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2018 & 2019 Barbaresco Take Center Stage (Feb 2022)

The 2014 Barbaresco Riserva Asili is soft, layered and seductive, as wines from this site tend to be. Silky tannins and lifted aromatics lend finesse to this inviting Barbaresco from Giacosa. All the elements are very nicely balanced. I very much like elegance here, even if the inner sweetness Bruno Giacosa prized so much in…

Santa Barbara: Better Than Ever (Sep 2017)

A huge, explosive wine, the 2014 Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyards is another Pinot that is going to need time to come into its own. Soaring aromatics and intense, red-toned fruit make a strong opening impression. Readers should expect a boisterous, structured Pinot Noir endowed with serious heft.

2014 Barolo: Surprise, Surprise… (Feb 2018)

Vietti’s 2014 Barolo Rocche di Castiglione is shaping up to be a modern-day classic. Piercing, intense and austere in the best sense of the word, the Rocche is a wine of laser-like focus that will leave Barolo lovers weak in the knees. Candied cherry, pomegranate, kirsch, rose petal and violet overtones give the 2014 its…

Argentina: The Cool Years (Mar 2016)

Bright, dark red. Musky perfume of black raspberry, mocha, smoked meat and pepper. Juicy and smooth, with raspberry, pepper and spice flavors showing modest depth and sweetness but easy drinkability. Reminded me of a Médoc wine from a cool year. Finishes with fairly easy tannins and modest length.

The Barossa: An Ascent to Higher Quality (Dec 2021)

Brilliant purple. A heady, intensely perfumed bouquet evokes dark berry preserves, incense, candied flowers, vanilla and cola, with a smoky, incisive mineral nuance building with air. Juicy, penetrating and alluringly sweet, offering deeply concentrated blueberry, cherry-cola, mocha and violet pastille flavors and a strong suggestion of fruitcake. Shockingly vibrant for its depth, with youthfully firm…

The 2015 Red Burgundies: You Are So Going To Want Them (Jan 2017)

(there’s just a single new barrel of this juice, which was vinified entirely with whole clusters): Bright ruby-red. Explosive wild aromas of blackberry, boysenberry, kirsch, leather, game and violet, accented by a suggestion of peppery François Frères oak. A thick, dense elixir in the mouth, without any heaviness or hard edges but still a bit…