Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of 90 minutes. The 2019 “Margheria” pours a pale garnet color with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with gorgeous notes of ripe red fruit: Morello cherry, raspberry, orange zest, roses, talcum powder, dried herbs, and dry earth. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with high tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long, super grippy and slightly savory. Ooooof, I love Azelia’s expression of Margheria. It’s so transparent, so elegant. Drink now with patience but better after 2029 and through 2059.

For those who care: Historically, Luigi Scavino (Azelia) tended to treat their wines slightly different, dependent upon MGA. Margheria was getting their most traditional treatment being aged exclusively in Slavonian botti. FWIW, I always felt this was their most exciting single MGA bottling. Now, I believe all of their single MGA’s are treated in the similar, aforementioned fashion. The results speak for themselves. — 2 months ago

Barbara Spizzirro

9.0

Dolcetto with some spine. Attack no impressive, but kicks into gear mid palette and finish. Impressive dolcetto. $35 — 4 years ago

Shengli Hu

9.0

Pale ruby with orange rim. Aromatic, Tart and ripe red fruit: sour cherry, raspberry, pomegranate, some blackberry, def VA, lifted fruit and floral note: Roses, violets. On the palate there is amaro-like bitter smell, tar with notes of gravel and wet stone. Some oxidation-dried out quality. No new oak, but definitely some old, large botti or something similar. Grippy tannins. Long finish. A thing of beauty. — 5 years ago

Mark Mannebach

9.2

Smooth with bursting red fruit flavors with long finish of mineral and earth — 3 months ago

Martinez

9.0

Trinchero’s flagship wine. 100% Barbera from very old vines in Asti, aged for 3-4 years in large, old oak botti. Complex nose. Juicy red fruit, tobacco. Fresh, lively at 16 years old. Good acidity — 3 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

This bottle was one in a brace of Brunellos, generously shared and curated by our friend Tim.

Served blind after a lengthy slow-ox, I knew we were drinking Brunello di Montalcino but that’s it. No visual signs of age. Initially quite the performer with gorgeous cherry fruit, baking spice, earth, mushroom. On the palate, slightly darker fruited, cocoa and what I sometimes refer to as “Tuscan dust”. After about an hour, I started to pick up a touch of brettanomyces which made the earth more pronounced. Another remarkable quality of this wine was its plush texture; almost velvet-like.

Revealed as the 1997 La Rasina. I believe this is my first experience with this producer though I’ve seen it around for years. This came across a touch modern yet I was told that this was back when botti were being used. Regardless, a lovely wine and a lovely showing for a 23 year old wine. At about hour two in the glass, I thought this started to lose some of its energy, just as the “La Palazzetta” started to come into its own. I would drink these sooner than later if I had some hanging out in my cellar. — 4 years ago

Vay John Blazina

9.3

Dark red color with a lovely complex nose and a dark body with a full complex body that took about a week to fully develop and integrate open under Vacuvin at room temperature but was worth the wait as it out rated a 1989 chateauneuf du Pape & a 1986 Cote-Rotie. Lovely long aftertaste. A bargain! 9.3/10 — 5 years ago

Daniel Bloom

9.3

Sometimes you take a blind chance and get rewarded.
N: Cedar, Rose, Woodsmoke(appropriately),Liquorice, tar. Chocolate.
P:Med bodied and not overly wooded(yay!) Slavonian botti for 36 mo.excellent acid tannin balance, lots of sous-bois, tomato, mint,
Chocolate. meat. As it airs, the palate is richer. Nice work here.
I looked them up and see the Riserva spends half it’s time in smaller barriques. No thank you. Without gloss, this really shines.

Deeelicious on a smoky night.
Thanks@ Garagiste. — 2 years ago

Jamie Lauder

9.5

2001 vintage.
Cherries with balsamic and herbs on the nose.
This wine is soooo well developed.
Roasted cherries and berries, worn leather and violets with truffles minerals and earthiness.
This wine was aged 41 months in botti before release.
This was a special night that required a special wine.
— 4 years ago

David Kaplan

9.6

This Soave Classico Vigneto Sengialta Balestri Valda 2017 comes from a single hillside parcel of black basaltic soil planted to Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave. The grapes are hand-harvested, fermented separately, and matured in neutral 2000-liter botti for twelve months. In the glass, the wine has a saturated, deep yellow-gold color, with flashes of green-gold just at the edge. Aromas of sun-warmed yellow peaches, crystallized honey, marzipan, and acacia blossoms emerge at first, then alternate with fleeting suggestions of beeswax, grated nutmeg, and sage, as the nose evolves in the glass. On the palate, the wine honeyed and opulent, with a round, juicy core of sweet stone fruit and honey that echoes the nose, along with plenty of dry extract, deep saline minerality, and ripe tartaric acidity. The layered sweet core of honeyed melon and almond paste is seasoned with delicate bitterness, and the long elegant finish is punctuated with fine mineral grip. Drink now – 2030 (yes, the wine is irresistible today, but according to Laura Rizzotto, a bottle that hid unnoticed for fifteen or more years in a good cellar would be a treasure). — Moore Brothers, Brooklyn — 5 years ago