2001 La Colombina Brunello di Montalcino
Disappointing. Initial bottle stink of tire rubber, but it blows off soon while decanting. Murky palate of blackberry fruit, with some whiskey barrel notes in the background. Could use definition, nuance and better Sangio typicity. My suspicion is that this was a spoofed wine in its youth, and that time didn't do much to improve it.
1999 Tenuta Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino
Can't say that this is impressive. It's obviously modern, but has developed to the point that an 11 year old modern wine has relaxed somewhat, and may no longer be overtly spoofed, and may have absorbed some of its oak (plenty still remains), but that doesn't mean that it's become a good wine. The bright cherry fruit is perhaps the only redeeming part of this wine, but is completely negated by the sharpness to the palate that throws the whole palate completely out of balance. 24 hours later, it's much softer on the palate, the sharpness is gone and it's easier to drink . . . but I really don't want to drink it. Not a producer I buy any longer, and here is proof that sitting on it and hoping for improvement, doesn't always work.
1999 Podere Loreto (Mastrojanni) Brunello di Montalcino
I recall drinking this three or four years ago, and it was a hard, tannic wine. No longer. Cellaring has been kind to this wine, and it is now in a really good place. The tannins have melted for the most part, the palate softened, showing gentle wild strawberry fruit and a bit of garrigue borrowed from over the border. Really good purity. A refreshing change from the poor '99 Caparzo Brunello from the night prior. The '99 Mastrojanni is a soft, elegant, utterly charming wine. Update: Even better and more cohesive on the second night, with no degradation. Now showing more Sangio tastes of sweet tobacco and blood orange, alongside the wild strawberry. Lovely, caressing palate texture. Drinking very well now.
2004 Cavallotto Langhe Nebbiolo
This has really smoothed and rounded out over the past year. It's softer, less angular, the tannins more plush. It really comes alive on the second night, where the fruit takes on greater depth and takes on more shades of color, not just red fruit, but pomegranate, plum and dark cherries. Seems to be hitting its apex in terms of texture and resolution of structure, although it would be a better wine with more complexities. It's still rather primary, although there is more variety of fruits on the palate.
2004 Luciano Sandrone Nebbiolo d'Alba Valmaggiore
I just finished a book where the American author works the harvest at Sandrone and experiences life in Piedmont, sleeping in a tent on the lawn of a historic estate. The book made me reach for this wine. I last opened a bottle in the summer of 2008, and while I did not take a tasting note then, I recall the thick palate and overt oak. Two years later, the palate is still thick and the oak has been absorbed only marginally. The palate is thick and rich, more dark fruited than red fruited, with a chewy texture and a mouthfeel just short of plump. I think the wine is a bit more finessed than two years ago, the tannins definitely not as firm, the sidelines more tapered than before. This is, to be sure, a very modern style of Nebbiolo. It's a style that I can appreciate cautiously. I liked the fact that the oak was not as in your face initially . . . until the third night after uncorking, when the dominant taste of the palate was coconut oak. I'll let my remaining bottles age for years longer and hope that the oak will absorb. Between this and the Sandrone La Vigne Barolo that I've had lately, this is not a producer I will continue to seek out, notwithstanding the accolades; he's just too modern-styled for me.
2001 Giuseppe Cortese Barbaresco Rabaj
Soon after uncorking, this was like a tidal wave of bright, round fruit: red currant and then plums, juicy and buoyant and giving. The wine then condensed somewhat, the structure emerging and the tidal wave receding, sleek tannin and juicy, lively acidity. I loved every part of this: its bright fruit, it's balance, it's nuance, it's proportion . . . with one exception: a puzzling burnt note. This wine has been stored well since release, and the vintage was not excessively hot, so I'm assuming that this bottle was just not up to par. On the second night, this wine is stunning: great fruit, depth of palate, balance, sustain. The fruit is ripe cherries, surrounded by perfect grip of tannin, which is smooth and sweet. Deborah is taken aback by this wine, calling it one of the best wines she's tasted recently. And I agree . . . but for that one odd burnt note. I tasted this wine at Agricole Cortese in 2006, and my tasting notes talk about the balance that I found then. Four years on, the balance is still one of the attractions of this wine, along with depth of fruit and excellent proportion. A- with a strong possibility of an A in a few more years, with further development and no more burnt note.
2000 Castello di Verduno Barbaresco Faset
Decanted for a couple of hours. This showed smooth and round, soft tannins, lots of plums and liquorice. There is a noticeable midpalate thinness. At ten years past the vintage, I'm not expecting this to gain much strength or depth. Good, soft, easy to drink, but not profound.
1998 Roagna Barbaresco Paje
Previous bottles of this wine have shown very soft and open, but this one much less so, still youthful, firm and strong. Sour cherry and lots of forest floor, huge acidity and still a good amount of tannin to resolve. This is Old School, and backward, just starting to reveal its charms. Open two nights, the second night the wine shows no degradation, a more focused palate of dark cherries, the tannins still firm but have smoothed out and given this wine a very silky mouthfeel. Wow, this wine is really enlightening because Roagna can be variable, with some bottles very dry and austere, but not this one. Also, some '98s are supposedly showing loose, but this is still tight and firm and seemingly only now coming out of its shell. A surprising, and very positive, showing.
1998 Vietti Barolo Lazzarito
Not a distinctly oaky nose, but dark, with mellow brown spice, smoke, and a touch of alcohol. Palate shows dark cherry, wood smoke, some oak, brown spice, and a long finish softening around the edges. The more this airs, the more I think that the palate is very round and lacks edge. The finish is interesting and long, but the palate is not very detailed. Not sure whether this is just a '98 that is now showing really soft, or whether this wine was smothered with oak.
1999 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato
Wow. Red fruit, cinnamon. Tannic, but soft tannins, high acidity. Really quite good and regal. Amazing purity and richness, while no heaviness at all. This wine just unfolds over your tongue with red fruit and pretty perfume, feminine, but with that underlying young Barolo firmness hiding behind the satin curtains while the young red fruit steals the show . . . for now. This hasn't really developed much in the two years since my last bottle; the wine is just as pure and captivating, although maybe, just maybe, a touch more user-friendly this time. With time, Dave says "blueberry ink", while to me, this is showing more red fruited, with mincemeat pie and very herbal. I'm sipping a final glass the next night, with no degradation, just the same red fruit purity. Better tonight, more focused. This is the kind of wine I am proud to cellar.
Disappointing. Initial bottle stink of tire rubber, but it blows off soon while decanting. Murky palate of blackberry fruit, with some whiskey barrel notes in the background. Could use definition, nuance and better Sangio typicity. My suspicion is that this was a spoofed wine in its youth, and that time didn't do much to improve it.
1999 Tenuta Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino
Can't say that this is impressive. It's obviously modern, but has developed to the point that an 11 year old modern wine has relaxed somewhat, and may no longer be overtly spoofed, and may have absorbed some of its oak (plenty still remains), but that doesn't mean that it's become a good wine. The bright cherry fruit is perhaps the only redeeming part of this wine, but is completely negated by the sharpness to the palate that throws the whole palate completely out of balance. 24 hours later, it's much softer on the palate, the sharpness is gone and it's easier to drink . . . but I really don't want to drink it. Not a producer I buy any longer, and here is proof that sitting on it and hoping for improvement, doesn't always work.
1999 Podere Loreto (Mastrojanni) Brunello di Montalcino
I recall drinking this three or four years ago, and it was a hard, tannic wine. No longer. Cellaring has been kind to this wine, and it is now in a really good place. The tannins have melted for the most part, the palate softened, showing gentle wild strawberry fruit and a bit of garrigue borrowed from over the border. Really good purity. A refreshing change from the poor '99 Caparzo Brunello from the night prior. The '99 Mastrojanni is a soft, elegant, utterly charming wine. Update: Even better and more cohesive on the second night, with no degradation. Now showing more Sangio tastes of sweet tobacco and blood orange, alongside the wild strawberry. Lovely, caressing palate texture. Drinking very well now.
2004 Cavallotto Langhe Nebbiolo
This has really smoothed and rounded out over the past year. It's softer, less angular, the tannins more plush. It really comes alive on the second night, where the fruit takes on greater depth and takes on more shades of color, not just red fruit, but pomegranate, plum and dark cherries. Seems to be hitting its apex in terms of texture and resolution of structure, although it would be a better wine with more complexities. It's still rather primary, although there is more variety of fruits on the palate.
2004 Luciano Sandrone Nebbiolo d'Alba Valmaggiore
I just finished a book where the American author works the harvest at Sandrone and experiences life in Piedmont, sleeping in a tent on the lawn of a historic estate. The book made me reach for this wine. I last opened a bottle in the summer of 2008, and while I did not take a tasting note then, I recall the thick palate and overt oak. Two years later, the palate is still thick and the oak has been absorbed only marginally. The palate is thick and rich, more dark fruited than red fruited, with a chewy texture and a mouthfeel just short of plump. I think the wine is a bit more finessed than two years ago, the tannins definitely not as firm, the sidelines more tapered than before. This is, to be sure, a very modern style of Nebbiolo. It's a style that I can appreciate cautiously. I liked the fact that the oak was not as in your face initially . . . until the third night after uncorking, when the dominant taste of the palate was coconut oak. I'll let my remaining bottles age for years longer and hope that the oak will absorb. Between this and the Sandrone La Vigne Barolo that I've had lately, this is not a producer I will continue to seek out, notwithstanding the accolades; he's just too modern-styled for me.
2001 Giuseppe Cortese Barbaresco Rabaj
Soon after uncorking, this was like a tidal wave of bright, round fruit: red currant and then plums, juicy and buoyant and giving. The wine then condensed somewhat, the structure emerging and the tidal wave receding, sleek tannin and juicy, lively acidity. I loved every part of this: its bright fruit, it's balance, it's nuance, it's proportion . . . with one exception: a puzzling burnt note. This wine has been stored well since release, and the vintage was not excessively hot, so I'm assuming that this bottle was just not up to par. On the second night, this wine is stunning: great fruit, depth of palate, balance, sustain. The fruit is ripe cherries, surrounded by perfect grip of tannin, which is smooth and sweet. Deborah is taken aback by this wine, calling it one of the best wines she's tasted recently. And I agree . . . but for that one odd burnt note. I tasted this wine at Agricole Cortese in 2006, and my tasting notes talk about the balance that I found then. Four years on, the balance is still one of the attractions of this wine, along with depth of fruit and excellent proportion. A- with a strong possibility of an A in a few more years, with further development and no more burnt note.
2000 Castello di Verduno Barbaresco Faset
Decanted for a couple of hours. This showed smooth and round, soft tannins, lots of plums and liquorice. There is a noticeable midpalate thinness. At ten years past the vintage, I'm not expecting this to gain much strength or depth. Good, soft, easy to drink, but not profound.
1998 Roagna Barbaresco Paje
Previous bottles of this wine have shown very soft and open, but this one much less so, still youthful, firm and strong. Sour cherry and lots of forest floor, huge acidity and still a good amount of tannin to resolve. This is Old School, and backward, just starting to reveal its charms. Open two nights, the second night the wine shows no degradation, a more focused palate of dark cherries, the tannins still firm but have smoothed out and given this wine a very silky mouthfeel. Wow, this wine is really enlightening because Roagna can be variable, with some bottles very dry and austere, but not this one. Also, some '98s are supposedly showing loose, but this is still tight and firm and seemingly only now coming out of its shell. A surprising, and very positive, showing.
1998 Vietti Barolo Lazzarito
Not a distinctly oaky nose, but dark, with mellow brown spice, smoke, and a touch of alcohol. Palate shows dark cherry, wood smoke, some oak, brown spice, and a long finish softening around the edges. The more this airs, the more I think that the palate is very round and lacks edge. The finish is interesting and long, but the palate is not very detailed. Not sure whether this is just a '98 that is now showing really soft, or whether this wine was smothered with oak.
1999 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato
Wow. Red fruit, cinnamon. Tannic, but soft tannins, high acidity. Really quite good and regal. Amazing purity and richness, while no heaviness at all. This wine just unfolds over your tongue with red fruit and pretty perfume, feminine, but with that underlying young Barolo firmness hiding behind the satin curtains while the young red fruit steals the show . . . for now. This hasn't really developed much in the two years since my last bottle; the wine is just as pure and captivating, although maybe, just maybe, a touch more user-friendly this time. With time, Dave says "blueberry ink", while to me, this is showing more red fruited, with mincemeat pie and very herbal. I'm sipping a final glass the next night, with no degradation, just the same red fruit purity. Better tonight, more focused. This is the kind of wine I am proud to cellar.