January 28, 2009 - Best bottle yet. Nose of dark red fruit and a hint of mocha. On the palate, the mocha really came through. Very well-rounded at this point. Can't imagine it will get any better, which is good, since this was my last bottle.
August 20, 2008 - Red brick color clearly shows the age of this wine. Interesting nose of pencil shaving, maybe a little prune, but also a brighter aspect as well. I also do pick on on something that makes me think of red meat. I find no "onion" or "brett" that previous tasters encountered. It has a nicely round mouth-feel and acidity with flavors of cherry. This is really enjoyable.
May 6, 2008 - Wow. This is the 7th bottle I opened, and the first that was remotely drinkable this time around. Even with that, it too went down the drain. One bottle left. All-in-all, a failed auction experiment. The earlier "drinkable" bottles, in hindsight, were a bit of an oddity as well with the overt onion thing going on. One more bottle of this left, and on to another chapter.
April 5, 2008 - Popped and poured at our favorite BYOB. Definite "Brett" nose--the owner of the restaurant said it smelled like "his grandfather's basement". We eventually decanted and gradually sipped over the course of an hour. By the end, the "Brett" nose had worn off somewhat (but still there), but en bouche, this was fantastic. Lots of dark fruit and nice balance. Last glass really good.
March 30, 2008 - A distinctly better bottle than the last two. The heavier notes of game and onion are more in the background. This has a freshness that the other two bottles did not, perhaps a bit more remaining acidity. I also notice more oak from this bottle. I think this wine benefits from being served several degrees cooler than normal to keep it from becoming too muddled. That being said, with 25 minutes open, the "onion monster" returns, relegating this wine once again to a special purpose food pairing choice.
February 23, 2008 - Saturday Afternoon/Evening at Fernando's (Queens, NY): Medium ruby/garnet color. Alluring nose of dry mulling spice, leather and dusty red cherry. Really comes across as a Sangiovese rather than a Barbera. On the palate it has racy acidity with resolved tannins and a bright, tart cherry flavor. Definitely a food wine this, and one that calls for pasta with red sauce. I did not feel that it was over the hill, but definitely one to drink up.
February 6, 2008 - thin, acidic and rustic. The fruit is pretty much all gone, leaving something behind, not quite sure what......
edit day 2 - gained quite a bit of body actually. much more savory and tangy than acidic today.... much better, but not a re-buy....
December 23, 2007 - Similar notes to last time. Once again begs to be paired with food that has a savory/onion preparation. A little too overtly onion on the nose and palate to make it a standalone quaffer.
December 15, 2007 - Interesting bottle of wine. Nose of meat and resins. Rustic, medium-bodied with significant oakiness. Decent structure. Mouth-feel comparable to some Pinots....since I don't drink a lot of these, I'll call it a "rustic, oaky medium bodied pinot" for later reference. A good everyday wine that probably needs to be consumed fairly soon. Update - the nose gets a bit more funky, but the palate smooths out (after 2-3 hours open). There's something on the palate that just screams for a food pairing with onion....french onion soup, french onion potato chip dip, whatever!