Open and decanted before drinking - we only gave it 1 1/2 hours in the decanter - would recommend at least three hours. On the nose you are getting both cherries and cranberries - on the palette you are still getting the two mentioned fruits and hints of prunes - we are also getting menthol - we are also getting leather - tannins and acidity are both medium plus - acidity a bit more dominating - but a very well balanced wine with a good long aftertaste. This is our first bottle and we will give a solid 93 - with a clear expectation of more to come.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Been on my radar to open. With trepidation, as this is from auction and have had poor experience from this particular cellar. Not surprisingly, cork was dry and essentially disintegrated. But! Not to worry as this beauty was in good shape and indeed, as per other recent comments, was best 1hr+ after open. That said, if I had more from this auction/cellar I would not wait for continued improvement, but for most who hold this wine from a reliable source, I would anticipate several more years of refinement ahead. Best to you all.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Beautiful wine. A great balance of fruit with some earthy finish. Opened for about an hour before drinking and that was fine but wine got better as the night went on. Enjoyed with some pasta and red sauce and a salad.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This improved dramatically over the course of the evening, with initial tannic blitz fading and deeper flavors emerging. 2.5 hour decant, next time longer for sure.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Excellent Brunello. Beautiful aromas of dark cherry fruit, vanilla and spice on the palate and nice long finish. Great to drink now but has still quite a few years left.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Mid crimson. Notes of dark cherries, earth, licorice. Voluptuous mouthfeel and slightly sweet on the entry, thanks in part to the 15%ABV. Not much heat on the back palate. Really great balance of fruit, acidity, and tannins. Drinking beautifully now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
2 hour decant...Red cherry, strawberry fruit with notes of savory herbs, tobacco, graphite, and spice. Well integrated tannins, beautiful long finish. This will definitely be good for many years.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Gave it around three hours of air and the first glass was stunning - incredible aroma in the glass and silky smooth tasting with that wonderful lingering Brunello mouthfeel. Glasses after that seemed to strangely lose their structure a little and the last glass smelled a little too aged almost. Which is strange for a 2010 Riserva that should have 10 years of ageing left in the tank. As a previous reviewer DarinC suggests, perhaps this is a wine that doesn't need a huge amount of air and would be better straight up.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Opened for an hour before drinking. Nice fruit and aroma and smooth tannins. An hour later the tannins had smoothed out even more and the wine was silky smooth. Great bottle but can age for quite a while
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This is a lovely wine that does not have the usual earthiness of Italian wines that hint at their terroir but is smooth, and a creamy mouthful. Wish I had more than 3. Don't get me wrong, i love almost all Italian wine but it is easy to spot amongst a group, this is not so obvious which should make it please all pallets.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
First bottle of out the case. Three hour decant but this wine is young so more would have been better. Deep ruby colour in the glass. Served in a big bowl of a glass and the aroma is intoxicating, deep, dusty and full of black fruit. The first glass was a bit tight but with more time in the glass this opened out into a beautiful flavourful wine showing all the best characteristics of Brunello. Quite alcoholic but still full of dark fruit and balanced acidity. This bottle was clearly the young one of the case and I won't try another for a year or two but already looking forward to seeing it improve.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Only had a small window to drink before it fell apart and oxidized in the glass. What a disappointment considering a bottle I opened from the same 6-pack weeks ago was fantastic. Don't decant this or give it too much air.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
A ripe, plush Brunello without losing the Sangiovese character. Great depth of fruit with a bit of earth to back it up. Very nice. Ready to drink now. Likely wont age well.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Packed with dark fruits, black currant, fruit cake, pineapple, cardamom, and dark chocolate. Full-bodied, modern style. However, a decent acidity keeps the whole thing floating. Very good quality-wise, but maybe a little boring?
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very ripe nose of dark sour cherry, forest floor and charred oak. Very ripe on the palate with flavors of smoky cherry and charred earth but it's also very tannic and tight on the finish. A very intense, deliciously ripe and earthy wine with a great mineral crunch on the finish. It will be interesting to see how this ages given the ripeness of the fruit so I'm going to leave my remaining bottles alone for 5+ yrs to see what happens. 92+
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Heady nose of tree bark and smoky dark cherry fruit with a hint of bitter chocolate. Quite rich and tannic with lovely very ripe dark cherry and blackberry fruit. This is really a beast of a wine for this house and it reached the height of ripeness in this vintage but it really gets away with it due to perfect acidity and firm but sweet tannins. The finish is classically dry and grippy and also very fine for Brunello. Top notch stuff that should age well despite it's high ripeness but it can also be enjoyed now with a good decant and the right food. 94+
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
2/3/2024 - ILarsen wrote: 93 Points
Open and decanted before drinking - we only gave it 1 1/2 hours in the decanter - would recommend at least three hours. On the nose you are getting both cherries and cranberries - on the palette you are still getting the two mentioned fruits and hints of prunes - we are also getting menthol - we are also getting leather - tannins and acidity are both medium plus - acidity a bit more dominating - but a very well balanced wine with a good long aftertaste. This is our first bottle and we will give a solid 93 - with a clear expectation of more to come.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/18/2023 - SteelyMon Likes this wine: 94 Points
Been on my radar to open. With trepidation, as this is from auction and have had poor experience from this particular cellar. Not surprisingly, cork was dry and essentially disintegrated. But! Not to worry as this beauty was in good shape and indeed, as per other recent comments, was best 1hr+ after open. That said, if I had more from this auction/cellar I would not wait for continued improvement, but for most who hold this wine from a reliable source, I would anticipate several more years of refinement ahead. Best to you all.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/5/2023 - nkirsch Likes this wine: 93 Points
Beautiful wine. A great balance of fruit with some earthy finish. Opened for about an hour before drinking and that was fine but wine got better as the night went on. Enjoyed with some pasta and red sauce and a salad.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/29/2023 - mdanyc Likes this wine: 90 Points
This improved dramatically over the course of the evening, with initial tannic blitz fading and deeper flavors emerging. 2.5 hour decant, next time longer for sure.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/19/2022 - hiroshisugi Likes this wine: 93 Points
Excellent Brunello. Beautiful aromas of dark cherry fruit, vanilla and spice on the palate and nice long finish. Great to drink now but has still quite a few years left.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/13/2022 - nkirsch Likes this wine: 92 Points
Enjoyable brunello. Good fruit, medium tannins, a little dry. A little better the first night then the second night.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/23/2021 - up4wine wrote: 89 Points
I visited this winery in 2013 and came away with a very good impression. Unfortunately, the wines are less impressive now that I am bringing them out.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/8/2021 - streethawk Likes this wine: 94 Points
Mid crimson. Notes of dark cherries, earth, licorice. Voluptuous mouthfeel and slightly sweet on the entry, thanks in part to the 15%ABV. Not much heat on the back palate. Really great balance of fruit, acidity, and tannins. Drinking beautifully now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/12/2020 - brianofthevine wrote: 92 Points
2 hour decant...Red cherry, strawberry fruit with notes of savory herbs, tobacco, graphite, and spice. Well integrated tannins, beautiful long finish. This will definitely be good for many years.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/14/2020 - BrunelloBob wrote: 88 Points
Disappointing relative to the normale. Dumb phase? 87-88
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/12/2020 - DFBW Likes this wine: 91 Points
Gave it around three hours of air and the first glass was stunning - incredible aroma in the glass and silky smooth tasting with that wonderful lingering Brunello mouthfeel. Glasses after that seemed to strangely lose their structure a little and the last glass smelled a little too aged almost. Which is strange for a 2010 Riserva that should have 10 years of ageing left in the tank. As a previous reviewer DarinC suggests, perhaps this is a wine that doesn't need a huge amount of air and would be better straight up.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/27/2019 - nkirsch Likes this wine: 93 Points
Opened for an hour before drinking. Nice fruit and aroma and smooth tannins. An hour later the tannins had smoothed out even more and the wine was silky smooth. Great bottle but can age for quite a while
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/26/2019 - Francophile Likes this wine: 94 Points
This is a lovely wine that does not have the usual earthiness of Italian wines that hint at their terroir but is smooth, and a creamy mouthful. Wish I had more than 3. Don't get me wrong, i love almost all Italian wine but it is easy to spot amongst a group, this is not so obvious which should make it please all pallets.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/30/2018 - DFBW Likes this wine: 93 Points
First bottle of out the case. Three hour decant but this wine is young so more would have been better. Deep ruby colour in the glass. Served in a big bowl of a glass and the aroma is intoxicating, deep, dusty and full of black fruit. The first glass was a bit tight but with more time in the glass this opened out into a beautiful flavourful wine showing all the best characteristics of Brunello. Quite alcoholic but still full of dark fruit and balanced acidity. This bottle was clearly the young one of the case and I won't try another for a year or two but already looking forward to seeing it improve.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/22/2018 - DarinC wrote:
Only had a small window to drink before it fell apart and oxidized in the glass. What a disappointment considering a bottle I opened from the same 6-pack weeks ago was fantastic. Don't decant this or give it too much air.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/20/2018 - DarinC Likes this wine: 93 Points
A ripe, plush Brunello without losing the Sangiovese character. Great depth of fruit with a bit of earth to back it up. Very nice. Ready to drink now. Likely wont age well.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/26/2017 - cbforever1 wrote: 95 Points
Really liked this one. Complex and deep, retains enough freshness and acidity!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/24/2017 - KimHartman wrote: 92 Points
Packed with dark fruits, black currant, fruit cake, pineapple, cardamom, and dark chocolate. Full-bodied, modern style. However, a decent acidity keeps the whole thing floating. Very good quality-wise, but maybe a little boring?
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/26/2017 - dream Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very ripe nose of dark sour cherry, forest floor and charred oak. Very ripe on the palate with flavors of smoky cherry and charred earth but it's also very tannic and tight on the finish. A very intense, deliciously ripe and earthy wine with a great mineral crunch on the finish. It will be interesting to see how this ages given the ripeness of the fruit so I'm going to leave my remaining bottles alone for 5+ yrs to see what happens. 92+
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
8/28/2016 - dream Likes this wine: 94 Points
Heady nose of tree bark and smoky dark cherry fruit with a hint of bitter chocolate. Quite rich and tannic with lovely very ripe dark cherry and blackberry fruit. This is really a beast of a wine for this house and it reached the height of ripeness in this vintage but it really gets away with it due to perfect acidity and firm but sweet tannins. The finish is classically dry and grippy and also very fine for Brunello. Top notch stuff that should age well despite it's high ripeness but it can also be enjoyed now with a good decant and the right food. 94+
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment