• Papies wrote:

    November 13, 2022 - Dinner with Nicola Biasi (The Papies, Elizabeth St, London): This arrived quite a bit late into a long wine flight and maybe was wasted a bit. There was a lactic feel to it which we wonder if this was a bit of Bret or other bacterial contamination so better we do not rate this time round. A massive wine still but not to the standard of the bossman.

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  • peter.mancell@mfg.com.au wrote: 90 points

    September 4, 2022 - Decanted for 3 hours.
    Just OK, certainly not my favourite style of wine.
    Dry finish, bit too much acidity.

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  • Ran-Dom-Perignon wrote: 90 points

    March 15, 2022 - Oak, baking spices, ripe bilberries, dark juicy cherries and a minor cassis notes on the nose. High intensity.

    Extremely high concentration, massive tannins, acids high enough to balance out the fruit from going to the sweet side. Alcohol level isn't as high as it usually is in this type of wines. Long aftertaste.

    Everything in this wine is yuuuuuge... maybe even too much. But still in a way it's all in control. At 14 years of age, no evidence of evolving so no need to put this in your cellar if you don't have room for over 1000 bottles. Might be at it's best somewhere around 30 years of age. At the moment it doesn't give up much else than fruit, oak and yuuuuugeness.

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  • forceberry wrote: 88 points

    February 25, 2022 - Typically a blend of Corvina (70%), Rondinella (20%), Croatina (5%) and Oseleta (5%). The grapes are dried in a ventilated room for 1,5 months following the harvest. After the grapes have been raisinated, the wine is fermented and macerated in stainless steel for two weeks. Aged in new oak barriques for 24 months, after the wine is filtered and bottled. The wine is not released before aging in bottles for a minimum of three years. 14% alcohol. Tasted blind.

    Dense, extracted and fully opaque blackish-red color that does not permit any light through. Very dense, powerful and toasty nose with aromas of heavily toasted oak, ripe blackcurrants, some minty green tones, a little bit of soot, light evolved notes of wizened blackcurrants, a hint of chocolate milkshake and a touch of alcohol. The overall feel is very powerful and heavily oak-driven. The wine is dense, concentrated and chewy on the palate with a very full body and intense flavors of powerful caramel-driven oak character, some mint chocolate, a little bit of cherry marmalade, light blueberry tones, an evolved hint of wizened forest fruits and a touch of ripe blackcurrant. The wine feels very muscular and tightly-knit with it extracted, noticeably grippy tannins and quite high acidity. The alcohol lends some obvious warmth to the palate. The thick and chewy finish feels powerful, robust and tannic with intense flavors of juicy blackcurrants and overripe blueberries, some toasty oak tones, a little bit of caramel, light cherry marmalade tones, a hint of extracted woody bitterness and a touch of milk chocolate.

    A huge, massive blockbuster of a wine that is as far removed from a traditional Valpolicella Superiore as possible - this wine comes across as more Amarone than many Amarones on the market do. On the one hand, it is very impressive how even the lowly entry-level wine is the winery is so massive and impressively concentrated; but on the other, this wine really has nothing to do with Valpolicella whatsoever. With its ridiculously overdone oak, extracted blackcurrant-driven fruit, massive tannins and rather pronounced alcohol, I guessed that this was a 15-yo Tempranillo from Toro (or possibly Ribera del Duero). When I was told it was not a Spanish wine, I thought this was a flagship Cabernet-Shiraz from Australia. Never once I thought of Italy. So, yes, this is an impressively massive wine with lots of everything and then some. However, I really don't "get" the wine - it's just a huge, concentrated fruit bomb that is drenched in new oak character, making me think more of Bourbon than Italian red wine. I'd love to see how these wines perform at +25 years of age, because it seems painfully obvious that these 13 years have not been nearly enough to integrate all that oak character with the fruit.

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  • Blue Jay Likes this wine: 94 points

    February 19, 2022 - Flavors of prunes and blackberries and marzipan with firm tannins.

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  • jsebiri wrote:

    January 1, 2022 - This was very nice , well done all around.

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  • Ben Christiansen wrote:

    November 24, 2021 - Funny, having had the 2015 and the 2008 nearly back to back my preference was for the '15's absolute monstrousness and not the more mellow 2008. If your gonna make a monster, drink it when its the most unrulily - young!

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  • WildeMeeuw wrote: 86 points

    April 26, 2021 - Kleur: Diep opaak donkerrood. Aroma / bouquet: Gebrande neus, donker fruit, gedroogde vijgen en een hint van nagellak. Smaak / Afdronk: Serieus krachtige en serieus alcoholische wijn, eendimensionaal… Algemeen / potentieel: Flesfout? 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 10 + Smaak / Afdronk: 13 + Algemeen / potentieel: 8 = 86/100

    Color: Deep opaque dark red Aroma / bouquet: Burnt nose, dark fruit, dried figs and a hint of nail polish. Taste / Aftertaste: Seriously powerful and seriously alcoholic wine, one-dimensional… General / potential: Bottle error? 50 + Color: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 10 + Taste / Finish: 13 + Overall / potential: 8 = 86/100

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  • melvinyeowq Does not like this wine:

    March 21, 2021 - Italian night; 3/21/2021-3/22/2021: This is still ridiculously young and tight but I can't see it ever coming into balance. Figs and some nail varnish on the nose, but the biggest problem was on the palate. I am just not a fan of chocolate, licorice and sweet notes in wine, and the alcohol just sticks out way too much.

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  • Dibbs wrote: 89 points

    March 21, 2021 - When I first got into wines, this used to be my favorite wine but unfortunately, I find this a bit boorish now. Although it still delivers well with a thick piece of meat.

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