On the downhill, but still hanging in there even after being open for a couple of days. Opaque, yet still ruby in color. Tannins are fading but remain present. My favorite W2 sangio for good reasons.
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1999 Brunello Blind Tasting; 5/8/2011-5/9/2011 (Tom's House, Palo Alto): Tasted blind; stood out from the other 7 brunello like a siren. Completely different, super-floral with ripe candied cherry and vanilla oak; good structure, great red fruit. Intense, excellent. Balanced, medium-long finish.
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Pencil and earth on the nose. Wine losing its steam, the finish was tart berry, but little on the front-mid palate. Enjoyable as a drinker with our meal, but definately past its peak.
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I probably waited too long to consume this. Upon opening showed some promise but never delivered. Lacked body and any kind of character. Very disappointing.
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Had with grilled steaks on Mother's Day. I thought this was passed its prime, but still holding up nicely. There is a lot of wood and oak scents in the nose as well as in the initial taste out of the bottle. The wine evolved shortly to deliver a very nice blackberry and cherry flavor. Smooth on the finish, still a hint of oak and tannin. I would drink now.
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While not in the same league as a Brunello (which are in the same price range as the Leonetti), I would put it at par with a Rosso di Montalcino. A good effort for a new world Sangiovese. Nice soft tannins with black cherry and rasberry flavors. Drinking well now. Don't see it improving with any more bottle age.
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Italian tasting – tasted twice, once after an hour then again after about 5 hours. Opened nicely, one of the favorites of the group early on. Aromas of dark fruit, with cherry and spices. Enjoyable finish. 89 pts. 5 hours later, it is still holding up but the fruit and oak are not in balance with the oak starting to stand out more. Still definitely drinkable. 83 pts.
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This was my third and last bottle of this, and it was also my favorite by far. Right out of the bottle this was insanely oaky with cheddary wood oozing out of the glass. With about an hour this settled down a lot to reveal a heavily candied nose of red fruits with vanilla and coconut, almost exotic. On the palate the lavish wood continues, but it is nicely balanced by a surprisingly amount of acidity and lush black cherry fruit. The finish is medium in length and pleasant. At $50 this stuff is far from QPR and really a bit of an exotic oddity. My local retailer refuses to sell anyone more than a single bottle saying that no one should pay $50 for a spaghetti wine. I think he is right, but as much as I hate to admit it this stuff does actually have some allure. Hmmph, go figure.
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Wine tasting at Jay & Meredith's (Kirkland, WA, USA): My bottle. At first it showed a lot of toast on the nose and lots of acid on the palate. With time the palate really filled out and gained a lovely sweetness. Medium finish. However, with time this also developed a strange 'plasticene' note on the nose which I found really off-putting. Meredith and several others seemed to like it a great deal, but it wasn't among my favorites of the tasting lineup.
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4/1/2013 - lirvingham Likes this wine: 92 Points
On the downhill, but still hanging in there even after being open for a couple of days. Opaque, yet still ruby in color. Tannins are fading but remain present. My favorite W2 sangio for good reasons.
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3/18/2012 - mlawren1 wrote: 92 Points
Great food wine. Plums and berries seep out of the glass over a firm earthiness with a hint of chocolate.
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12/22/2011 - CamraMaan Likes this wine: 88 Points
Wasn't bad, and I would drink one again for the right price, but the drinking window on this is dwindling... no reason to save them.
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11/22/2011 - cooberp wrote: 82 Points
Not good. Thin, sour, no structure, no complexity, limp red fruit. Guess that's why they don't grow this grape in the US.
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9/10/2011 - mlawren1 wrote: 92 Points
Really nice plums and berries, thick finish with a bit of chocolate.
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6/5/2011 - mlawren1 wrote: 94 Points
Wonderful wine. Silky plums berries and cherries. Had to open a second because the first was so goo.
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5/15/2011 - mlawren1 wrote: 92 Points
Really great wine, layers of plums, cherries and berries. Really nicely balance.
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5/8/2011 - aagrawal wrote: 93 Points
1999 Brunello Blind Tasting; 5/8/2011-5/9/2011 (Tom's House, Palo Alto): Tasted blind; stood out from the other 7 brunello like a siren. Completely different, super-floral with ripe candied cherry and vanilla oak; good structure, great red fruit. Intense, excellent. Balanced, medium-long finish.
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11/22/2009 - grobbins wrote: 87 Points
Pencil and earth on the nose. Wine losing its steam, the finish was tart berry, but little on the front-mid palate. Enjoyable as a drinker with our meal, but definately past its peak.
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12/1/2007 - Easter Everywhere wrote: 90 Points
Quite good, silky smooth, trademark spicy oak, good structure, tangy fruit, nice
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11/23/2007 - wineboat wrote: 82 Points
I probably waited too long to consume this. Upon opening showed some promise but never delivered. Lacked body and any kind of character. Very disappointing.
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6/15/2007 - jefe7000 wrote:
Delicious. Spaghetti and meatball dinner at Irene's.
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5/14/2007 - rfras wrote: 90 Points
Had with grilled steaks on Mother's Day. I thought this was passed its prime, but still holding up nicely. There is a lot of wood and oak scents in the nose as well as in the initial taste out of the bottle. The wine evolved shortly to deliver a very nice blackberry and cherry flavor. Smooth on the finish, still a hint of oak and tannin. I would drink now.
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11/18/2004 - leojs wrote: 87 Points
While not in the same league as a Brunello (which are in the same price range as the Leonetti), I would put it at par with a Rosso di Montalcino. A good effort for a new world Sangiovese. Nice soft tannins with black cherry and rasberry flavors. Drinking well now. Don't see it improving with any more bottle age.
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5/29/2004 - JasonD wrote: 89 Points
Italian tasting – tasted twice, once after an hour then again after about 5 hours. Opened nicely, one of the favorites of the group early on. Aromas of dark fruit, with cherry and spices. Enjoyable finish. 89 pts. 5 hours later, it is still holding up but the fruit and oak are not in balance with the oak starting to stand out more. Still definitely drinkable. 83 pts.
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9/18/2003 - Eric wrote: 89 Points
This was my third and last bottle of this, and it was also my favorite by far. Right out of the bottle this was insanely oaky with cheddary wood oozing out of the glass. With about an hour this settled down a lot to reveal a heavily candied nose of red fruits with vanilla and coconut, almost exotic. On the palate the lavish wood continues, but it is nicely balanced by a surprisingly amount of acidity and lush black cherry fruit. The finish is medium in length and pleasant. At $50 this stuff is far from QPR and really a bit of an exotic oddity. My local retailer refuses to sell anyone more than a single bottle saying that no one should pay $50 for a spaghetti wine. I think he is right, but as much as I hate to admit it this stuff does actually have some allure. Hmmph, go figure.
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3/29/2003 - Eric wrote:
Wine tasting at Jay & Meredith's (Kirkland, WA, USA): My bottle. At first it showed a lot of toast on the nose and lots of acid on the palate. With time the palate really filled out and gained a lovely sweetness. Medium finish. However, with time this also developed a strange 'plasticene' note on the nose which I found really off-putting. Meredith and several others seemed to like it a great deal, but it wasn't among my favorites of the tasting lineup.
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