Dakota Hewlett

9.1

A culmination of the work New Belgium has been doing, a great blend of hops and tropical flavors, this is well done and well deserved. — 10 years ago

Andrew Spingler

9.6

We had the honor of a private tasting with Silvia Altare in the Michele Chiarlo tasting room at Palas Cerequio in La Morra. Silvia is the daughter of Elio Altare, Godfather of modern Barolo. She is a delightful, humorous, efferevescent and worthy heir to her family's craft. The 2010 is a culmination of all the family has learned since they began making Barolo in small casks, and revolutionizing what was otherwise (at the time) little more than small fruit production in the Barolo region. She tells the story of her grandfather leaving the vineyard for two days and her father taking a chainsaw to the family's traditional large casks in favor of his new approach.

Elegant, with perfect poise in tannins and acidity, this single cru from Arborina will go for decades. — 10 years ago

Wayfarer Vineyard

10

This blend of the vineyard’s 12 prize clones yields a wine of complexity and completeness, the culmination of a far-reaching journey. This wine possesses a beautiful ruby color with aspects of garnet. Vibrant aromas of red cherry, strawberry and raspberry mingle with layers of crushed violet and rose petal, fresh mint and forest floor. New French oak adds even greater complexity with hints of vanilla bean and toasted bread. The entry of the wine is supple and generous, and balances with its firm structure. A harmonious blend of the site’s diverse clones, a panoply of red fruits unfurls on the palate with an emergence of cranberry, pomegranate and raspberry, framed by silky tannins and lifted by bright acidity and mineral undertones. This is a restrained, concentrated wine that opens magically with each sip. The complexity of floral notes and wild red berries lingers on the palate with a lasting finish.

We hand-picked and hand-sorted the fruit, reserving 8% for whole-cluster fermentation prior to de-stemming. The remaining berries were de-stemmed and hand-sorted again before transfer to tank. Five to seven days of cold maceration preceded more than two weeks of 100% native yeast fermentation. The fruit was then gently pressed, its free-run juice transferred to 78% new French oak barrels for 15 months of aging.



— 11 years ago