December 23, 2023 - Quite closed on day one, but by day two it’s singing: clove, spice, fig, Christmas cake, violet, truffle, iodine, tar, rose petal, a top note of menthol; palate in perfect balance with ripe, mature tannins giving firm structure, slightly drying on the finish; all in all, in the ideal spot for this wine, just mature enough to have softened completely while maintaining all of its poise and structure.
March 16, 2023 - This was beautiful and a consensus wine of the night. At full maturity, we felt it could still go 5 or more additional years without fading.
March 4, 2023 - Always a pleasure to try such an iconic wine, even with a few sips. Moderate garnet in the glass. Of course, by the color the age is quite obvious, but when you start smelling and sipping, you can't believe that this is so old. Lovely florals dominate the nose in form of violets and hibiscus, then transform into dried berry fruit, fresh tobacco, mocha, some shiitake mushroom. Palate is full of life with medium (+) acidity, grippy tannins and moderate alcohol. Everything is in sync and working beautifully together. Benchmark wine of Barbaresco.
September 25, 2022 - Everything you'd expect in a barbaresco - leather, tobacco, blue/black fruits and sturdy tannins. It is pretty crazy how young this 1996 feels 26 years later. The age has added tertiary characteristics like mushroom and dirt, while the vibrant, concentrated fruit still show signs of youth.
Even after a night of air, this felt like it still had a decade or two in it. Beautiful wine.
July 29, 2022 - Earthy leather and tobacco, still some primary fruit, cherry, dark plum. Tertiary on nose with mushroom, herb.
July 27, 2022 - Beautifully evolved , with lovely sweet fruit and refined dark tar spice. Has peaked but on a very gradual decline . Still delicious , with soft fine grained tannins .
July 17, 2022 - Sunday hangout (and goodbyes) (Chicago, IL): This bottle was more typical of 1996 (at least in my mind) than my last experience with this wine. The fruit is more red-tinted and there are more mature herbal and dried floral notes on the nose. The tannins still feel a little young and grainy, but there should be enough fruit here for the wine to stand up some additional aging.
October 7, 2021 - Still showing very young, would not guess 25 years old. Cedar and herbal notes. Still a ways to develop
July 20, 2021 - 1996 Piedmont theme Lunch at Maison Dakota. Tasted blind. Drank in Conterno Sensory.
Appearance is clear, medium intensity, garnet colour. Legs.
Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of dark earth, leather, dark plums, mint. Developing.
On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium+ alcohol (13.5%), structured high tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, wth flavours of deep dark plums, dark currants, dark earth, leather, stony minerals, hint of herbal greenness and green mint. Very long powerful finish.
Very good quality. Still quite fresh for a 1996. This will probably last quite a few more years easily.
April 13, 2020 - This was a really nice bottle following a double decant on day one, and stayed at that high level on day 2. Intense on the palate with lovely dark fruit and herb and some leather. Nice long finish with a slight tannic eighth. Full nose of dark fruits and some leather. Drank really well with food and really well by itself, more integrated than the last bottle I had of this 4 years ago.