February 3, 2024 - Bring a Great Nebbiolo (Chez Goldberg, Greenwich Village, NYC): [Opened at 8:30am, quick double-decant at around 4pm.] This goes up a notch from the 1990 with all the added power and structure typical of 1996. Black fruit, complex spices, great grip and length. A great wine. Should show well for at least another decade, maybe two.
May 24, 2023 - Ian's Birthday Piedmont Extravaganza: Again an amazing perfumed nose - slightly sweet and lifted, very posh leather - a brand new tasteful sports car.
Fresh and delicious on the palate with excellent delineation. Intoxicating and sensuous while being precise and fresh.
May 24, 2023 - Ian's Piedmont Extravaganza (Noize): Really aromatic nose, full of pretty flowers. The wine had such ease despite each sip bringing intense waves of flavour, and was packed full of beautiful sweet strawberry fruit supported by soft pillowy tannins. Exquisitely enjoyable (AG quite right to call it "a total pleasure bomb"), and group #3 tonight.
May 24, 2023 - Ian's Piemonte Celebration Dinner: Looks fresh as a daisy. Nose shows great purity showing dried flowers and red fruits. Medium bodied showcasing sublime fruit with amazing purity and freshness but not lacking in power. Exquisitely balanced with sappy acids. Really complete wine.
March 31, 2023 - bttl#1895. appearance is dark but clear, v viscous. nose is quite restrained, even with several hours decanting. v lifted, white pepper, red berries, tinge of florals. palate defies its age, bright acidity straight away, strikingly direct and linear, gripping tannins on the close. suspect there’s still upside to this with more bottle age? for now, i’d suggest pairing with sharp cheese or hearty meat and pasta dishes. tonight with osso buco and all the better for it.
March 28, 2023 - NV Bruno Giacosa Asili and Rabajà (La Brasserie, NYC): [Double-decanted around 9am.] Nose of spicy, rich, red and black fruit. A stunning, expansive wine with elegance and richness. Classic Giacosa tannins and balance. A wow wine. My WOTN.
February 24, 2023 - Piemontese Legends Dinner (Seattle): Lighter hue than the other two 1996 wines. Nose of aromatic pine, spice, and plummy fruit. Marvelous mix of tar, ripe fruit, great acidity, and some lingering tannin. Uplifting citrus peel twist. Completely elegant, long, and fine. My favorite wine of the 1996 flight.
February 21, 2023 - Knights of Alba (KOA) BYO Barbaresco Dinner (Legacy Records): One of the better wines of the evening. From a mag. Very pretty and refined in style. More floral. Some fruit underlying. Very light and elegant. Drinks very well.
November 18, 2022 - A lost Friday afternoon gathering – Cristal, DP, Giacosa, Produttori and etc. (Black Salt, Washington DC): Intoxicating nose displaying super concentrated black and red fruit, blackberry, dry cherry, cherry pie, licorice, tar, scorched earth and iron. Exceptional concentration, layers of layers of sweet concentrated black and red fruit, rich and unctuous yet perfect balance and harmony, perfect amount of acidity, strong iron mineral, still pronounced but not obtrusive tannins and a long sweet concentrated black and red fruit driven finish with leather and tar at the end. I really love the strong iron note. Although drinking magnificently, this remains incredibly young.
October 14, 2022 - Great Wine