January 20, 2024 - ESTG does Piemonte (West Seattle, WA, USA): People really complained about this one having a chemical note on the nose (Basement shag carpet Atari room). To me it was just a touch shrill and candied. Personally I thought it was just a bit chewy, dry and rustic, but I quite liked it for what it was. A more raw and austere expression of Nebbiolo.
January 17, 2024 - Enticing nose, but that is the best thing this wine has going for it. I could smell it all day. raspberries, roses, saddle leather, bubble gum, balsamic, and tar. It needed a long decant to let some brett/funk blow off. It still has too much hairy tannin and not enough fruit to balance it. There isn't TCA, but there are some weird fish oil and musty flavors when it was first opened--but those were gone after the decant. So close to being a great wine.
March 28, 2023 - The slightest touch of TCA, but underneath was a beautiful , soulful wine. Notre of red fruit, tar, plastic, and menthol. Really special. Just goes to show how great 1997 was as a vintage that the wines purity shine through the TCA. My last bottle and I tip my hat to it.
June 14, 2022 - Corked, like many of the other bottles of this producer. Not the worst though. Underneath it was some lovely tart cherry/cranberry, mountain herb, hints of balsamic, and a dusty soil note. Unfortunately there was a musty, wet cardboard scent overlaying everything.
July 8, 2021 - Corked, just as the other two bottles from this producer have been :(
January 30, 2021 - Decanted at 5:30pm and tasted through about 11pm. Translucent medium ruby bordering on garnet with just a hint of bricking on the edge, it got darker and less bricked with air by the 4-5 hour mark. Nose has distinct rose petals, uncooked bacon, cherry blossoms and cherry. Palate is a touch smokey with game meat, bacon, rich brown earth and cherry. Bright acidity, moderate tannin, mostly integrated. Light to medium bodied and textured but still full of flavor. Finish carries just a little drying tannin and very good length, 30-45 seconds. Probably not getting a lot better but certainly not falling apart in any way. A Fine example of an Alto Piemonte/Boca Nebbiolo from a warm vintage prior to more recent climate warming trends in the 21st Century. I’ll probably look to drink my last bottle over the next couple years.
August 12, 2020 - 2nd of 3 bottles. Last consumed 1.5 yrs ago...scored at 90 pts. This bottle seemed significantly better.
Tart cherry, stewed mushrooms, wet leaves, road tar, camphor, espresso grounds, and mint.
Lots of earthy things going on under the hood.
The palate was nervy and the tannins still had very good grip and tension on the soil-inflected finish.
Drink now through 2022.
April 28, 2020 - Didn’t like this on day one. Better on day two. Still wouldn’t buy again
February 22, 2020 - Wine Tasting Group - No Theme - Feb. 22, 2020 (My place): Corked. Initially mild but bloomed over time. The palate was off from the very beginning.
February 4, 2020 - This was an interesting wine. Closer to Burgundy than just about any other wine I've had. Very light in color with ample red fruit and so much saddle leather that at times I thought I almost detected fish oil. Just a bit of mushroomy goodness too. Still plenty of drying tannins and acid to keep aging for the long term. I would recommend a 24 hour decant.