It was a special week as both of my brothers were in town for my birthday and we attended UNC-Duke at the Smith Center. It was wonderful to spend time together over great meals and wine.
2006 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG (2/4/2024)
The best bottle yet from a lot I grabbed at auction a few years ago. Felsina, and Rancia in particular, can be a little four square and blocky to my palate. This bottle was much more seamless and supple than previous bottles. Rancia also generally has darker shades of fruit and this was no exception. Plenty of leather and spice complexity. Starting to enter a really good spot and should stay here for a while. Double decanted and consumed at a restaurant about 2 hours later. (92 points)
2006 Antoniolo Gattinara Le Castelle - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara (2/4/2024)
Not quite as good as previous bottles. Bright cherry fruit, good acidity, and a bit more tannic structure than I recall with previous bottles. Not on the downslope or anything, probably just changing phases. Still very good. No reason to wait but no need to drink up either. Double decanted and consumed at a restaurant about 2 hours later. (91 points)
2003 Bernard Faurie Hermitage Greffieux - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (2/2/2024)
This was the best wine of the night to me. While the Rauzan-Ségla was held together by a vein of tannin, the structure here seems to be mostly acid. Perfumed and graceful. Smoke, minerals, flowers, red fruits, anise, leather, and on and on. Silky on the palate and simply fantastic with a pretty rick beef short rib dish. The point of a cellar, thanks to my old amigo John for this bottle. (95 points)
1989 Ch“teau Rausan-Ségla - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux (2/2/2024)
I got a pretty good deal on a pristine case (OWC, C&E import, fills into neck) of this at an auction last year and have been bombing through the bottles because, why not, it's in a great place. Tobacco, spice and hints of graphite and leather over the dark cherry and currant fruit. It still has a vein of tannin keeping things lively. Good now and I don't think it'll dry out or anything. Probably will drink well for another decade or two. (93 points)
2015 Domaine Guiberteau Saumur Blanc Brézé - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur (2/2/2024)
It's been about 3.5 years since my last bottle of this as well. Time has also been friendly to it but not with as much appreciable change as the Ceritas. Flinty matchstick as is the vogue on the nose with dense, chewy Chenin fruit underneath playing off a fine chalky minerality. I see no reason why this wouldn't continue to improve. It's good now but I think even better with just a year or two. Convincing. (93+ points)
2016 Ceritas Chardonnay Porter-Bass Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (2/2/2024)
It's been 3.5 years since my last bottle and time has done good work here. The wine is coming together nicely and the front and back ends are much more integrated. Yellow fruits, minerals, a hint of oats or something underneath. Can't quite grasp the note exactly. A very regal expression of Chardonnay. Could continue to improve for years but firmly in a good spot now. (93 points)
1998 Ch“teau Magdelaine - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru (2/2/2024)
This was the last wine opened and I paid the least attention to it, regrettably. A bigger version of Magdelaine and with the cocoa dusted fruit and leather with a limestone tinged lift. Very silky. Next time, I'll open a bottle of this on it's own. Not a crime to revisit now, but will probbaly be a wine that improves for a long time. Back in 2015 this was the favorite in a blind tasting 1998 right bank horizontal with heavier hitters (not the heaviest, naturally) and this bottle did nothing to dissuade me from that. (92++ points)
2015 Alzinger Riesling Smaragd Steinertal - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau (2/2/2024)
This was dull and a bit all over the place, especially in the context of the other two whites. I'm generally a producer over vintage guy, but maybe 2015 was hard to overcome. There was enough fruit and it was pleasant enough, but lacking verve. (89 points)
2016 Azienda Agricola Caparsa Chianti Classico Caparsa - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG (2/1/2024)
This is more-or-less fully resolved. We've been through 2 cases at this point and it has been a great dinner companion every time. Exactly the mix of savory and fruit notes you want from Sangiovese. (91 points)
NV Azienda Agricola San Giuseppe Stella di Campalto Choltempo Bella Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (1/31/2024)
This was excellent. Very sauve and complex. Power without weight. We were able to follow this over a couple of hours including with a meal and it showed superbly. There were so many things going on from flowers to fruit to herbs. It really feels artisanal. The most striking thing was the palate feel, at once everywhere but not heavy, silky and refined. This is the 2019 release of an NV blend of lots of different grapes and I was only able to get a few more bottles of any Stella di Campalto afterwards. These wines have become too expensive for me but if you can stomach it and/or see it at a good price, these wines are really singular expressions of Sangiovese Grosso or whatever this blend was. (94 points)
2019 Elio Sandri Langhe Nebbiolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC (1/31/2024)
Not as open or pretty as a bottle we had back in November, but classically styled and proportioned Nebbiolo with all of the features in place. I've got a couple more bottles that I'll let sit and develop for a couple of years. (88+ points)
2014 Bedrock Wine Co. Heritage Wine Pagani Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley (1/30/2024)
Wow, this was a seriously delicious expression of Pagani and almost like a time capsule for me. I think we caught it at the perfect time, it was rich with dense fruit but vibrant and silky. The fruit was classic dark berries and there was a sort of dark savory/mineral twang that I associate with Pagani. I've been really enjoying some of these Bedrock wines over the last few years, but this bottle really knocked my socks off. (95 points)
2017 Hobo Wine Company Zinfandel Branham Vineyard Rockpile - USA, California, Sonoma County, Rockpile (1/30/2024)
After we plowed through the Bedrock was too quickly, we needed something else to finish the meal. This wine comes in at a spritely 13.1% and has a much more red fruited profile. Bright red raspberries and cranberries with an herbal snap and a taught acid minerality. Juicy, bright and bracing. Awesome with food. It's a high acid style that maybe won't be for everyone, but I find it to be a really great expression of Zinfandel. Kenny hasn't bottled this separately for a few years now so if you see a bottle in the wild, grab it! (92 points)
2015 Elio Sandri Barolo Perno - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (1/29/2024)
Alongside the 2016 Colla Bussia this had another gear. More open and with deeper, sweeter dark cherry fruit. Floral notes and mint dance off the cherry and there are feral, savory notes of leather and tobacco. Opened about 45 minutes prior to dinner and went faster than the Colla. The most striking thing is how just simply delicious this is. This should have a really open window which starts now for me. (94 points)
2016 Poderi Colla Barolo Dardi Le Rose Bussia - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (1/29/2024)
Clear, beautiful ruby color. Truly gem-like. The nose is a bit shy but is full of a singing pure cherry note. This wine feels pretty coiled. Opened about 2 hours before dinner and consumed over the following 2 hours. There were some complicating notes of licorice and leather with a faint hint of rose on top. Fairly austere but should blossom with more age. I think another 3-5 years before broaching again. Less open than the recent Vajra Ravera 2016. (91+ points)
2006 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG (2/4/2024)
The best bottle yet from a lot I grabbed at auction a few years ago. Felsina, and Rancia in particular, can be a little four square and blocky to my palate. This bottle was much more seamless and supple than previous bottles. Rancia also generally has darker shades of fruit and this was no exception. Plenty of leather and spice complexity. Starting to enter a really good spot and should stay here for a while. Double decanted and consumed at a restaurant about 2 hours later. (92 points)
2006 Antoniolo Gattinara Le Castelle - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara (2/4/2024)
Not quite as good as previous bottles. Bright cherry fruit, good acidity, and a bit more tannic structure than I recall with previous bottles. Not on the downslope or anything, probably just changing phases. Still very good. No reason to wait but no need to drink up either. Double decanted and consumed at a restaurant about 2 hours later. (91 points)
2003 Bernard Faurie Hermitage Greffieux - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (2/2/2024)
This was the best wine of the night to me. While the Rauzan-Ségla was held together by a vein of tannin, the structure here seems to be mostly acid. Perfumed and graceful. Smoke, minerals, flowers, red fruits, anise, leather, and on and on. Silky on the palate and simply fantastic with a pretty rick beef short rib dish. The point of a cellar, thanks to my old amigo John for this bottle. (95 points)
1989 Ch“teau Rausan-Ségla - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux (2/2/2024)
I got a pretty good deal on a pristine case (OWC, C&E import, fills into neck) of this at an auction last year and have been bombing through the bottles because, why not, it's in a great place. Tobacco, spice and hints of graphite and leather over the dark cherry and currant fruit. It still has a vein of tannin keeping things lively. Good now and I don't think it'll dry out or anything. Probably will drink well for another decade or two. (93 points)
2015 Domaine Guiberteau Saumur Blanc Brézé - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur (2/2/2024)
It's been about 3.5 years since my last bottle of this as well. Time has also been friendly to it but not with as much appreciable change as the Ceritas. Flinty matchstick as is the vogue on the nose with dense, chewy Chenin fruit underneath playing off a fine chalky minerality. I see no reason why this wouldn't continue to improve. It's good now but I think even better with just a year or two. Convincing. (93+ points)
2016 Ceritas Chardonnay Porter-Bass Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (2/2/2024)
It's been 3.5 years since my last bottle and time has done good work here. The wine is coming together nicely and the front and back ends are much more integrated. Yellow fruits, minerals, a hint of oats or something underneath. Can't quite grasp the note exactly. A very regal expression of Chardonnay. Could continue to improve for years but firmly in a good spot now. (93 points)
1998 Ch“teau Magdelaine - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru (2/2/2024)
This was the last wine opened and I paid the least attention to it, regrettably. A bigger version of Magdelaine and with the cocoa dusted fruit and leather with a limestone tinged lift. Very silky. Next time, I'll open a bottle of this on it's own. Not a crime to revisit now, but will probbaly be a wine that improves for a long time. Back in 2015 this was the favorite in a blind tasting 1998 right bank horizontal with heavier hitters (not the heaviest, naturally) and this bottle did nothing to dissuade me from that. (92++ points)
2015 Alzinger Riesling Smaragd Steinertal - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau (2/2/2024)
This was dull and a bit all over the place, especially in the context of the other two whites. I'm generally a producer over vintage guy, but maybe 2015 was hard to overcome. There was enough fruit and it was pleasant enough, but lacking verve. (89 points)
2016 Azienda Agricola Caparsa Chianti Classico Caparsa - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG (2/1/2024)
This is more-or-less fully resolved. We've been through 2 cases at this point and it has been a great dinner companion every time. Exactly the mix of savory and fruit notes you want from Sangiovese. (91 points)
NV Azienda Agricola San Giuseppe Stella di Campalto Choltempo Bella Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (1/31/2024)
This was excellent. Very sauve and complex. Power without weight. We were able to follow this over a couple of hours including with a meal and it showed superbly. There were so many things going on from flowers to fruit to herbs. It really feels artisanal. The most striking thing was the palate feel, at once everywhere but not heavy, silky and refined. This is the 2019 release of an NV blend of lots of different grapes and I was only able to get a few more bottles of any Stella di Campalto afterwards. These wines have become too expensive for me but if you can stomach it and/or see it at a good price, these wines are really singular expressions of Sangiovese Grosso or whatever this blend was. (94 points)
2019 Elio Sandri Langhe Nebbiolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC (1/31/2024)
Not as open or pretty as a bottle we had back in November, but classically styled and proportioned Nebbiolo with all of the features in place. I've got a couple more bottles that I'll let sit and develop for a couple of years. (88+ points)
2014 Bedrock Wine Co. Heritage Wine Pagani Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley (1/30/2024)
Wow, this was a seriously delicious expression of Pagani and almost like a time capsule for me. I think we caught it at the perfect time, it was rich with dense fruit but vibrant and silky. The fruit was classic dark berries and there was a sort of dark savory/mineral twang that I associate with Pagani. I've been really enjoying some of these Bedrock wines over the last few years, but this bottle really knocked my socks off. (95 points)
2017 Hobo Wine Company Zinfandel Branham Vineyard Rockpile - USA, California, Sonoma County, Rockpile (1/30/2024)
After we plowed through the Bedrock was too quickly, we needed something else to finish the meal. This wine comes in at a spritely 13.1% and has a much more red fruited profile. Bright red raspberries and cranberries with an herbal snap and a taught acid minerality. Juicy, bright and bracing. Awesome with food. It's a high acid style that maybe won't be for everyone, but I find it to be a really great expression of Zinfandel. Kenny hasn't bottled this separately for a few years now so if you see a bottle in the wild, grab it! (92 points)
2015 Elio Sandri Barolo Perno - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (1/29/2024)
Alongside the 2016 Colla Bussia this had another gear. More open and with deeper, sweeter dark cherry fruit. Floral notes and mint dance off the cherry and there are feral, savory notes of leather and tobacco. Opened about 45 minutes prior to dinner and went faster than the Colla. The most striking thing is how just simply delicious this is. This should have a really open window which starts now for me. (94 points)
2016 Poderi Colla Barolo Dardi Le Rose Bussia - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (1/29/2024)
Clear, beautiful ruby color. Truly gem-like. The nose is a bit shy but is full of a singing pure cherry note. This wine feels pretty coiled. Opened about 2 hours before dinner and consumed over the following 2 hours. There were some complicating notes of licorice and leather with a faint hint of rose on top. Fairly austere but should blossom with more age. I think another 3-5 years before broaching again. Less open than the recent Vajra Ravera 2016. (91+ points)