March 31, 2023 - [Decanted around 4pm. Back in the bottle around 5pm.] Needed time in the glass. I suspect we drank it too fast to fully appreciate its complexity. Still, with fresh Pappardelle Bolognese, it shines.
November 21, 2022 - Crazy how this wine is still great.
September 26, 2020 - Decanted at 6PM From 750ml bottle and tasted repeatedly over 5 hours. Not nearly as wonderful a bottle as the previous one 2 years ago. The nose was lovely with florals, tobacco, leather and cherry along with a smokey background but the palate lacked the wow factor I remember and noted previously. There was certainly a nice elegance about the wine and a core of cherry fruit along with the earthy notes but it was lacking that little extra I expected from my previous experience. I wouldn’t say this was too old by any means, it looked and smelled wonderful with no real oxidative elements and frankly went well with the veal Milanese I made for dinner but the finish was short and lacked some depth. One magnum remaining in the cellar...?
September 20, 2020 - Wow. Mahogany red. Initially peaty nose: celery salt, saline, leather, dried cherry. Smooth, noticeable acid. Fruit, meat and Worcestershire emerge with time. Crazy and awesome. The best of the night. (96)
March 27, 2019 - Incredible aromatics, floral but different and complex. Really, really lively. Palate thins out.
October 27, 2018 - This is such a gorgeous bottle of wine that has that ephemeral characteristic of light to medium body yet tremendous depth of flavor that I love! It is both elegant and rich and layered at the same time. The color is astounding for a 33 year old wine...no bricking even at the edge of a bright, translucent medium garnet color. It is so fresh and young I can see this lasting many years to come especially in larger formats, which this bottle was not. The nose is effusive from the first decanting and even better 2-3 hours later. There are minerals, forest floor, wet leaves, graphite, new shoe leather, red cherry and some spice in the bouquet. The flavors are so complex and layered with the red, tart cherry, huckleberry, leather, graphite, spice, game meat and a long luxurious finish that ends with a sense of Kalamata olives. My only disappointment could be the length of the finish which I wish was just a bit longer. This was amazing with my friend’s braised beef. It’s hard to find a classier more soulful wine that can age as effortlessly in all of Italia. Truly a gem!
March 17, 2018 - Late release from the winery direct. A beautiful light ruby colour with a little garnet hue. Open with cinnamon, clove, forest floor, plum candy, red plum, pomegranate and red tart cherry. It drinks very well now. The vibrant acidity lifting the intensity of fruits on the palate, together with silky tannin, delivered a very long pleasant finish. It also developed some floral, perfume, tobacco leaves, eucalyptus in the glass over two and a half hour. The 1985 may be a great vintage. I feel this wine still have many years to go with its intensity of fruits and nice acid-tannin structure.
May 22, 2017 - Need time juicy.
April 16, 2017 - An absolutely perfect magnum showed all the glories of this unique and incredibly age-worthy wine. The color is quite light and doesn't prepare you for the intensity to come. The nose is so enticing with this incredible smell of cinnamon cherry spice. On the palate, the wine is crisp and intense and full of fresh acidity but shockingly balanced by delicious fresh cherry fruit for a 32-year old wine. The texture is light but quite fine and silky with tang and grip. Then the finish kicks in with a fabulous array of spices driven by cinnamon and cardamon and a very fine floral complexity that dances on the tongue. What an elegant, gorgeously perfumed, mouth-titillating wine that is further enhanced by food. I'm simply awe-struck. At Babbo for SK b-day.
March 10, 2017 - My bad luck streak with older Pepe bottles continues. Wine was past and I passed on drinking more than a few sips.