December 28, 2023 - Pop n' pour with 90 minutes of slow ox over dinner. Still so very young, with incredible concentration of pure fruit. Structure is starting to soften and integrate, but needs every bit of air we were able to give it, ideally this would get a few hours in the decanter to fully blossom. Still ahead of peak drinking.
May 20, 2023 - Sangiovese study, Volume II (Chicago, IL): A clear step up from the bottle of 1997 alongside. Clean bright fruit here, with medium weight on the palate. The fruit profile veers more red, and there's a nice elegant minerality on the back end as well. Feels a little heavy especially next to the ethereal 1998 La Trame alongside.
December 17, 2022 - Off the impressive wine list at La Famiglia in Philadelphia. At or slightly past its peak. Not a lot of fruit, but nice notes of leather and earth. Went very well with pasta and lamb chops. A real treat to enjoy and to see how this wine ages.
September 1, 2021 - At its apex.
November 21, 2020 - Possibly past its best, this bottle was underwhelming. "Nice," but not the special experience one has come to expect of Pergole - a bit too smooth (ie insufficient acidity), the fruit felt flat, though one could sense dark fruits and a trace of earth.
Rated +1 on a scale of -1 to +3.
October 24, 2020 - my first encounter with this wine and it showed indeed lovely. strawberry and watermelon perfumed nose. pure elegance in the mouth, and yet sappy with impressive concentration and great balance. lovely tuscan sangiovese
September 15, 2020 - Fully, I mean Fully mature. Structure completely resolved. Soft secondary notes, leathery, bit of old preserved cherry fruit. Not much going on here at this point but not a terrible example of a fully mature wine. Got less interesting over the next 30 minutes or so.
April 6, 2020 - Man this is in a nice place. Black cherry and leather accented with a bit of anise and incense, balanced acids, resolved tannins. Won’t buy anymore but lovely. A-
March 23, 2019 - mature and ready to drink.
December 28, 2018 - Earth, herbs, leather on the nose. Elegant and balanced on the palate. Dark cherry, fine, soft tannins. Finish drops off a bit.