1997 Marchesi de Frescobaldi Brunello di Montalcino Castelgiocondo – Sangiovese grape
Dark ruby-garnet. Decadent aromas of blackberry, mushroom and grilled meat. Hints of dried candied fruit. Full and supersilky, with seductive, opulent fruit character. It’s so long and caressing. A thoroughly gorgeous bottle. Rated 97 Wine Spectator
2004 Fattoria La Lecciaia Brunello di Montalcino – Sangiovese grape
Plush aromas of black cherry and blackberry. Full-bodied, with soft, silky tannins and a long, delicious finish. There’s fresh acidity and lots of subtle flavor on the finish. Still needs a little time to open. Best after 2010. Rated 93 Wine Spectator
The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino offers up dark red fruit, flowers and spices in a soft, accessible style. This medium-bodied Brunello flows with beautiful length and ripe, finessed tannins. Clean, mineral notes frame the wine nicely. Rated 90 Wine Advocate
2006 Colle Dei Venti Barbaresco Tufo Blu – Nebbiolo grape
“Clean and precise aromas of strawberry and blackberry follow through to a full body. Builds on the palate, with cool berry fruit character and chewy tannins.”Rated 90 Wine Spectator
2006 Produttori Barbaresco Torre – Nebbiolo grape
“The 2006 Barbaresco is a gorgeous, generous Barbaresco loaded with ripe dark fruit. This is an especially harmonious, refined Barbaresco from the Produttori that is also somewhat unusual for its dark, brooding personality. Licorice, leather and tar linger on the powerful finish. Today the wine is remarkable for its depth and concentration, while the aromatic complexity will develop in bottle. If the regular Barbaresco holds this much power, I can only wonder what the Riservas might have in store. Simply put, this is a marvelous effort.” Rated 92 The Wine Advocate
2004 Colle Dei Venti Barolo – Nebbiolo grape
“This offers very, very ripe fruit on the nose, with meat, light raisin and dried flowers. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins and a persistent finish. A little hollow midpalate. Best after 2010.” Rated 89 Wine Spectator
2004 Brovia Barolo Piedmont – Nebbiolo grape
The 2004 Barolo opens with a spiced, floral nose followed by sensations of small red fruits. This medium-bodied wine offers excellent length and tons of style in a fairly approachable package for this bottling. The tannins are unusually refined here as well. The Barolo is made from a combination of the estate’s vineyards (typically younger vines averaging 15-25 years of age) plus the wine that is leftover after the French oak casks used for the single-vineyard wines are filled. The juice is approximately equal parts Castiglione Falletto and Serralunga, and is aged in Slavonian oak. Rated 89 The Wine Advocate