The problem with having an opportunity to drink a wine like this is that one envies those with stupefying cellars who can do so whenever they wish. And I so dislike envy, one of the seven deadly sins. The `96 Cerequio is almost perfect: plush, profound and so unlike ordinary Barolos that commonplace descriptors do not do it justice. However, I must point out the one issue I had with this bottle: I believe it was still too young.
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What a wine - we opened the wine 5 hours before drinking - the wine is - as expected - highly concentrated, developed and indeed great. Tannins and acidity are both medium + but well integrated - tannins are almost fine - a very good balance. The fruit is dark fruit - cherries , ripe forrest strawberries menthol, roses and plums. The wine is showing great complexity and we are getting tertiary notes also - this is tobacco and tar. The wine has a long and very nice aftertaste. This is a great 25 years old wine that has developed very well - we are happy to give well deserved 96. We think this wine is in a good drinking window.
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Was opned 5 hours before drinking and also decanted. A beautiful cherry nose. It is a powerfull and concentrated wine but also a perfect balanced wine - its Voerzio still a its best. Apart from cherry you also get some plums, some pepper and some well integrated oak - I also got some truffles. I think the wine is drinking very well at the moment.
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It took a while for the wine to relax. But how rewarding when it did!
The nose was oh so delicious with rose petals, cherry, plums and delicious oak. The palate followed through with addition of black truffle and barnyard notes.
Very good wine with at least 20-30 years to go!
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Drank with two other 1996 Barolo; hard to compare since this one was little cooler than the other two. Dark cherry and mineral notes with touch of tar. Fresh palate, quite focussed and decent length. Not an expert of Voerzio wines but expect ti to get better yet.
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An evening of Barolo and screening of The Barolo Boys (Old World Deli, Bellingham, WA): This bottle was given ample air time beforehand, and was open for sampling. Some hints of modernity, but not excessively so. This '96 showed really well, with full fruit primarily of dark cherry tones, tobacco, and balanced oak. Overall, I thought this was well made, and it was enjoyed around the table.
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Annual Pilgrimage to Piedmont; 10/3/2014-10/5/2014 (Piedmont, Italy): Decanted and served. 2 consistent bottles. Caution is urged here as the wine has a lot of sediment ( our useless sommelier made a mess of it). More rustic than anything else, the nose had the light tarry side, the cherries but needed more weight on the mid palate. Wondering weather 96 from Barolo and Barbaresco are maybe drying out to be frank as the camp gros 1996 ( Papies 90) we tried before felt similarly drying.. Not up to the promise.91
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Opened 5 hours and decanted, yet still this 16-year old behemoth was tight-fisted till the end. Would recommend even longer decanting. Frankly, I was a bit disappointed, the wine was intense but somewhat rustic next to the Cheval Blanc, probably not a good pairing. Slightly bricking in color, floral nose, strong tannic grip, when opened just acid and tannins, gradually softening and showing more fruit with air.
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"Welcome Back, Runny" Dinner (St. George Restaurant, Hullett House, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong): Briefly decanted….insufficiently as it turned out. Dusky, plush ruby velvet semi-transparent colour. Nose opens with unsugared stewed red rhubarb, a slightly “off” and over-predominant nail varnish remover then something like sewer water but not in as bad a way as that might suggest. However, the palate is beautiful tooth-cleansing tannic black cherry fruit then marred by a bit too much burnt rubber on the end. Rather acidic in the stomach. Disjointed and difficult to enjoy because it clearly needed a ton of decanting (5 hours?) that we didn’t give it. Hints of greatness on the finish……but in the far-off distance. Then, wow, it started to redeem itself right at the end of the evening . A rather wasted bottle and we need to do proper justice to it next time.
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1996: Barolo Retrospective (Tolani, Wine Restaurant, 410 Amsterdam Ave, New York, New York, 10024): The 1996 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Cerequio showed cigar box, leather, salty sea air, sour cherry fruit and hints of toasty oak on the nose. On the palate, I found jammy strawberry that started linear but turned expansive with softer fruits, tobacco and earth. The finish was long and palate-staining with drying tannin at the close. I believe this bottle is a year or two away from its drinking window but a little too extracted for my tastes.
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13,5%. Balanced nose with graffite, herbs, ripe jammy fruit, violets, ... Very structured wine, with a serious dose of spicy wood, but also lots of stuffing. Jammy fruit, herbs, tar, velvety mouth feel. Keeps evolving in the glass. This cost me 77 euros in Osteria del Arco in Alba. I saw it in an enoteca for... 120 euros.
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1/14/2022 - SophieR Likes this wine: 94 Points
The problem with having an opportunity to drink a wine like this is that one envies those with stupefying cellars who can do so whenever they wish. And I so dislike envy, one of the seven deadly sins. The `96 Cerequio is almost perfect: plush, profound and so unlike ordinary Barolos that commonplace descriptors do not do it justice. However, I must point out the one issue I had with this bottle: I believe it was still too young.
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11/6/2021 - ILarsen wrote: 96 Points
What a wine - we opened the wine 5 hours before drinking - the wine is - as expected - highly concentrated, developed and indeed great. Tannins and acidity are both medium + but well integrated - tannins are almost fine - a very good balance. The fruit is dark fruit - cherries , ripe forrest strawberries menthol, roses and plums. The wine is showing great complexity and we are getting tertiary notes also - this is tobacco and tar. The wine has a long and very nice aftertaste. This is a great 25 years old wine that has developed very well - we are happy to give well deserved 96. We think this wine is in a good drinking window.
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11/14/2017 - MWiking wrote: 96 Points
En barolo helt i min stil, lagom moget med mycket fin frukt och kaniner kvar,. har allt man kan förvänta sig, ett stort vin.
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10/22/2016 - ILarsen wrote: 93 Points
Was opned 5 hours before drinking and also decanted. A beautiful cherry nose. It is a powerfull and concentrated wine but also a perfect balanced wine - its Voerzio still a its best. Apart from cherry you also get some plums, some pepper and some well integrated oak - I also got some truffles. I think the wine is drinking very well at the moment.
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9/19/2016 - Fred_Bo Likes this wine: 93 Points
It took a while for the wine to relax. But how rewarding when it did!
The nose was oh so delicious with rose petals, cherry, plums and delicious oak.
The palate followed through with addition of black truffle and barnyard notes.
Very good wine with at least 20-30 years to go!
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7/6/2016 - Milos Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drank with two other 1996 Barolo; hard to compare since this one was little cooler than the other two. Dark cherry and mineral notes with touch of tar. Fresh palate, quite focussed and decent length. Not an expert of Voerzio wines but expect ti to get better yet.
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6/10/2016 - fcxj wrote: 92 Points
Touch of rubber on the nose. Inky and dense. Can taste the alcohol.
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4/17/2016 - Pacherant wrote: 93 Points
Lovely brambly intense fruit. Tart and dark. Persistence. Not as pretty as some but cleat and long.
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11/14/2015 - Chaz Bham wrote:
An evening of Barolo and screening of The Barolo Boys (Old World Deli, Bellingham, WA): This bottle was given ample air time beforehand, and was open for sampling. Some hints of modernity, but not excessively so. This '96 showed really well, with full fruit primarily of dark cherry tones, tobacco, and balanced oak. Overall, I thought this was well made, and it was enjoyed around the table.
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10/3/2014 - Papies wrote: 91 Points
Annual Pilgrimage to Piedmont; 10/3/2014-10/5/2014 (Piedmont, Italy): Decanted and served. 2 consistent bottles. Caution is urged here as the wine has a lot of sediment ( our useless sommelier made a mess of it). More rustic than anything else, the nose had the light tarry side, the cherries but needed more weight on the mid palate. Wondering weather 96 from Barolo and Barbaresco are maybe drying out to be frank as the camp gros 1996 ( Papies 90) we tried before felt similarly drying.. Not up to the promise.91
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1/11/2013 - thwacker Likes this wine: 90 Points
Opened 5 hours and decanted, yet still this 16-year old behemoth was tight-fisted till the end. Would recommend even longer decanting. Frankly, I was a bit disappointed, the wine was intense but somewhat rustic next to the Cheval Blanc, probably not a good pairing. Slightly bricking in color, floral nose, strong tannic grip, when opened just acid and tannins, gradually softening and showing more fruit with air.
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9/14/2012 - Goldstone wrote: 90 Points
"Welcome Back, Runny" Dinner (St. George Restaurant, Hullett House, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong): Briefly decanted….insufficiently as it turned out. Dusky, plush ruby velvet semi-transparent colour. Nose opens with unsugared stewed red rhubarb, a slightly “off” and over-predominant nail varnish remover then something like sewer water but not in as bad a way as that might suggest. However, the palate is beautiful tooth-cleansing tannic black cherry fruit then marred by a bit too much burnt rubber on the end. Rather acidic in the stomach. Disjointed and difficult to enjoy because it clearly needed a ton of decanting (5 hours?) that we didn’t give it. Hints of greatness on the finish……but in the far-off distance. Then, wow, it started to redeem itself right at the end of the evening . A rather wasted bottle and we need to do proper justice to it next time.
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12/2/2010 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 90 Points
1996: Barolo Retrospective (Tolani, Wine Restaurant, 410 Amsterdam Ave, New York, New York, 10024): The 1996 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Cerequio showed cigar box, leather, salty sea air, sour cherry fruit and hints of toasty oak on the nose. On the palate, I found jammy strawberry that started linear but turned expansive with softer fruits, tobacco and earth. The finish was long and palate-staining with drying tannin at the close. I believe this bottle is a year or two away from its drinking window but a little too extracted for my tastes.
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10/11/2004 - Jozefs wrote: 94 Points
13,5%. Balanced nose with graffite, herbs, ripe jammy fruit, violets, ... Very structured wine, with a serious dose of spicy wood, but also lots of stuffing. Jammy fruit, herbs, tar, velvety mouth feel. Keeps evolving in the glass. This cost me 77 euros in Osteria del Arco in Alba. I saw it in an enoteca for... 120 euros.
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