December 24, 2022 - Medium red, tightly wound at first, then tarry and red fruit on the nose, beautifully balanced and complex. Could sleep longer but alas, it was our last bottle! Tasted in conjunction with a much younger wine, Le Pianelle Bramaterra 2016, and it was tough to say which one we liked more!
January 25, 2020 - All grapes are sourced from the Fausoni Cru in Neive. Fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts. Macerated with the skins for 25 days. Aged for 24 months in French oak barrels (15% new). Bottled unfined and unfiltered. 14,5% alcohol.
Moderately translucent and slightly developed pomegranate color. Juicy and slightly sweet-toned but also somewhat understated nose with nuanced aromas of ripe black cherries, some dried figs, a little bit of sweet earthy spice and a touch of tar. The wine is dense, full-bodied and structure-driven on the palate with dry flavors of sour cherries, some wizened figs, a little bit of sweet raisiny fruit, light gravelly mineral tones, a hint of plummy dark fruit and a touch of savory wood spice. The high alcohol lends some warmth to the mouthfeel. The overall feel is noticeably structured with the high acidity and firm, noticeably grippy tannins. The finish is warm, grippy and quite tough with long, slightly developed flavors of ripe red berries, sour cherry bitterness, some blood, a little bit of stony minerality, light cranberry tones, a hint of leather and a touch of wizened dark fruits.
A still very tough and muscular Cru Barbaresco that shows some development in the fruit but rather little resolution in the structure. Despite seeing some new some barrels, I was happy to to see the wine doesn't show any obvious oak characteristics. All in all, this is an impressive powerhouse more akin to Barolo than Barbaresco that is starting to hit its drinking window, although it still screams for food with its tough and noticeably grippy tannins. Most likely this wine will continue to develop for a decade or two and keep for longer; one can only hope that the fruit here lasts enough for the tannins to resolve. Recommended.
April 1, 2018 - Belle couleur, sombre et orangée, typique d’un nebbiolo, nez expressif, facilement reconnaissable, léger alcool au nez, envoûtant, bouche caractéristique, flatteuse, tannique, sous bois, magnifiquement fruitée et équilibrée, beau potentiel, vin flatteur, parfaitement équilibré
November 25, 2015 - Here we have a nice, fairly traditional leaning Barbaresco. It pours a youthful, mostly transparent shade of purple. The nose is of black tea leaves, dried orange peel, dark cherry, cassis, mint, and a whiff of alcohol. The palate has overwhelming tannin, medium plus acid, and a moderate finish.
October 29, 2014 - Colour deep, inky crimson. On opening, the bouquet was aggressive, with aromas of floor polish and big VA. As the bouquet settled, the aromas were all cherries, both red and dark, some fresh and some preserved, also reminiscent of cherry liqueur. There were other notes of blackberries, menthol and a hint of violets and other dark flowers. After two or more hours the bouquet settled down and mellowed, moving to black spices, dried mixed herbs, dried fig and a little black pepper, all around a centre of ripe berry fruit. Similarly on palate, the wine opened very aggressively but settled down and integrated into a seamless, polished, quite sleek and modern wine. After about two hours open the flavours seemed to coalesce around a solid, impenetrable core of dense and primary red and dark cherries, blackberries, dark raspberries and other berry fruit flavours, with hints of crème de cassis. Rich, ripe (but not over-ripe), with silky, fine grained tannins. The acids are present but in proportion. The alcohol is high (14.5%) but is relatively well integrated and I did not detect heat on the palate. A long, savoury finish. The wine invited a Burgundian analogy, perhaps closest to a Nuits St Georges 1er. The bouquet and palate did not change over the next 24 hours. This wine has a lot of life ahead of it. If I'm being super-critical, the flavour profile is presently a little linear and one-dimensional. This just shows that the Barbaresco really needs 5+ years cellar time.
January 20, 2012 - Spectacular nose and beautiful balance. Burgundian magic in Nebbiolo form. Still far too young though. In 10 years this will astonish.
February 10, 2011 - This needed an hour to peak - The nose was very floral and feminine with hints of nutmeg and eggnog spice. Medium tannins with a long finish. Another stellar wine in the Sottimano lineup.
January 22, 2009 - Mark De Grazia selections: 05 Barolos, 04 Brunellos, 06 Barbarescos (MK, Chicago IL): nose: good rich nose with red cherries, florals, and herbs. Good well defined tones, with medium depth, but lacking complexity or some of the layering that a few other 06s brought
taste: Good medium/light feel with medium+ acidity giving off well balanced tones of red cherries, spices, florals, and a good helping of herbs. More depth on the palate then nose, but there seems to be a bit of a lacking on the mid palate
overall: a really nice barbaresco. Needs a bit of time to add in some depth and hopefully some extra complexity. Very well put together and enjoyable