Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Deep Ruby with aromas of sweet dried berry fruits and pepper spice. On the palate ripe blackberry, currants and sweet black cherry with complex spice. Well balanced with acidity and alcohol, full-body with soft tannins on long finish. — 10 months ago

Mike Miller

9.2

Dark floral most certainly — 2 years ago

Peter Wassam

9.3

Rutabaga and charcoal and hen of the woods and cherry garcia. Yeah there is a little VA but it’s not intrusive. Maybe more wild than some of their other stuff but still that mountain freshness — 5 years ago

Eric Amsler

9.2

Great, big wine...at Filomena's in DC...with great company! — 6 years ago

hugo lemos

8.9

soft, just a bit acidic, refreshing and so pleasant — 7 years ago

Olivia Lam

9.0

A nice full bodied wine ! — 9 years ago

Nick Duckwiler

8.9

Nebbiolo blended with Merlot. This 2009 is just starting to mature...pubescent wine? Very bright red fruits followed by something smoky and interesting Happy #valentines — 11 years ago

with Julie

Tom Casagrande

9.0

Another big boi from this producer. Obviously uses at least a significant proportion of partially dried grapes. Fairly saturated color. Nose is rather subdued, reluctantly giving up scents of leather, underbrush, crushed rock, and dark cherry underneath all of that non-fruit stuff. In the mouth, it’s big, with initial slightly bitter, extracted notes. Tannic. Dissimilar from straight Valpos in its size and austerity. Dissimilar from Ripasso-style Valpos in that the fruit is not especially ripe or sweetish. It will go well with our stuffed shells in red sauce, but is a little challenging on its own. It occurs to me that this might fit in well in a tasting of 2017s from the left bank in Bordeaux. In other words, very atypical for a Valpo. Still, it’s pretty good, as long as you don’t harbor any expectations of typicity.

UPDATE: two nights later (using a vacuum closure), this has actually improved. Kind of amazing for a Valpo of this age. The fruit has moved closer to front-and-center, and it seem a bit more Calpo-like, though it’s still pretty large-framed. Upping score from 8.8 to 9.0. — 10 months ago

Amier

9.0

Drank w/ Francis and family — 4 years ago

Meghan German

9.1

Dry fruit, peppery, purchased at Astor- we both like — 5 years ago

with Ryan

Jennifer Lamb

9.5

Fruitier than most dry Proseccos with hints of bergamot & other florals. — 7 years ago

with Alan

Matt Waring

9.2

Wonderful acidity, well balanced fruit, a firm finish. This is top shelf Barbera and a real delight. Bravo. — 9 years ago

with Christine

Nena Madonia

9.3

I'm surprised by pro rating because I really enjoyed the wine after waiting it breathe. Great price too — 10 years ago

David Dranit

9.0

Nice tannins. Medium body. — a year ago

Joe Rego

9.1

A great Italian red, made by the same people as Barolo. Shhh, it’s a secret! — 2 years ago

vin vin

9.3

Great ripasso — 4 years ago

Sahil Parikh

9.3

Best chianti, favorite so far. Had with local pizza in poconos but tastes good with any tomato base. — 5 years ago

Nicholas Sutherland

9.3

Blue hill, 2010
— 7 years ago

Lev Lavrichtchev

9.1

Fruit bomb, weak aftertaste — 8 years ago

Logan Hooper

9.5

A robust dash of fruit notes with a dry toasty oak finish. Amazing — 10 years ago