This case of attractively priced Barolo ($30.00/bottle from Flatiron NYC) reinforced my experience with mid-tier Barolo -- they have an optimal drinking window one should adhere too. Let's say 7-8 years. Open too soon and experience a closed wine with overpowering organic notes and little fruit. Wait too long, and the tannins have subsided but so has the fruit. Open at the optimal time and one finds an open, balanced wine with complex notes of fruit and organics (leather, tobacco, cedar and so on). A long finish with tannins with alcohol and sugar in check. Unfortunately, one often discovers this optimal window by chance. Alas, I tend to drink Barolo too soon or too late.
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Excellent wine! Let it decant for 90 minutes and it has continued to improve during our meal. Even tannin to encourage further aging. Looking forward to trying it again next year…cheers!
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Red Berries, Raspberry & Red Currant - Earthy & Mineral. Some tart Cherry notes with Cedar. Slightly sharp Tannins and Med Acidity. Long finish with Black Tea & Spice. Paired well with turkey ragu.
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Gave this a very fair shake over three days and it never came around. It had intense tar and floral notes that overpowered everything else, including the dark fruit lurking underneath. Syrupy and heavy on the palate, the opposite of elegant. Based on other reviews here I'm going to assume there was something wrong, maybe q rare form of "scalping TCA" as my friend John would call it. Odd and disappointing.
Drank blind a few nites ago with the Xmen. Not much on the nose, color was quite a bit on the orange/brown side, indicating to me that the wine was far older than it is. A bit tight, with supple tannins and fairly high acidity. Dark, sour cherry fruit is dominant, along with some notes of earth and tar. This was clearly identified as an old world wine from a cooler climate. A fairly well-refined wine, though not particularly concentrated or what I would call sexy. I think a few years will do this wine good given its tannic structure.
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Initial impression: Tight, a hint of butterscotch wood is well lifted by the alcohol on the nose. Lots of dark yet mostly red fruit, a bit of soil driven minerality and a herbal, green anise seed violet slightly medicinal twinge to the nose. Tight in the mouth as well, a touch lean feeling through the midpalate. Good freshness to the fruit with an evergreen cast to the inner mouth perfume. Good tannins, fine acids, a bit short. A bit chewy. Nice, with a simple cherry and menthol finale. Admirably bright and transparent. Tart, red fruited finish.
Read more at: https://www.simplybetterwines.com/2016-barolo-value-plays.html
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cherry some red berry, raspberry fruit profile is balanced, pretty striking assertive tannin dominates the palate at present but there is enough fruit presenting worth holding
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1/28/2024 - pepmi wrote: 92 Points
This case of attractively priced Barolo ($30.00/bottle from Flatiron NYC) reinforced my experience with mid-tier Barolo -- they have an optimal drinking window one should adhere too. Let's say 7-8 years. Open too soon and experience a closed wine with overpowering organic notes and little fruit. Wait too long, and the tannins have subsided but so has the fruit. Open at the optimal time and one finds an open, balanced wine with complex notes of fruit and organics (leather, tobacco, cedar and so on). A long finish with tannins with alcohol and sugar in check. Unfortunately, one often discovers this optimal window by chance. Alas, I tend to drink Barolo too soon or too late.
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2/14/2023 - Chied Likes this wine: 93 Points
Still excellent, moving towards an even higher rating, but not quite there yet!!
Cheers!
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9/3/2022 - Chied Likes this wine: 93 Points
Excellent wine! Let it decant for 90 minutes and it has continued to improve during our meal. Even tannin to encourage further aging. Looking forward to trying it again next year…cheers!
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12/13/2021 - pommieba@cox.net Likes this wine: 90 Points
Red Berries, Raspberry & Red Currant - Earthy & Mineral. Some tart Cherry notes with Cedar. Slightly sharp Tannins and Med Acidity. Long finish with Black Tea & Spice. Paired well with turkey ragu.
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11/23/2021 - bevetroppo wrote: flawed
Gave this a very fair shake over three days and it never came around. It had intense tar and floral notes that overpowered everything else, including the dark fruit lurking underneath. Syrupy and heavy on the palate, the opposite of elegant. Based on other reviews here I'm going to assume there was something wrong, maybe q rare form of "scalping TCA" as my friend John would call it. Odd and disappointing.
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8/26/2021 - cephomer Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drank blind a few nites ago with the Xmen. Not much on the nose, color was quite a bit on the orange/brown side, indicating to me that the wine was far older than it is. A bit tight, with supple tannins and fairly high acidity. Dark, sour cherry fruit is dominant, along with some notes of earth and tar. This was clearly identified as an old world wine from a cooler climate. A fairly well-refined wine, though not particularly concentrated or what I would call sexy. I think a few years will do this wine good given its tannic structure.
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12/7/2020 - Gregory Dal Piaz wrote: 89 Points
Initial impression: Tight, a hint of butterscotch wood is well lifted by the alcohol on the nose. Lots of dark yet mostly red fruit, a bit of soil driven minerality and a herbal, green anise seed violet slightly medicinal twinge to the nose. Tight in the mouth as well, a touch lean feeling through the midpalate. Good freshness to the fruit with an evergreen cast to the inner mouth perfume. Good tannins, fine acids, a bit short. A bit chewy. Nice, with a simple cherry and menthol finale. Admirably bright and transparent. Tart, red fruited finish.
Read more at: https://www.simplybetterwines.com/2016-barolo-value-plays.html
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10/12/2020 - Philligerent Likes this wine: 91 Points
cherry
some red berry, raspberry
fruit profile is balanced, pretty
striking assertive tannin dominates the palate at present but there is enough fruit presenting
worth holding
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