November 13, 2021 - From half-bottle, perfect fill and cork (thank you Chambers St!)... mature, tertiary scents of creosote, savory-bovril notes, apple cider, sour orange, old wooden chest, and a faintly stewed note which reminds me of mulled wine. A wonderful bouquet. The palate has a sweet, silky attack that is followed by bright apple-y acids and firm, ample tannins that provide a long, savory, grippy finish. There's a lovely ferric and earthy note here that gives this a real rustic bravado. The wine is both bold and somehow crystalline in body. Given the drying structure and brightness, this shows even better with food but is still charming and fruity enough to thoroughly on its own. If not a peak, then very close and I doubt the tannins will ever fully melt away, so drink now and enjoy a classic Nebbiolo.
December 16, 2020 - Whoa. This was impressive. Blind I might have called Burgundy. Sweet red fruits. Tannins are mostly resolved. Delicious. Went great with Duck Pappardelle.
December 15, 2018 - Half bottle decanted just before dinner. Opening slowly. Nose of balsam, soy, eucalyptus, and dried cherries. Tarry dried red fruit. Long tannic finish. I don't think this has the fruit to outlast the tannins. Only for true tannin heads at this point. 91 for me. YMMV.
February 24, 2018 - This wine was very complex. It is elegant and approachable.
February 18, 2018 - Monthly Tasting Group: Barolo & Barbaresco (Nolo's Kitchen, Mpls): Dark red color. PNP, drank 1 glass over 2 hours plus. This had a great nose. Wonderful perfume, aromatic, floral, leather, earth, kirsch, lifted, dried spices, very complex. The palate kind of comes in and out and when in shows bright red fruits, very pretty, tart red berries, very earthy with a lot minerality and still firm tannins. Lovely again. 93+pts.
May 22, 2016 - Monthly Tasting Group: Barolo & Barbaresco (Acqua, St. Paul, MN): This was in a great spot, PNP, drank super with a wonderful nose, floral, roses, potpourri, pretty red fruits. The palate shows bright red berries, loam, mineral, earthy. This is probably at peak but will hold well for a number of years. 92+ to 93pts.
May 22, 2016 - My WOTN by a small margin over the '08 Gimonnet Special Cuvee and the the '98 Giacosa Neive Gallina. This was in a perfect place and showing lots of depth and typacity. Elegant, resolved and silky. I'd gladly drink this again. My first experience with this producer and guessing the btl age really helps here.
November 23, 2015 - Last 375ml bottle. In prime drinking window. Lean with earthy aromatics.
July 27, 2015 - Aback of the cellar find. Still a bit stern and angular, but with good delineation of flavors. Austere, deep and brooding with tar, iodine, iron, and some balsam and a background floral component. Deep and more youthful than the last couple bottles. There isa cooler herbal lift on the back end. Quite long and more of a structured and imposing thinking experience more so than a passively enjoyable wine. Still quite good. 88 its
April 1, 2015 - My last two half blles, the first of which was horrifically corked. TN form #2
Tar, dried roses, and balsamic notes, iron, and with more savory than fruit. This is still a structured stern wine that is quite enjoyable in an academic more than passive sense. It is not a terribly friendly wine. Structured and enjoyable in a cistercian sense. I quite like it, but fear the tannins will outlive the more pleasurable aspects. In tho format, I don;t think its a sad thing that these were my last bottles. 88pts