December 30, 2023 - Excellent
December 29, 2023 - At Bracerie Venete in Trieste.
May 31, 2023 - BYOB dinner NOTK (Supernova hotel, Rotterdam): Initially quite a bit of barnyard and VA. Lots of extraction. Black berry, black fruit, violets. A bit funky. Medium+ acidity, high and hard tannins and the moment. Long finish. Would love to see this with a bit more age. 91+
Bottle nr 26545
March 16, 2023 - Drank a small glass. Bottle number: 17364. Almost opaque with a medium purple core fading to a medium ruby outer edge. Wild brambles rolled in cracked black pepper, charred embers and silage. There’s a real depth and vigour to the wine yet a lightness and grace on the palate. Intense, textured, and alluring.
March 2, 2023 - As good as young Pepe is. My friend who had this blind called it Cornas which makes sense in a way since this shows the more meaty and floral side of Montepulciano. Quite sturdy structure at the moment but perfectly enjoyable, especially with rich and hearty foods.
Very good today but will most likely be a great wine with some proper age.
March 30, 2022 - Barnyard on the nose — blows off a little, revealing a nose of dark berries, leather, and umami. The palate has more pure red fruit, umami, some earth, and finishes with some spice. Powdery tannins thag could use some more time to integrate better. Very enjoyable with some notes that seem like they could evolve interestingly.
December 28, 2021 - A classic, ageworthy version of the often bright and cheerful Montepulciano. The bottle I opened had significant brett but the group loved the complexity it added to the wine. I personally thought it was a little distracting having it as a clear top layer over the dark cherries, bright berry fruit as the underlying wine was really quite layered and structured. Will wait another 5 years for the other bottle.
October 26, 2021 - Rome, Florence, Bologna - Delayed 60th birthday trip; 10/19/2021-11/1/2021 (Rome, Florence, Bologna): Purchased this bottle in Rome to bring home, but decided to pop open back at our hotel after a somewhat disappointing dinner. Something really enjoyable about drinking the local releases of Pepe, when they are young and fresh. This was juicy, dark cherry, with leather and earth and bright acidity. Very crushable and that is exactly what we did - while enjoying the view of the Arno and the Ponte Vecchio from our hotel room!