September 1, 2023 - Opened and decanted for one hour prior to pairing with pizza. A slightly light orange-inflected ruby in the glass, the nose beckoning with cherry, damp leaves, leather, and suggestions of both rose petals and orange rinds. Tannin largely mitigated, this had very good acidity and intensity. Probably at peak now or just past, owing to a touch of oxidation. Was an unusual but very good pairing for the pizza.
June 23, 2022 - Fantastic. Very pure, clear, bright and lightweight. Delicious tangy fruit, good structure, and perfectly balanced. Not flabby or over-ripe at all per the supposed vintage profile. Yum. Started drinking this vintage in 2013, best yet now with maybe more to come. (note: When I tried this wine first in 2017 I had the impression it was over-oaked. No hint of that now).
January 19, 2022 - This was a lovely Barbaresco, even ‘pretty’. There was a delicacy to it-kind of middle weight-with nice dark cherry and currant flavors, some moderate leather, subtle tannins, but enough for structure for balance and interest. We enjoyed it, especially after a 1/2 hour of decanting and it achieving the right temperature after being pulled from the wine cabinet.
March 20, 2021 - Decanted for a couple of hours to no major effect. Savory, herbal and leathery on the nose with quite plentiful dark cherry fruit and a prominent note of tar. Expressive, if not terribly vivid. Fairly rich on the palate with ripe but not overripe fruit. The attack is classic and attractively bright but midway through some heat starts to emerge and the finish is tannic and quite drying. I think this wine perfectly captures the vintage, i.e. while seemingly well made and very recognizable the heat definitely comes through and renders the finish rather harsh. Happy to try it but finishing the bottle is not a realistic goal.
October 18, 2020 - Not really digging this bottle. Youthful, superficial without much going for it. There are sappy red fruits and a bit of earth on the nose - promising. The palate is overly tannic and tight with a tremendously bitter, palate searing finish. This will either be great in 20 years or it’s a hot mess. I am putting my money on the latter. I have a bunch left so will be interesting to follow. I’m thinking this is destined for stew. (83?)
After the poor showing, I put a cork in the bottle and came back 4 days later. The wine has improved but still has some flaws. Gone are the harsh tannins. Things have rounded a bit but seems a bit superficial. If you have some bottles, I say open well m advance. May improve with 3-4 years of cellaring. (87)
June 15, 2020 - Opened in advance of a pairing with a Northern Italy milk-braised pork loin dinner. Initially, a light ruby hue with orange highlights, the aromatic nose features black cherry, red alpine currant, and hints of tar and leather. Medium-bodied on the palate, with the aforementioned notes, amidst fine drying tannins. Subsequently double decanted over 4 hours.
And... this has opened up beautifully! A wonderful pairing with the dinner. Darker in the robe, now medium-bodied, and still featuring black cherry, red alpine currant, leather, light tar and a decidedly orange rind finish. The previous dry tannins now dealt with, this is cooking on all cylinders! Glad to have a bottle or two left.
May 3, 2020 - My first bottle of this was in December 2017 and my second January 2019. Both bottles were medium bodied and had lots of somewhat powerful dark fruits. They were a bit disjointed, a bit sweet/over-ripe, and had a tiny bit too much oak showing, but they were still very nice. The fruit disappeared after 2 hours. The current bottle has lost quite a bit of the fruit, but has a little left (berries, tar, roses), is light bodied, a bit acidic, and still ok to drink. Not much tannin. Popped and poured, so not sure what would happen with air. Provenance: purchased from merchant in 2017, so who knows how well these were stored the first 10 years.
April 8, 2020 - Rather dense, with typical Nebiollo bricking. Beautiful smokey, roasted black cherries, are just haunting on the nose. Rather full bodied, similar captivating impression on the palate. Good length. An outstanding representation of the genre at this point in its life. Got 10 years easily, but will not get better. Fantastic value (upon release).
January 19, 2020 - Fruit has faded, acidity dominates.
October 10, 2019 - Deep plum and black cherry notes. Plenty of tannins still underneath. Good wine