December 20, 2022 - This is the first 2016 Pora I tried out of my 6. My cellar has seen many vintages of this still reasonably prized Barbaresco. It seems to be at the beginning of its drinking window, coming from an excellent vintage. Smell initially rather subdued, less than the 2015 vintage I just finished. However, after a few hours and on the next day the wine developed and opened up, so a decant is highly recommended. This is a fairly light and elegant version of a Barbaresco. Had it with ossobuco and polenta.
December 19, 2022 - Very solid/descent, well balanced and I thought highly approachable, unsure if any more complexity will be unlocked with a few years of age (unless of course you waited 20 years ;) )
December 12, 2022 - James's early look at 2016 Bar/Bar (Terra Rossa): Initially subdued, with only a touch of oak showing on the nose at first, then a little more fruit. 18 months ago I labelled this wine "lightweight", and I will now upgrade that to "refreshing", but it still feels young, with a slightly drying, grippy finish. Overpowered and perhaps outclassed by tonight's other Barbarescos.
December 12, 2022 - James' mid-tier 2016 Piedmonts (Terra Rossa, London N1): Crimson in colour. Old books, leather and red fruit concentrate on the nose. Quite drying tannins and considerable midpalate concentration. Whilst perfectly pleasant to drink now, I cannot see this evolving into something appealing, at least for my palate.
December 12, 2022 - 2016 Piedmont at Terra Rossa; 12/12/2022-12/13/2022 (Terra Rossa N1): Nose has sweet red fruit, a little TCP esque tar - elegant and light.
Palate delivers the aromas from the nose - very bright and lifted.
Tannins pretty present here - crisp wine that should put on some weight and integrate with time.
October 14, 2022 - Not Rated - IMO Barely accessible even with a 4hr decant. Tannins are not the issue, but the big strawberry menthol nose and high acid are quite something. If you open now, do yourself a favor and pair with something rich and fatty. Oh, and decant 3-4hrs. Won’t plan to check in on these for at least another 4 years. Stuffing is there, it’s just way too ‘in your face’ for me right now.
Day 2: infinetely more palateable. This wine bodes well for the future, it just needs much time.
May 12, 2021 - Piedmont at Terra Rossa (Terra Rossa): Pleasant, well-mannered, a bit lightweight. Outshone in this company - may well just need time.
April 24, 2021 - Magnificent 6 Ride Again: Blind. Cherry, smoke, redcurrant and blackberry on the nicely composed nose. The palate is terrible, harsh tannins with a pine/resin flavour throughout, finishing clipped. I don't know what went wrong here but it was really hard to drink.
September 27, 2020 - This is a good wine but it will wear out your palate. Dry, tannic and acidic. It’s had a hint of coffee on the finish which is something I’ve never experienced before.
September 23, 2020 - kerin o'keefe favorite with a rating of 97. opens with a nose of dried rose petal and cherry. the wine is medium bodied with bright acidity. on the palate the wine shows nice red berry fruit and spicy underpinnings. there is a fleshiness and nice mouthfeel to this wine on the midpalate but overall the wine lacks an inner sweetness that I would like to see particularly in this great vintage. Of particular note is the finish which seems to wash out and end with some bitterness. I thought that with some air, the bitterness might go away but it did not. I view this as a serious flaw in the wine but am at a loss as to where it comes. from (winemaker?). it is unlikely that this flaw was particular to this bottle. will have to open another bottle soon to find out.