2013 Castello Banfi Bolgheri Aska

Community Tasting Notes

Community Tasting Notes (8) Avg Score: 89.5 points

  • Last bottle of six. It has held quite well. Similar to previous note. A bit less fruit concentration. No tertiary flavors.

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  • Smells dusty and dried with notes of cassis and cedar, plus smoky, coffee and a little chicory. On the palate things move quick with notes of spiced-black cherry coming to the fore as it opens, then other dark fruits, and other complimentary notes, emerge: cassis, mocha, black cherry, blueberry, licorice, cedar, smoky - it just keeps on giving ... good wine to drink now - It takes some time to open and it peeks around the hour and a half mark, before slowly sliding into more tertiary flavours.

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  • Dark purple red in color with a lovely but somewhat shy nose of young savory red and blue fruits with a slight floral lift and herbal characteristics. The palate is on the lighter end of the medium-bodied spectrum, dry, quite balanced, fresh, clean, soft, smooth, lithe and light on it’s feet, deliciously drinkable largely because of its delightful earthy and moderately savory qualities. The flavors of fresh young blue and red berry fruits dominates, it is accented by notes of spring flowers (think daffodils and narcissus), dried green herbs, damp forest floor or what the French call “sous bois”, light vanilla oak and an earthy mineral profile which lingers on persistently through its long and delightful finish. This modest Bolgheri rosso is definitely drinking very well now. I don’t usually prefer this lighter and dryer style of Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines but this one I really like. Somehow, this reminds me of a Texas Hill Country Bordeaux blend that I tried several years ago.

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  • PnP. Dark ruby color. Plum and blackberry nose. Very smooth in the palate despite its youth. Good value.

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  • The nose is really interesting, but overall I expected more...

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  • Visited and stayed a week at the winery summer 2017.
    Predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon with minor % of Cabernet Frank.
    Powerfull, full, very soft, with round and elegant tannis, very persistent in the finish. Very approachable wine.
    Pair with beef, excellent with medium aged cheeses.

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  • Italian Reds (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): Cf. the CellarTracker Article link [lower lft] to get generic info for this bottling.

    N: CLOSED, but SEEMS ripe

    P: MF body; Almost swtish frt met by an astringent pucker which somewhat works itself out by the LONG, very slightly tangy finish with a VERY slight swtness to the dusty tannins. NEEDS 2 yrs, then a potentially noteworthy QPR @ the tasted $26.95? 95 pts winereviewonline (Cook, 2/7/17) @ $22, 92 Suckling, 91 WS, 90 Luca Gardini, 86 winealign.com , & Platinum @ ’17 Winemaker Challenge. [As of early Apr '20, wine-searcher still shows 1 source @ $30].

    Note: Also tasted on 2/25/17, today's showing being MARKEDLY better.

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  • Winebar [6 Reds] from 2/24/17 (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): “Predominantly C.S. with minor percentages of C.F.” Typically, “The grapes are vinified with a brief maceration in temp-controlled s/s tanks for ≈ 12-14 days. Once the alcoholic & malolactic fermentations are completed, the wine is aged for 10 mos in oak barrels, completing its evolution with an appropriate bottle aging.”

    N: Closed; Earth, poss spice with berries? Some jamminess?

    P: Med body; Almost swtish frt met by an astringent pucker which somewhat works its way out by the Long, VERY slightly spicy finish which MAY be JUST a tad on the faint side. While this undoubtedly could use 12-18 mos, I wonder about its ageability unless, somehow, it is still coming together? 95 pts winereviewonline (Cook, 2/7/17) @ $22, 92 Suckling, 91 WS, 90 Luca Gardini, 86 winealign.com, & Platinum @ ’17 Winemaker Challenge . [As of mid Mar '20, wine-searcher still shows 1 source @ $30].

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