Ray Vanderhoff

9.2

Dark ruby core with a garnet/orange rim. Aromas of tobacco, forest floor, leather and ripe red and black fruit. Flavors of mushrooms, black cherry/blackberry fruit on the palate with additional hints of cocoa powder and baking spices. Long, silky and smoky finish with extremely gentle tannins. Medium bodied (nicely aged) and a creamy texture. Thank you for sharing this one, Ron B! — 7 days ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of a couple of hours. The 2018 “Il Rosso delle Donne” pours a garnet color with a translucent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe and tart, mostly red fruits: Morello cherry, raspberries, strawberry, roses, a whiff of horse blanket, red rope licorice, dried green herbs, and dry gravel. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. This is a slightly wild but positively gorgeous example of a Nebbiolo-based blend from Alto Piemonte. There’s an old school feel about this that completely charms the heart. Too bad there is so little of it: the entire Boca DOC has less than 50 acres planted to vine. Castello Conti only made 3912 bottles of this gem. Drink now through 2048+. — 2 months ago

Devin Bray

9.2

High-toned, giggle-inducing notes of aromatic bubblegum upon first opening which resolved into lovely tart cherry fruit, herbs, and a good mineral backbone. Stellar for its price. — 6 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of two days. Consistent throughout, but this really needed air in order to get going. Initially, this was quite wound up and somewhat backward. However, after about an hour in the glass, a real beauty emerged. The 2017 Costa del Salmino Riserva pours a garnet color with a transparent core; medium viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of tart and ripe, mostly red fruit: raspberries, strawberry, Morello cherry, red flowers, red rope, licorice, talcum powder, dried green herbs, new leather and cedar box. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and chock full of savory minerals. I mean…this bordering bone broth levels of savory, lol. My opinion: these need time to show their best. Drink 2027 through 2047. — a month ago

David Lee

9.0

Deep gold, dry with medium body. Ripe pear, lemon with good acidity and spice. Has aged well and stands out at this price point. — 5 months ago

Angelo Casagrande

8.9

Little funk on the nose. Sour cherry, some minerals and a bit of smoke. Little lighter than I expected, some healthy tannin on the back end. Really fine wine for $20 or so. Nice to see Vallana’s around again. — 6 months ago

Matthew Cohen

9.4

Wow.

Nose: a mere hint of Brett. Blows off. Gorgeous pink roses. Intense.

Palate: perfect sweet cherry fruit. Still a bit grippy tannins. Luscious. Terrific.

Fass selections — a month ago

Jack Petras

9.3

2024 vintage. At this moment in time my favorite rose. Bright and balanced. So many bright fruits with a hint of fresh tobacco. Salt and pepper too. — 23 days ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.3

Classic nebbiolo! — 2 months ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

Outstanding. Superb and sweeping aromatics of flowers and mid season cherry and a tiny hint of plum. Gorgeous. Tobacco and florals for days. So juicy, dense and elegant with glorious fruit and juiciness. Intense minerality on the finish and velvety but substantial and perfectly ripe tannins. Long finish. — 6 months ago