5/9/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Palestraw color;Tropical fruit nose.
Beautifully balance. Luscious mango, guava, passionfruit flavors upfront underscored by moderate acidity. No discernible oak, which is a positive I my book. Quite Delicious

5/8/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Fresh and full of Sangiovese character. Good effort. Strong QPR

5/6/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

I gave it 90 minutes of air before tasting, and it is stunningly good! Consistent with prior notes

5/2/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Popped and poured.
Beautiful lemon yellow color; stone fruit nose.
Pacing, the first thing one notices is the remarkably rich and creamy mouthfeel. Lots of tropical fruit upfront, melting into a satisfying mid-palate of pear, and peach with just the slightest hint of residual sugar. Classic Cali Chardonnay profile of buttered toast, and with a very very restrained kiss of oak. Nice balance and a wonderful finish. Much better than the bottle I drank a couple of years ago, this wine is starting to come into its own.

5/1/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Decanted for two hours prior to tasting.

Medium Ruby color; black cherry nose.

Wonderful wine!

Delicious black cherry and plum fruit up front, with a healthy dose of “Tuscan dust” and a touch of garrigue-like lavender. A rich and complex, umami-laden mid-palate, with leather and tobacco tones. This one has plenty of tannic structure, indicating that it’s going to hang in there for the long-haul, but it is drinking beautifully right now. It’s hard to resist!

4/28/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Medium straw color, it appears to be taking on a bit of weight over the last couple of years. Melon/stone fruit nose.
Delicious. Loads of unripe stone fruit, mango, and passionfruit. All supported by a flinty minerality, salinity and bright acidity. This one has developed well in the bottle, and it is drinking beautifully right now. This wine continues to be one of the great white wines of the world, in my opinion.

4/27/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Decanted for 45 minutes prior to tasting.
Medium ruby color; cherry blossom nose.
I may be kidding myself in terms of my ability to discern the subtleties of terroir, but this comes across to me as a very Oregonian pinot noir. Lots of primary red fruit up front: cherry tones dominate. The tannins are very soft, and the acidity is moderate. Some minerality is present, along with lightly seared meat.

This wine in contrast to the most of the Failla wines I’ve had, which have almost exclusively originated in California. That said, this is a delicious addition to the portfolio, and I highly recommend it. I’m not sure about its aging potential, but it could certainly run for at least 8 to 10 years. It is drinking quite well right now.

4/23/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Consistent with previous note, with the exception that the fruit seems a bit more pronounced, in a good way.

4/21/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Decanted for several hours prior to tasting.
Dark purple color; blackberry nose.
Very nicely balanced, with luscious black fruit, cedar pencil, and a bit of acidity. Nice effort.

4/21/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Decanted for three hours prior to tasting.

Inky dark purple color.
Rich mouthfeel with velvety soft tannins; this one is an outstanding example of a perfectly aged claret. Wonderfully integrated with layers of delicious black fruit, supported by interesting secondary and tertiary flavors. Consistent over two bottles.

This one is really outstanding!

4/19/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Popped and poured, then consumed over the next hour or so.
Gorgeous deep magenta color; the nose is closed initially.
On the palate, the wine is lush and expressive. The tannins are soft and velvety, and the acid levels are moderate. Lots of layered plum, black cherry and raspberry fruit in an easy-to-like style.
It’s drinking beautifully right now, and should improve for another five years or so. Well done!

4/17/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Pale straw color; citrus nose
Nicely understated Chardonnay. Crisp, with layers of tropical fruit. Little to no discernible oak. Refreshing and enjoyable.

4/14/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Nice spell of sweet-edged Black fruit and savory flavors. The tannins have resolved and are well integrated into the overall mix. This one has several good years of drinking ahead of it, but it is in a good place right now for near-term consumption.

4/14/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Delicious

4/13/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Decanted for two and half hours prior to tasting.
Medium ruby color; dark raspberry nose.
Lots of intense dark fruit; blackberry, plum, black cherry. Well-structured; with firm tannins that are built for the long haul. Rich tertiary flavors of tobacco, leather, and Tuscan dust. Almost Bordeaux-like in intensity, it is all balanced out by lively acidity.

This one is still a bit young. Revisit in a few years

4/9/2024 - BernieMSY wrote:

We were reluctant to decant such an old wine, but it apparently needed it. No discernable fruit initially, with lots of mushroomy savory notes.

4/7/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Remarkably fresh and full of luscious fruit. This wine is stunning, and it is impressive to consider how it has evolved and held up for 14 years. Lush and full of life, with just the right touch of savory notes undergirding the entire enterprise. This one is special, and I feel lucky to have sampled it at this moment and at this time.

4/7/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Opened for 30 minutes prior to tasting.
Luminous medium burgundy color; lovely perfumed nose.
Stunningly luscious fruit, despite all the years of bottle age this one has.

It has matured beautifully, and it is recommended for your near term drinking pleasure. Outstanding!

4/6/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Decanted for two hours prior to recording this tasting note.
Extremely dark garnet color, with a touch of brick at the edges; nose of roast meat and spicy dark fruit. Lots of dark fruit beautifully integrated with savory notes of leather, tobacco, and tar. A touch of acidity adds an invigorating, mouthwatering note. Well-structured with a long satisfying finish, this aged Sangiovese is drinking well and has the legs to go the distance.

4/1/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Decanted for 3 hours prior to recording this tasting note.

Let’s be straight about this: Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is not a wine that one typically thinks of when considering the great wines of Italy, but this producer is beginning to convince me that, in the right hands, it is worthy of inclusion in that pantheon.


This wine, in this vintage, is a rich, beautiful deep purple, and the nose is redolent of black fruits like currant and plum. Initially, the spectacular juicy red fruit captures one’s attention, but the fruit is offset by a generous amount of acidity, all undergirded by mesmerizingly mouthwatering tannins (if there can be such a thing; perhaps Is the acid working once again).

The finish goes on for quite some time, but never does the overall effort feel stuffy or ponderous. Remarkably fresh, Tiberio’s ”Archivo” strikes a beautiful balance between drinkability and complexity that should reward continued consumption for another dozen years or more.

This may be the greatest Montepulciano d’Abruzzo ever made, and I look forward to future vintages. Christiana Tiberio may be a genius.

4/1/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Decanted for two hours prior to tasting.
Extremely dark purple color; savory nose.
Concentrated black fruit, delicious secondary savory notes underneath. Quite inviting, but still at least a couple of years away from maturity. Plenty of upside from here

3/28/2024 - BernieMSY wrote:

Full of rubbery reductive notes. Slightly better on day two, but still unpleasant. This is the 3rd or 4th “off” bottle I have had across three different recent vintages. I’m not sure if they changed some of their production techniques or are using bad corks. Perhaps the blend has changed drastically. In any case, this is another disappointing, unpleasant wine to drink. I hope this is some sort of aberration because I’ve always loved Vieux Donjon, and I’d hate to see it go downhill.

3/27/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

I gave this one 45 minutes of air prior to tasting.
Medium- light straw color, attractive Stone fruit nose.
Wonderfully tart, mineral – laden flavor profile, Featuring mouthwatering fruit (peach, pear, grapefruit). Beadles the balance, with a long furnished. This wine continues to impress.

3/21/2024 - BernieMSY wrote:

Pleasant and inoffensive. Not bad at all.

3/17/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

I’m tasting this one at home one year and one day since first trying it at the winery in Central Otago, New Zealand.

I gave it one hour of air before tasting and evaluating.

Medium ruby color; touch of raspberry on the nose.
Deeply concentrated black fruit, fig and thyme with crushed granite notes underneath the fruit, all balanced by bright acidity. A very long finish, with a moderate level of tannic structure. This may be a product of my imagination, but I’m beginning to develop a sense of a Central Otago terroir. I won’t be able to tell for sure, until I have had a chance to drink several more Central Otago bottlings, which admittedly, is an enviable task that I am happy to undertake. I’ll keep you posted.

3/14/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Decanted for two hours prior to tasting.
Medium dark ruby color; red fruit nose. Deep and smoothly integrated plum notes on the fore palate, and moderate acidity holds the entire enterprise together. Soft tannins support the satisfyingly long finish. The wine is drinking quite well right now, and will probably hang in a good spot for another five or six years.

3/12/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Deep Amber color; golden fruit nose. Slightly dark palate, with some impressive fruit notes upfront. Good acidity, and a touch of minerality on the back end. Great QPR, very enjoyable Weine.

3/12/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

I gave it two hours of air prior to tasting. Medium ruby color; red fruit nose. Heavily perfumed palate, lots of deep red fruit, spice, and mint (or eucalyptus). The wine is still quite young and would probably benefit from another 2 or 3 years of bottle age.

3/10/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Popped, poured, and consumed over the next two hours. The cork was pristine.
Magnificent deep magenta/purple color; savory nose of roast meat and plum.
Deeply integrated flavors featuring ripe and opulent black fruit, cedar box, tar, and leather. It is holding the peak indicated in my prior note, but I don’t see additional upside. Drink ‘em if you got ‘em!

3/6/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Dense and rich, but it still needs more time.

3/5/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Popped and poured. Lots of puckery red fruit up front. Good acidity and balance.

3/5/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Popped and poured. Atypical Sangiovese character: lots of extremely dark
fruit, supported by muted savory notes. Not a strong effort in my opinion. Perhaps it would have benefitted from more air.
Note: much better on day two,

3/4/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Nicely balanced. Well done

3/3/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

I popped and poured, and it was initially loaded with tons of dark black fruit and lots and lots of savory notes.

After two hours in a decanter it has been transformed!
Medium ruby/garnet color; Beautifully aromatic nose With hints of spice and roasted meat. Incredibly integrated on the palate, with lots of dark red fruit, with undertones of mild tobacco,tar and hard grape candy. The wine is incredibly balanced, with softened tannins and a long satisfying finish.It is breathtakingly good! It is singing right now, and if you have some, I suggest pulling a cork.

I’ve got several more bottles of more recent vintages of this particular cuvee and I’m going to give them a few more years to let them develop. Hopefully they will turn out to be as lovely as this one.

2/24/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Decanted for four hours prior to tasting
Dark Ruby color; blackberry nose.
Not much fruit up front. Lots of savory notes with eucalyptus and mint competing for attention. Mocha on the back end, and a fair amount of tannin are
present. I would give this one another three or four years before approaching it again.

2/23/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Decanted for two hours prior to tasting.
Dark Magenta color; plum nose.
Lots of dark blue/black fruit upfront, undergirded by layers of savory spice, leather, and candied grape. Quite delicious now, this one will improve with age. There’s enough tannid structure here to suggest it has at least 10 to 15 years of life ahead of it. In the meantime, if you don’t have that much patience, it is quite enjoyable right now

2/21/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Splash decanted and tasted.
Medium ruby color; spicy nose (sandalwood? cinnamon?)
Fabulous red fruit (tart cherry, boysenberry) with layers of umami-laden savory notes. Incredibly rich and complex! The finish goes on forever and each sip demands another. This one will only get better with a few more years in the cellar but it’s hard to resist right now.
NOTE: I initially scored this a 94, but as I worked my way through the bottle over the next 90 minutes, it got better and better. I raised the score twice, to where it now stands at 96. Great QPR. Must buy more!

2/19/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Popped and poured (actually untwisted and poured).
There was a healthy dose of reductive rubbery nose at the start, but after 45 minutes or so it has blown off.
Deep magenta color; the nose is still closed after 45 minutes.
Juicy blue fruit dominates the front end, with a hint of dark cherry sneaking in. Nicely perfumed savory note in the mid-palate, with a lively finish undergirded by moderate tannins.
This bottling continues to be a benchmark for Oregon Pinot Noir, in my opinion. It is continuing to evolve, and I believe it has a decade or more of life ahead of it. I’ll touch base with you all with an update in a few years.

2/19/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Decanted for four hours prior to tasting.

Medium dark Ruby color; umami-laden nose.
Dark and integrated blue/black fruit. Rich and balanced. This is an outstanding Beaucastel that is just beginning to hit its stride. It’s wonderful right now, and it still has some upside.

2/19/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Rich, nuanced and delicious. Incredible dark ruby color.

2/17/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Decanted for three hours prior to tasting.
Medium garnet color: slightly raisinated nose.
Nice dark fruit, with a velvety mouthfeel and a dry tannic pucker on the back end. Not super-complex, this feels like a “softer” Barbaresco- style Nebbiolo. Accessible now, it will probably hold up to 7 or 8 years of bottle age. That said, if you are searching for a decent Nebbiolo that can be consumed with tonight’s dinner, I suggest you give this a try.

For many years, Travaglini Gattinara has been ubiquitous on the wine lists of mid-level Italian restaurants here in the NY/NJ area, and I must admit I have looked upon it as being rather ordinary and uninteresting, at best. I’ve recently heard that the quality has improved at Travaglini, and the 2020 was reported to be a considerable step up. I am happy to confirm that opinion. I don’t what to oversell it, but it is enjoyable for current drinking.

2/15/2024 - BernieMSY wrote:

Never a bad choice, the 2020 Nippzzano is a decent wine for the price point, but it is a bit heavy on the tar/tobacco notes. Frankly, it’s a bit disappointing.

2/15/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

The wine was decanted for three hours prior to tasting.

OK, so I couldn’t wait a full three years as I suggested in my prior note, but I am happy to report that I believe that this wine has arrived at its maturational plateau.

Deep ruby color, and a beguiling fruit-laden nose.
Extremely concentrated rich black fruit, deep and impressive. Emerging savory notes add balance to the mix, and the wine is impressively structured. That said, the silky tannins have integrated nicely into the broader flavor profile.

Bottom line: this is delicious, and I believe that it’s ready to drink. That said, it may improve for a few years longer, so if you’ve got a few on hand give one a try now and let the rest of us know what you think.

This continues to be an amazing value for Nebbiolo-based wines.

2/9/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Medium straw color; a touch of lime citrus on the nose.
Complex tart fruit notes up front: lime, mango and passion fruit, but there is a ton of oily (in a good way) minerality here as well. Despite the fruit on the front end, the interest this wine holds rests primarily upon the complex savory notes that defined the mid-palate and finish. Solid effort, and it is developing nicely.

2/8/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

This wine continues to evolve and impress.
Attractive medium amber color; lemon custard nose.
Gobs of delicious fruit up front, with an increasingly interesting savory mid-palate. A lovely creamy mouthfeel and a substantial finish. This wine is a stunner that keeps getting better. Wow!

2/6/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Consistent With prior note. Good stuff! Excellent QPR

2/4/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

I decanted it for two hours prior to tasting.
Dark garnet/Ruby color. Nice smell of purple fruits on the nose.
Delicious melding of fruit and savory notes, this one continues to I’m press. I think it is entering its prime drinking window, and I would not be surprised to see it last a decade or so beyond this date.
Fantastic wine!

2/4/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

One hour decant before tasting.
Medium:dark ruby color; muted nose.
Dark fruit undergirded by savory notes of roast meat, cedar pencil and mineral notes. Rich and beautifully integrated, delicious and wonderful. This one has many years ahead of it, and I wish I had bought more upon release.

2/4/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine:

Decanted for 90 minutes prior to tasting. Medium magenta color; tart cherry nose.
Explosive red fruit on the front end, with an emergent series of secondary saving notes. Good structure, and a long finish, This one should evolve nicely in the bottom.

2/2/2024 - BernieMSY wrote:

Needs more bottle age