December 23, 2023 - Prior bottle was 13 months ago and this wine continues to improve along the lines I'd hoped, fully justifying my initial read. Black cherry and plum along with pretty spice and earth notes on the nose. Between medium and full bodied with open and very pretty black cherry upfront. There's still a nice little touch of brightness upfront, but it's also gained in depth and simply feels more expressive. Plum and dark black cherry again through the middle. Like the upfront notes, the wine shows improved depth and improved fruit expression. Ties in cleanly with the lightly tart black cherry, fine grained tannins and acidity on the backside. Structural qualities are very much in balance with the fruit but through the finish, they stand out in a very positive fashion, providing a backbone to anchor the fruit and leading to spices, earth and mineral notes through the finish. Showing quite impressively at present and feels close to or at peak, but in a fashion it should be able to maintain for another few years. Absolutely not past peak (unless you have a bad bottle or one poorly stored). Next bottle for me, Fall 2024.
March 14, 2023 - Had with grilled steaks, perfect. Cherry and earth notes on the nose, taste is spicy with ripe cherry and more earthy notes. Tannins are bold but lay back in the finish nicely, took about 30 minutes to open up.
December 13, 2022 - Fully mature and a year or two past peak but has the charming red-to-black cherry and berry Sangiovese fruit with wet stone, gravel dust, woodspice, and dried herbs.
November 24, 2022 - Prior bottle was 14 months ago and this wine continues to show quite well. Black cherry, earth and light spice notes on the nose. Between medium and full bodied with rounded, open and pretty black cherry upfront which has opened up a bit since my prior bottle. Mid-body adds plum along with slightly darker black cherry notes. Not as much brightness upfront as before, but on the backside, the tannins and acidity, along with tart black cherry continue to give the wine lift and contrast. Like the upfront, the mid-body also seems slightly more open with the structural qualities behind in slightly better balance. Finishes with minerals, earth and spices. This wine is evolving almost exactly along the lines I'd hoped with enough fruit to continue to show well into the future. I'll plan to open my next bottle in Fall 2023.
October 16, 2021 - Floral day, 2 hour decant and served with lamb belly roast
The colour is simply beautiful and surprisingly dark and only just starting to show some signs of bricking and translucency on the rim.
Nose: Really quite a powerful and brooding nose and showing a youthful exuberance despite its 11 years of age. Soft red plum, black cherry, red licorice...a hint of mint and some damp brown leather. Terroir is pleasant and a nice compliment. Honestly this is absolutely lovely with my only qualm being a smidge too much alcohol present on the back of the nose despite the decant.
Palate: A little more red fruit but again flirting with darker fruit elements, sage, leather and terroir drives the initial impressions. The palate seems a little more integrated and has a real plushness to it. Medium acidity and firm, yet approachable tannins.
Not quite what I would have expected but no less enjoyable in the slightest and such a long runway ahead - I'm floored by the youthfulness of this wine and while I would have absolutely zero complaints about drinking this right now I am really excited to see what's to come.
92 points with the potential for 1-2 more with a few more years.
September 19, 2021 - Black cherry, spices and earth on the nose. Slightly above medium bodied (14.5% ABV) with black cherry upfront that shows a good mix of rounded and open elements as well as brighter and more tart notes. Mid-body shows good density and adds a plum notes in the back along with tart black cherry, spices, tannins and acidity. Finish has good length and shows mineral qualities and earthy notes. Feels like the mid-body is starting to open up and with a bit more time could show even more nuance and expressiveness. There's also potential for improved integration on the backside. As compared to the 2009, this is blackfruit based as opposed to redfruit, has more depth through the middle and better long term potential. I'll plan to open my next bottle in Q2/Q3 2022, again alongside the 2009.
August 28, 2021 - Wine had a short decant, but still needed ~3 hours in the glass before really showing its full beauty. It actually seemed a little jumbled on the first try. As it organized, the bright fruit came out and the barrel notes settled into complimentary tones. The cherry seemed to deepen and become rich with time.
September 18, 2020 - Good not great. Wouldn’t pay for than $50 for this.
September 3, 2020 - The wine was opaque and was deep tawny at the core and medium tawny at the rim. The viscosity was medium. The alcohol was 14.5% .
On the nose there were aromas of clay pot, Sichuan peppercorns and dark chocolate.
i tasted ripe dark cherries, toasted almonds and chocolate. It had medium acid, tannins and alcohol. The wine was incredibly smooth and well balanced and had a medium finish. What a fantastic wine and could use a 3 - 5 more years in the bottle.
May 25, 2020 - - Brick color with a medium finish.