant. Everything in the right place. Very very good, maybe just missing a little extra punch to get to the next level. I want more bottles of this.

11/25/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Aromatic with aromas of dark fruit, leather and spice. Medium bodied, refreshing acidity balanced with well integrated tannins. Finish is reasonably long but quite drying. Easy going, certainly more complex than their standard Chianti Classico.

10/26/2023 - mjohn wrote:

Not very aromatic and a little bitter on the finish. Medium bodied with good acidity, but just not much else going on right now. Hmmm might be in a closed period. Score might be a bit harsh, it might be much better in a few years.

10/20/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Light ruby. Aromatic nose of strawberry, red currants and a bit of Danish vanilla cookies. PnP and the first glass was a little thin but it soon fleshed out. Medium+ acidity balanced with a little grip on the long finish. Sweet fruit with layers of spices underneath. Very good, the low alcohol and acidity make this a refreshing and elegant wine. I suspect this will develop nicely but this was my only bottle.

10/16/2023 - mjohn wrote:

PnP. Not very aromatic and initially quite tight. Perhaps was too chilled? After a while opened up a bit with red berries & plum, medium bodied, medium acidity and low tannins. A litle bitter on the finish and not especially complex. I typically like a bit more freshness and immediacy in bourgognes.

10/13/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Pale ruby. Fragrant, with strawberries, raspberry, a little floral and mineral notes. Light bodied, med+ acidity, a little tannins giving some grip. Decent length on the finish and some complexity in the palate.

The low alcohol levels make this a nice mid-week option, but I'm also not sure I'd rush to buy it at the price of £25.

10/3/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Aromatic nose of tobacco, vanilla, leather and smoky. On the palate it was more dark than red fruit with a lovely richness paired with good acidity to keep it feeling elegant. Still quite tannic which detracts from the otherwise luxurious mouthfeel (for now). Very long finish and complex. A little alcoholic heat coming through.

I initially PnP'd but then decanted. I might be scoring this too low, but it didn't quite reach the heights I anticipated based on the aromas. This is a very good wine but I wish I had waited for it to reach a more velvety phase in development.

9/21/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Mid ruby. Very aromatic when opening the bottle. Bundles of sweet raspberry, a little vanilla and blackberry funkiness. Some spice and floral notes with time. Elegant palate, light with low alcohol and medium+ acidity. Good concentration of sweet fruit despite the lightness. A little tannic grip lingered on the tongue along with a long finish, and some spritz that I was less keen on.

Not especially complex but a nice wine. Reminded me more of NZ than Burgundy. I don’t think it lives up to the hype, but I’m nonetheless looking forward to trying the single vineyard wines in a year or two.

9/9/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

This is a nice barolo to try young. Aromatic nose of cloves, rose, red & black fruit. Medium bodied, rounded, still quite tannic although perfectly fine for my palate. High acidity and long spicy finish. The profile is quite similar to some 2014 barbarescos that I have had which is surprising. It would be interesting to see how it is with softer tannins in a year or two but good to go now too.

8/29/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Initially a really strong gamey note on the nose, but this fell to the background with time as dark berries & floral elements came to the fore. Full bodied, medium acidity and still some medium tannic grip. Long & complex, with some spices in the finish.

I was worried about the alcohol level of this wine. I could smell the alcohol, but surprisingly I didn't feel any heat. However, I could feel the alcohol affect me over the night much more than half a bottle of wine typically does. I liked this overall but I'm not sure I'd want to have too many glasses of this on one night. I'll be curious to see how this compares to the 2014 which has only 14% ABV.

This cost about £60, which feels about right. I'd question the QPR at 139,90€ as Forceberry mentions below.

8/26/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Initially quite a lot of sour green apple flavours, but eventually settled into a mellower mix of lemon, apple & sherbet. Medium bodied with good acidity that helps balance out the bit of sticky sweetness. Reasonable length, but not much complexity. Perfectly nice, but doesn't offer good QPR compared to Germany.

8/6/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Wonderful aged barolo. Aromas of cloves, floral, and red fruit. Medium bodied, still a bit tannic but with balanced acidity. Long finish and complex savoury palate.

8/4/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

I didn’t take detailed notes but overall I had mixed feelings with this. Dark berries and herbs on the nose, albeit a little muted. There was good acidity and still a fair bit of tannins. The fruit wasn’t expressive but neither was there a lot of tertiary development. This is a good wine but today didn’t come across as a great wine. But perhaps more age will see this develop because it seems to have the structure to age.

7/29/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Medium ruby. The nose was reticent but over time opened up to nice cherry, floral, and tomato leaf aromas. Polished medium bodied palate, fresh acidity and balanced fine grained tannins. The finish was a bit spritzy at first but smoothed out with nice length and a bit of licorice root mixed with black and red fruit. Very good but I think this can still improve with time.

7/29/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Aromatic nose of red berries and a little floral. A bit light weight at first but fleshed out towards the end of the bottle. Good acidity and low tannins. Not especially complex or long, but a nice easy drinking red-fruited bourgogne.

7/23/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Mid ruby. Nose of raspberry and spice. Elegant, medium bodied with a really nice rounded texture. Good acidity and well integrated tannins. Long sumptuous finish. Palate is mostly red/black fruit with some spice. Has complexity but not much tertiary elements at this stage. A real step up from their rosso.

7/20/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

A little closed and tannic at first, but a few hours in a decanter did wonders. Aromas of red fruit, roses, licorice, cloves and a little caramel. Lovely texture, medium+ body, bright acidity and some form tannins that softened with air. Long and complex. 2017 might not be as good a vintage as 2016 but this wine is nonetheless very very good and you don’t have to feel too worried about waiting for it in the cellar.

7/19/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

From coravin in Cecelia’s Wine House. Nose a bit muted initially, red fruit, plum and smoke. Richly textured and full bodied. Medium acidity, balanced with mellowed tannins. Not very complex but a long finish. Not sure it’s worth the tariff but nice enough.

7/13/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Copenhagen Restaurants; 7/10/2023-7/14/2023: By the bottle at Alouette in Copenhagen. I didn’t take notes but this was a very impressive wine. Still quite fresh and vibrant despite 15+ years since harvest. Nose of cherries and black fruit, some tobacco leaf and menthol. Full bodied, excellent acidity still a fair bit of tannins but time in the decanter softened them. Balanced, complex and a long finish. This still has many years left in the tank.

7/13/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Copenhagen Restaurants; 7/10/2023-7/14/2023: By the bottle in Restaurant Palægade in Copenhagen. Aromatic nose of red berries, cherries and tea. Very elegant medium bodied, medium-high acidity and tannins. Long finish. Still young and the tannins are prominent at this stage but this shows a lot of promise and will certainly develop complexity over time.

7/10/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Copenhagen Restaurants; 7/10/2023-7/14/2023: By the bottle in Høst in Copenhagen. Aromatic nose red fruit, tar and flowers. Medium bodied with high acidity and high tannins. The tannins settled over the evening. Long finish. Still young but lovely fruit makes this quite approachable. Likely to age very well.

7/9/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Young and fruit forward. Nose of red and black berries. Rounded, medium bodied palette. Some firm tannins on the first few glasses but softened over time. Good acidity. Quite sweet, without much tertiary elements at this stage. Medium length, with a little warmth. Good value in the context of Burgundy and worth trying again with a little more time in the bottle.

7/6/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Medium ruby in colour. The nose has menthol and cherry. The body is medium, creamy. There's good acidity, but this is quite tannic, which masks the fruit flavours on the palate. The finish is long, with notes of iron and iodine.

7/5/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Pale gold colour. Lemon, stone fruit, flowers and chalk nose. It's medium-full in body. The texture is round, almost plump, but kept in check by the excellent acidity. The finish is long, with a hint of spice and salinity. This is fresh, lively, layered. Very good.

The fragrance started to shut down after the first glass. Tried decanting but didn't help much. Perhaps needed more air or simply more time to go to the next level.

7/1/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Blackberry, cherry and herbs. Nice elegant structure, but a little tart. Not complex but very good for its level and very enjoyable.

6/30/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Feels quite young. Nice nose of blackberry and plum. Rich and full bodied, with ample acidity. Lingering finish. However the fruit was somewhat hidden by the sandpapery and drying tannins. Hopefully these resolve with time because there is clearly some excellent fruit underneath.

6/29/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Very aromatic. Blackberry, blackcurrant and raspberry. Medium velvety body with fresh medium acidity. A little greenness and some youthful, drying, tannins.

I regularly drink the excellent value Vino de Villa, but this is clearly a step up.

6/29/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

I had another bottle of this recently, but this time it took a long time to open up and was actually at its best the following day. I have a few more bottles but I’ll wait a little while before opening another.

6/25/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

I’m quite sad that I don’t have more bottles of this. Apricot, citrus, some honey, spice, and a hint of petrol. Excellent acidity. Nicely viscous and mouth filling. Very long finish that goes on for an age. Would surely age well but delicious now too.

6/25/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Young but with potential. Lovely aromas. Started off quite fruit forward and concentrated, but by the second glass settled into an elegant expression of Pinot. Blend of black and red fruit, with a long finish and a bit of spice and minerality. A little grip added structure to the ample acidity. Perfectly fine to drink now but I expect this will age nicely over the next few years.

6/20/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Tart red berries, good acidity and tannic structure. A bit of spice and a long finish. Nice now but I think it has the structure to age. Pretty good value for money.

5/29/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Decanted after PnP. The wine shows a vibrant garnet colour, surprisingly youthful for its age. On the nose, sweet, ripe red fruit aromas dominate, with cherries and raspberries. The wine is full-bodied with a sweet fruit character. Tannins are chalky and the acidity balances the sweet fruit. The finish is long. Pleasurable but I would have liked to have seen more complexity. The decanting helped open up the wine, and it might benefit from further aging to allow for more complexity to develop.

5/28/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

PnP into glass. Light garnet color indicative of age. The nose starts off floral & earthy with a hint of raspberry, evolving towards stewed strawberries and a deep earthiness as it opens up. The wine is medium-bodied, with flavors mirroring the evolved nose. Mature and earthy, but balanced with vibrant acidity. Tannins have softened with age, but still some structure and chalkiness on the finish. The finish is long emphasizing the earthy undertones and mature fruit. This is drinking very well right now.

5/21/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

PnP revealed a robust nose of ripe cherries with a fresh, slightly tannic palate. Red fruit and mineral notes dominated initially. After a couple of hours in the decanter, the nose and palate evolved significantly. Spice notes of cloves and a hint of cinnamon became more prominent, adding complexity to the wine's profile. Finished long with layered complexity. The wine benefited from decanting, softening the tannins

5/24/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Nice nose of grapefruit, pear, hawthorn and a bit of honey & nuttiness. Medium bodied & round with med+ acidity. Not a very long finish or complex but enjoyable.

5/8/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Light garnet. Aromatic: floral, red fruit and a bit of iron. Medium bodied (fleshed out with air) and a reasonably long finish. Elegant, with med/high acidity. Some fine tannins, but less than typical for Nebbiolo. Some savory elements to go with the fruit, but a bit lacking in complexity (to be expected given the age).

Well made and very good compared to a typical Langhe Nebbiolo but also somewhat more expensive. I haven't had it in a while, but I think I prefer this to the AR.PE.PE Rosso.

I'm looking forward to trying the Superiore bottlings.

5/5/2023 - mjohn Likes this wine:

Very aromatic, wild strawberries and a bit of earthiness. PnP, started off as very linear, dominated by red fruit. Medium body and acidity. Elegant and fine boned. Long finish, but a bit of harshness at the end. Over time tertiary elements came to the foreground, with the fruit providing a nice underpinning of sweetness, but something in the finish didn’t quite click for me. Nonetheless very very good, might just need more time?