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2014 Barbaresco: An October Surprise (Oct 2017)

Not surprisingly, the 2013 Barbaresco Ovello is the most reticent of the four Barbarescos in this tasting. Linear and a bit nervous – as wines from this site often are – the 2013 is a bundle of energy. Even so, there is more than enough depth in the fruit to balance out the wine’s structural…

2011 Brunello di Montalcino: Terroir Matters (Feb 2016)

The 2011 Brunello di Montalcino is all class. Beautifully layered, creamy and expressive throughout, the 2011 is one of the most finessed wine of the year. Silky tannins and lifted, gracious aromatics add to the wine’s sheer appeal. There is more than enough freshness to support at least a few years in the cellar. This…

Le Potazzine Brunello di Montalcino 2001 – 2013 (Oct 2018)

Bright red. Enticing, nuanced nose offers scents of red cherry, brown spices, underbrush and licorice. Subtly sweet, multilayered, creamy flavors of ripe red cherry, milk chocolate and licorice are underpinned by a firm acid/tannin spine. Finishes long, with a light note of menthol plus sweeter hints of marzipan and spices. I came away impressed by…

Chianti Classico 2013 & 2012: The Luck of the Draw (Sep 2015)

The 2010 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione is extraordinary. A wine of pedigree and class, the 2010 boasts magnificent intensity and depth yet never comes across as heavy. The flavors are layered, nuanced and beautifully delineated in the glass. Plum, black cherry, spice, menthol and sweet spices are laced into the exquisite finish. The 2010 is…

Focus on Barolo and Barbaresco (Nov 2009)

(bottled barely ten days prior to my visit) Good medium red. Sexy, wild aromas and flavors of strawberry, mocha, coffee and minerals. Intensely flavored, fat and sweet, perhaps more concentrated and voluminous than the regular Monprivato as this is 100% from the michet clone, which typically produces smaller berries. There’s an almost flinty, smoky minerality…

2010 Barolo: Flying High Again, Part 2 (Sep 2014)

The 2010 Barolo Ornato is quite possibly the best wine I have ever tasted from Pio Cesare’s hillside site in Serralunga. Exotic, beguiling and constantly changing in the glass, the 2010 Ornato races across the palate with compelling nuance, brightness and energy. Red stone fruits, crushed rocks, orange peel, spices and white pepper all blossom…