This had plenty of earth tones; musty, mud, clay, a little raw meat, old red berries, pot pouri, very aromatic and lovely on the nose. Fairly robust mouthfeel. DD at Cotzen's. I would say 93 pts on the nose. '93 Monfortino was better.
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nose - umami, smoky dark berry mouth - lush, unfurled, umami/savory fruit. pleasurable but drink soon great pairing with Alexander the Great's crispy chicken
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A long Sunday lunch at Noble Rot (Wellington, NZ): Decanted four hours before tasting. Slightly lighter colour than the Sperss. A beautiful bouquet of cigar, smoke, dark earth, tar and dark fruit, with a floral top note. On palate, complex flavours of tartufi neri, earth, spices, graphite, espresso and tar. More accessible and appealing on the day than the Sperss. The main difference was the acid profile, I loved the prominent acids here (tasting the wine blind Thierry observed that it had "Barbaresco high tone and acidity"). The acids gave more energy and drive to the wine. My WoTD and one of my WoTY. Ideally, I'd still give it another four or five years in the cellar.
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From a magnum. I was first amazed by the lenght of the cork, wow! I was able to pull it off quite easily. What a ravishing nose at the opening. After a few hours of wait, it was a great pleasure to bring the glass to smell the aromas of black cherries, blackberries and vanilla. The color showed a bit of age, but it provided me and my friends a lot of pleasure as we were in another dimension. This wine can be drank now or wait another 5 years without problem, specially in magnum size.
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The Full Monty: Black cherry, earthy truffles, graphite, floral fields and tar with iron. Balance is excellent (as long as you don't mind some typical Nebbiolo tannic kick), with great length, composure and texture to the palate. Still has good structure from those aforementioned tannins, though it is so lovely now that I don't think extended ageing will benefit it greatly. That said, I checked a small amount from the bottle on opening at 4pm and the wine was showing much the same when we got to try it fully at 8:30pm so I don't think there is danger of it falling over soon.
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Amazing nose of spice, dark fruit, blackberries, cedar, juniper, and light tar on the pour of 4 hour decant that entertained us through to the last drop. Deep, dark color gave layers of roasted dark fruit pudding, blackberry jam, spice, and light touches of dark chocolate, vanilla bean and crème fresh. Back end gave way to sandy oak and lightly biting tannins that did not settle with glass time. Still, the nose alone makes this worth opening. Do not see the oak and tannins settling with more time, but will wait a year for the next bottle.
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Just great. Drinking superbly at the moment. Some dusty fruit with great earthy/mushroom component. Maybe the first Piedmont wine I've had that seems fully mature.
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opened for 30 minutes and decanted for an hour prior to serving. Minty, potpourri, dried herbs, really ripe and sweet fruit, alcohol was high but surprisingly not sharp. Sous bois and licorice. Still very powerful and concentrated. This wine has a long, long way to go.
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CT Offline IV--Hill Country Edition; 5/18/2012-5/19/2012 (Austin / Texas Hill Country / Castleman Ranch): Sweet, floral, and full of perfume! Like a spicy men's perfume on the nose. Lovely and really unique! Smooth, yet with a good amount of acidity on the palate. Very smooth in the middle and end of the palate. Long, long finish for sure! Gets sweeter and smoother as the finish goes on. Some peach and pear at the very very beginning of the palate. Very dry for sure. And includes blueberry, a bit of dark strawberry, and a tad bit of dark, over-ripe blackberry on the end of the palate. Love this wine!
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Tasted non blind at a wine dinner. Opened and served immediately.
Garnet color in the glass, slightly dusty looking. Nose of dried herbs, earth, wet stones and a hint of black licorice. Flavors of black berries, black cherries and black raspberries. Tart acidity, medium tannins, medium bodied. Drink or hold.
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CT Texas IV (Austin, TX): Tasted non blind at a wine dinner. Nose of dark berries, funk and mint. More mint on the palate along with licorice, roasted meat and some blueberries. Sour fruit and oak on the medium length finish. Very firm tannins. Hold for a few to several more years.
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Impressive nose of vibrant nebbiolo fruit but starting to show mature notes of gaminess and leather. Some floral aspects underneath all the denser, meatier fruit and some earth showing as well. Minimal color change from rim to the middle.On the palate, tannins but ripe tannins that have already begun to integrate. Mostly primary notes mid-palate but secondary notes are making there way out. The finish is long and punctuated with acid and gravelly notes.
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Dinner with Friends (My House, Chicago IL): Served alongside the 95 Costa Russi. This one showed better at the start; seductive aromas of dark red berries, leather, earth, tar, and rose petals, but after an hour or so the Costa Russi eclipsed it. Firm dark fruits on the palate wth a lot of minerality and drying acidity. Medium body and a medium plus finish. A good deal of tannin remains on the finish. A very nice wine.
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nose; cigar tobacco, black currants, leather, and lead pencil shavings. palate; soy, blackberries, smoke, and milk chocolate. medium plus tannins. full bodied.
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Notes here prove there is 100% a bottle variation going on. This bottle was purchased in Italy and has been in a cellar since release in 99. I found it to be truly lovely in so many ways. Vanilla, Cherries, Prunes and more. Lovely balance with integrated though existing tannins. Fantastic acidity and solid fruit concentration. It felt just right all along. Opened up pretty fast, and within 30 min to an hour was ready to be enjoyed, though we went through the bottle too fast to truly evaluate its progress. A great example on how a less than great vintage can still produce a near perfect wine when made by someone like Gaja. Should hold nicely for a while. VERY VERY NICE!
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some discussion about this being a softer vintage. whatever...the wine is again disappointing because it doesn't display the structure, and quality of fruit i would imagine/ expect. perplexing.
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12/1/2020 - peternelson Likes this wine: 92 Points
This had plenty of earth tones; musty, mud, clay, a little raw meat, old red berries, pot pouri, very aromatic and lovely on the nose. Fairly robust mouthfeel. DD at Cotzen's. I would say 93 pts on the nose. '93 Monfortino was better.
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11/6/2020 - soyhead wrote:
nose - umami, smoky dark berry
mouth - lush, unfurled, umami/savory fruit.
pleasurable but drink soon
great pairing with Alexander the Great's crispy chicken
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7/18/2020 - mbwineguy Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drinking really well right now. I wish this was not my last bottle....boo hoo.
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7/11/2017 - steinersing wrote: 94 Points
very attractive acidity structure here - combined with good fruit and attractive nose. Seems quite perfect now.
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12/3/2016 - HowardNZ Likes this wine:
A long Sunday lunch at Noble Rot (Wellington, NZ): Decanted four hours before tasting. Slightly lighter colour than the Sperss. A beautiful bouquet of cigar, smoke, dark earth, tar and dark fruit, with a floral top note. On palate, complex flavours of tartufi neri, earth, spices, graphite, espresso and tar. More accessible and appealing on the day than the Sperss. The main difference was the acid profile, I loved the prominent acids here (tasting the wine blind Thierry observed that it had "Barbaresco high tone and acidity"). The acids gave more energy and drive to the wine. My WoTD and one of my WoTY. Ideally, I'd still give it another four or five years in the cellar.
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8/27/2016 - Vmaster007 wrote: 96 Points
From a magnum. I was first amazed by the lenght of the cork, wow! I was able to pull it off quite easily. What a ravishing nose at the opening. After a few hours of wait, it was a great pleasure to bring the glass to smell the aromas of black cherries, blackberries and vanilla. The color showed a bit of age, but it provided me and my friends a lot of pleasure as we were in another dimension.
This wine can be drank now or wait another 5 years without problem, specially in magnum size.
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9/25/2014 - CamWheeler wrote: 95 Points
The Full Monty: Black cherry, earthy truffles, graphite, floral fields and tar with iron. Balance is excellent (as long as you don't mind some typical Nebbiolo tannic kick), with great length, composure and texture to the palate. Still has good structure from those aforementioned tannins, though it is so lovely now that I don't think extended ageing will benefit it greatly. That said, I checked a small amount from the bottle on opening at 4pm and the wine was showing much the same when we got to try it fully at 8:30pm so I don't think there is danger of it falling over soon.
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2/2/2014 - punter wrote: 92 Points
Amazing nose of spice, dark fruit, blackberries, cedar, juniper, and light tar on the pour of 4 hour decant that entertained us through to the last drop. Deep, dark color gave layers of roasted dark fruit pudding, blackberry jam, spice, and light touches of dark chocolate, vanilla bean and crème fresh. Back end gave way to sandy oak and lightly biting tannins that did not settle with glass time. Still, the nose alone makes this worth opening. Do not see the oak and tannins settling with more time, but will wait a year for the next bottle.
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3/4/2013 - walkerjfw wrote: 92 Points
At Recettte in NYC with Ray and CVA . Great meal, great staff and one of the few in NYC that are corkage friendly. CVA brought this from his cellar.
Spicy and fragrant nose, some wood/oak and earth. Medium red color, some bricking on this bottle.
Has a sweetness to the front of the palate, delicate, tannins are resolved/mellow. Dusted red fruits, sour cherry, oak, earth.
Elegant wine thats aged very well, would drink over the next 5 years, in its zone and may start to fade in the next few years
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12/23/2012 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 95 Points
Just great. Drinking superbly at the moment. Some dusty fruit with great earthy/mushroom component. Maybe the first Piedmont wine I've had that seems fully mature.
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7/26/2012 - Peech Likes this wine: 93 Points
opened for 30 minutes and decanted for an hour prior to serving. Minty, potpourri, dried herbs, really ripe and sweet fruit, alcohol was high but surprisingly not sharp. Sous bois and licorice. Still very powerful and concentrated. This wine has a long, long way to go.
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5/18/2012 - ckinv368 wrote: 93 Points
CT Offline IV--Hill Country Edition; 5/18/2012-5/19/2012 (Austin / Texas Hill Country / Castleman Ranch): Sweet, floral, and full of perfume! Like a spicy men's perfume on the nose. Lovely and really unique! Smooth, yet with a good amount of acidity on the palate. Very smooth in the middle and end of the palate. Long, long finish for sure! Gets sweeter and smoother as the finish goes on. Some peach and pear at the very very beginning of the palate. Very dry for sure. And includes blueberry, a bit of dark strawberry, and a tad bit of dark, over-ripe blackberry on the end of the palate. Love this wine!
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5/18/2012 - wineismylife wrote: 92 Points
CT Texas IV - Friday Night Dinner (Hudson on the Bend, Austin, TX): WIML92
Tasted non blind at a wine dinner. Opened and served immediately.
Garnet color in the glass, slightly dusty looking. Nose of dried herbs, earth, wet stones and a hint of black licorice. Flavors of black berries, black cherries and black raspberries. Tart acidity, medium tannins, medium bodied. Drink or hold.
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5/18/2012 - floydtp wrote: 91 Points
CT Texas IV (Austin, TX): Tasted non blind at a wine dinner. Nose of dark berries, funk and mint. More mint on the palate along with licorice, roasted meat and some blueberries. Sour fruit and oak on the medium length finish. Very firm tannins. Hold for a few to several more years.
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5/18/2012 - GalvezGuy wrote: 92 Points
CT Texas IV - A Hill Country Treat; 5/18/2012-5/19/2012 (Austin, Texas): Nose of sour cherry, tar, a little bit of gaminess. On the palate, very stern with bright red fruits, sour cherry, tar, leather. Long finish with lots of acid and tannin. Very nice, could use some more time.
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12/22/2011 - wrrntl wrote:
Impressive nose of vibrant nebbiolo fruit but starting to show mature notes of gaminess and leather. Some floral aspects underneath all the denser, meatier fruit and some earth showing as well. Minimal color change from rim to the middle.On the palate, tannins but ripe tannins that have already begun to integrate. Mostly primary notes mid-palate but secondary notes are making there way out. The finish is long and punctuated with acid and gravelly notes.
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4/11/2010 - MatthewF wrote:
Dinner with Friends (My House, Chicago IL): Served alongside the 95 Costa Russi. This one showed better at the start; seductive aromas of dark red berries, leather, earth, tar, and rose petals, but after an hour or so the Costa Russi eclipsed it. Firm dark fruits on the palate wth a lot of minerality and drying acidity. Medium body and a medium plus finish. A good deal of tannin remains on the finish. A very nice wine.
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4/10/2010 - botrytisvirtuoso1819 wrote: 95 Points
nose; cigar tobacco, black currants, leather, and lead pencil shavings.
palate; soy, blackberries, smoke, and milk chocolate.
medium plus tannins.
full bodied.
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1/29/2009 - Lorien wrote: 95 Points
Notes here prove there is 100% a bottle variation going on. This bottle was purchased in Italy and has been in a cellar since release in 99. I found it to be truly lovely in so many ways. Vanilla, Cherries, Prunes and more. Lovely balance with integrated though existing tannins. Fantastic acidity and solid fruit concentration. It felt just right all along. Opened up pretty fast, and within 30 min to an hour was ready to be enjoyed, though we went through the bottle too fast to truly evaluate its progress. A great example on how a less than great vintage can still produce a near perfect wine when made by someone like Gaja. Should hold nicely for a while. VERY VERY NICE!
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6/2/2008 - kstoddard wrote: 87 Points
G7 (Pat): Blackberry, earth and leather. Lots of tannin. Massive and spicy but finishing flat.
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6/2/2008 - jeff nowak wrote: 90 Points
some discussion about this being a softer vintage. whatever...the wine is again disappointing because it doesn't display the structure, and quality of fruit i would imagine/ expect. perplexing.
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3/14/2008 - zazoo wrote: 95 Points
Strong cherry and spice Nose , very pleasing
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8/11/2007 - ChefAK47 wrote: 98 Points
very earthy, tobaco, hint of chocolate
had flight with 2001, completely different wines
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3/31/2007 - 100pp wrote: 94 Points
Color: Some development.
Nose: Cherry. Complex. Oak. Cedar. Smoke. Fruit.
Taste: Complex. Long.
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