January 26, 2024 - Dekantert. Herlig nese og munn fra første glass. Også dag 2, dette er helt i balanse og en fryd for sansene.
September 24, 2023 - Another excellent bottle of this. I had a little bit of bad luck with some oxidized 2001s Produttori, but the 2004 are really beautiful and in a great place now. This is deep, layered and pretty complex, it has the signature slight austerity to it, but also beautiful notes of red and darker fruit, menthol, anise seeds, crushed violets, tar, some graphite, also some notes of cedar and pine. It‘s medium-full bodied, with medium+ tannin that is present, but beautifully integrated, there is nice medium-high acidity and very good length. A total beauty. I can‘t believe these wines were available by the case for $34 until a few years ago. There are still excellent value for top-notch Nebbiolo, but the secret is out. Probably my best Rabaja 2004 yet.
April 25, 2023 - The fruit is sourced from the Rabajà vineyard. Released only after a minimum of four years of aging. Bottle #6663 of total 8840 bottles. Lot number L8.150. 14% alcohol.
Luminous and somewhat translucent garnet color. The nose feels open and fragrant but also quite dry and savory with expressive aromas of brambly black raspberries and black cherries, some tobacco, a little bit of wild strawberry, light floral notes of violets, a hint of tar, a sweeter touch of dark plummy fruit and a whiff of dusty old wood. The wine feels juicy, silky and relatively light on its feet with a medium body and precise but a bit restrained flavors of sour cherries and crunchy cranberries, some wild strawberries, a little bit of ferrous blood, light tart notes of fresh red plums, a hint of tar and a touch of licorice root. The wine shows good sense of substance without any excess weight. The structure relies more on the high acidity, although the moderately grippy medium-plus tannins do add quite a bit to the wine's firmness. The finish is dry, long and somewhat grippy with a savory aftertaste of tart lingonberries and sour cherries, some gravelly mineral notes, a little bit of tobacco, light licorice root tones, a hint of fresh red plum and a touch of brambly black raspberry.
A tasty, attractive and harmonious PdB Riserva. Feels both a bit lighter and slightly more reticent than the 2004 Montestefano that was tasted alongside, but otherwise feeling very similar in style. Just as 2004 Montestefano, also this Rabajà feels still super youthful with very little sense of evolution - even if the wine is almost 20 years old! Structurally the wine doesn't seem to call for much aging, as the rather tannins come across as pretty supple and approachable, not too tough and gritty; however, aromatically, the wine could really benefit from additional cellar time. I would happily leave the wine to age for another 10 to 15 years, just to get the wine develop some additional tertiary complexity. All in all, a fine wine; expect the score to go up as the wine ages.
December 11, 2022 - Healthy ruby color with just some bricking towards the rim. First a little reticent, but opening up nicely in the glass. Elegant, pure and pretty complex, this is showing notes of red berries, also some darker fruit, some graphite, tar, some flowery notes (rose petals and violets), some menthol, anise. It‘s medium-full bodied, with very good persistence, it‘s still showing medium-high tannin that is present but good quality. Medium-high acidity adding freshness and overall balance. Pretty long finish. Very classic Rabaja that is drinking beautifully but will have many more years ahead.
February 21, 2022 - These wines are extremely variable, but this is a real hit. Decanted about 90 minutes. A bit orange rim. The dominant theme on the nose is tobacco, with some wet forest ground and roses. Elegant and precise in the mouth, with none of the roughness Nebbiolo wines can show even into their third decade. Really an outstanding wine, and one of the few such from Produttori's Crus that I have owned.
April 23, 2021 - Tasted double blind from a small bottle. This was part of a flight of 3 wines, numbered 1-3 where we knew that the vineyards were all within the same designation and within walking distance from one another and lined up with #3 the westernmost. Also knew that 2 of the wines were from the same producer. This was #2.
Dark, menthol, tar, a little rotting leaves, licorice. Bitter and dark on palate, licorice and tar. Bitter finish. For me it was hard to tell if this went with #3 or #1, but others did figure that out easily and in retrospect I should have as well. Some liked this better than the Asili - to me the Asili was vastly superior. This strikes me as bitter and a little cabbagey. Finish is now showing some oomph and promise. I tracked these later in the night and the wine didn't change that much or approach the Asili. This was a disappointing bottle for me and did not have much at all of the distinctive Rabaja sweet cherry-mint-balsamico perfume I love so much. Nose - 4.5-5/6, Palate - 4.5-5/6, Finish - 5-5.5/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1-1.5/2 = 15-16.5/20.
April 13, 2021 - Decanted 2 hours in advance. It needed 3 or 4. The nose was quite muted. The wine was tasty. I bet the second half of this is better tomorrow. Tart, cherry, a bit of forest floor, but not much. Went well with a mushroom tagliatelle.
March 30, 2021 - Decanted 3 hrs. While I wouldn’t quite call it a slump, but I have had a run of either good or slightly below good bottles of PdB Riservas over the last year or so. Streak broken, this was terrific. Incredibly generous presentation of dark plums and violets, an irresistible combo for my palate. Sweet tannins are lurking beneath the surface, but they are clearly present. Sound acidity doesn’t get in the way, but lends just the right amount of supporting structural chemistry. With the chatter of when to drink these (Aldo Vacca stating he thinks on the younger side) here is a perfect candidate to drink now or cellar for another 20 years. Excellent.
December 31, 2020 - Ruby with watery rim. Aromatically reticent, but fairly smooth with some fruit in the mouth. Moderate length. Absolutely disappointing, but very much in line with the extremely variable showing of the Crus from this producer: From excellent to highly disappointing. Are the corks they are, or have been, using up to it?
November 15, 2020 - Persistent fruit and length. High-toned, floral notes - violets and rose. Black and red fruits. Upon opening, there was very noticeable tannins and so I decided to drink this over 4 days. By the 4th, the tannins had receded somewhat but the structure seems to suggest that this can age for minimally a couple more decades. Drink 2030-2040.