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WINE REVIEWS & RATINGS
1995 Carpineto Farnito Toscana IGT $$$$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Dark berries, tobacco, earth
Taste: Big wine with tobacco, cherries, plum, and spices
Finish: Long and intense. Super complex wine
Evaluation: Wish I had another bottle 94 points
1998 Massolino Vigna Rionda Riserva Barolo $$$$$
Color: Dark Purple
Nose: Spice, oak, vanilla
Taste: Sice, truffles, vanilla, oak, red pepper and well integrated tannins
Finish: Long and really big wine
Evaluation: Drinking really well now. 94 points
1999 Altesino Brunello di Monalcino $$$$
Color: Purple
Nose: Little musty, earth, tobacco
Taste: Tobacco, tannic, needs to open (cellar)
Finish: Medium with earth, tannic and powerful
Evaluation: Should cellar for optimum results. Currently 90 points
2000 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo $$$$$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Big with forest floor, leather, oak, vanilla, and spice
Taste: Nice smooth wine for this little age with forest floor, spices, smooth tannic quality, leather, minerals, mushrooms, and truffles
Finish: Long and intense.
Evaluation: Served at a client event! What a great wine. 94 points
2000 Castello di Spessa Collio (Bordeaux Blend) Conte di Spessa $$$
Color: Purple
Nose: Barnyard, earth
Taste: Earth, sour cherry spice
Finish: Terroir driven wines with barnyard, earth and spices
Evaluation: Should cellar for a few more years 89 points Excelsior Vintage
2000 Marziano & Enrico Abbona Pressenda Barolo (Piedmont) $$$$$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Mushrooms, vanilla
Taste: Truffles, oak, vanilla, floral, good acidity
Finish: Long and very smooth tannins with floral, truffles, oak, vanilla. A complex wine!
Evaluation: A great example of a Barolo with age. This will cellar well for another 10 years. 93 points
2001 Ars Poetica Aglianico del Vulture Riserva Red Wine $$$$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Leather, spice, mushroom
Taste: Spice, red peppers, dirt
Finish: Short and watered down
Evaluation: Not much on the finish 82 points
2001 Avignonesi Desiderio Merlot
Color: Extremely dark
Nose: Espresso and menthol hints
Taste: Rich jumped out at first. It has a little gritty side to it and should age beautifully. It had nice earth tones, espresso and subtle fruit.
Finish: Over 3 minutes of pure joy.
Evaluation: The best merlot I have had to date! A steal for around $45. 95 points
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2001 Campogiovanni Brunello di Montalcino $$$$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Truffles, mushrooms, mineral, oak, spices
Taste: More earth tones then fruit
Finish: Long with intense components
Evaluation: A favorite at client events. 93 points
2001 Castello di Querceto Chianti Classico Riserva $$$
Color: Medium red
Nose: Earth, mild spice
Taste: Spice, leather, earth
Finish: Short with leather and earth
Evaluation: 84 points
2001 Fattoria La Fiorita Riserva Brunello di Montalcino (Tuscany) $$$$$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Floral, spices, earth
Taste: Smooth wine with floral, spice, earth, mushrooms
Finish: Long and Intense. A wow wine that is balanced.
Evaluation: A wine that represents what a Brunello should taste like. 95 points
2001 Montevetrano Colli di Salerno (Campania) $$$$
Color: Light purple
Nose: Spice, cinnamon, little funk
Taste: Spice, red currants, mushroom
Finish: Nice acidity, mushrooms, currants and smooth tannins
Evaluation: This is a solid wine without the over the top tannins that some 01s' are showing. 90 points
2001 Palazzo Brunello di Montalcino $$$$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Fine tannins, earth, blueberry
Taste: Blueberries and fine tannins
Finish: A fruit intermixed with earth tones on this medium finish. Fine tannins.
Evaluation: Brunello's are a food wine and this one is drinking well now. 89 points Aurora Wines
2001 Pio Cesare Barolo $$$$
Color: Medium Purple
Nose: Crisp oak, cherry, vanilla, plum
Taste: Cherry, toasted oak, vanilla, and chewy
Finish: Medium with oak, cherry, vanilla, and earth. Tannins are intense so I would cellar for 5 years to be rewarded.
Evaluation: A great wine but Barolo's need time to soften. 92 points currently
2002 La Fiorita Castelnvovo Brunello Di Montalcino $$$$
Color: Medium red
Nose: Musty with oak, spice, floral
Taste: Musty with vanilla, floral, oak
Finish: Not up to Brunello standards
Evaluation: Not a great example of Brunello 85 points
2002 Villadoria Barolo $$$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Earth, plum, fresh fruit
Taste: Very drinkable without heavy tannins. This wine features a nice mix of earth, spice and berries
Finish: Medium to long with spice, earth, and berries
Evaluation: A Barolo that is ready to drink. 90 points Aurora Wines
2003 Arceno PrimaVoce Toscana $$
Color: Red
Nose: Fruit
Taste: Mineral, spice
Finish: Very short with a touch of spice
Evaluation: 80 points
2003 Cecchi Colli Senesi Arcano Chianti $$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Floral, leather, fruit
Taste: Gritty, with floral, earth, medium tannins, little acidic
Finish: Medium with floral, earth, and medium tannins
Evaluation: A simple everyday wine. 83 points
2003 Rengo Amarone della Valpolicello $$$
Color: Purple
Nose: Floral, earth
Taste: Intense with spice, floral, and earth tones
Finish: Very intense with spice, floral, and earth
Evaluation: Well made wine. Not for the weak. 90 points Excelsior Vintage
2003 Ruffino Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Riserva $$$
Color: Medium
Nose: Spice, oak, plums
Taste: Floral, oak, plums
Finish: Medium and flavorful
Evaluation: Solid wine 87 points
2003 Selva del Moro Chianti $$
Color: Red
Nose: Earth
Taste: Thick wine with earth tones
Finish: Short with earth
Evaluation: One dimensional wine without anything exciting. 81 points
2003 Aurelio Settimo Rocche Barolo $$$$
Color: Light ruby
Nose: Spice, sour cherry, oak, Asian spice
Taste: Bitter and medium tannins with oak, cherry, strawberries, smoke!
Finish: Medium and powerful. This is a great value Barolo from a good Vintage
Evaluation: 92 points
2004 Fattoria di Basciano Colli della Toscana Centrale I Pini $$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Floral, spice, high octane
Taste: Spice, earth, floral, powerful
Finish: Spice, floral on this medium finish
Evaluation: A very nice value on a Super Tuscan 88 points
2004 San Michele Barbera D'Alba (Piedmont) $$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Plum, blackberry, mineral
Taste: Good acidity and balance
Finish: Medium with nice fruits showing
Evaluation: Solid Barbera 88 points
2004 Fattoria di Gracciano Svetoni Vino Nobile di Montepulciano TorCalvano $$$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Cherry, plum, game
Taste: Smooth wine with nice fruit and a touch of leather
Finish: Medium and pleasing
Evaluation: Well made wine 88 points
2004 Josetta Saffirio Langhe Nebbiolo $$$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Fruit, earth, rustic smell
Taste: Medium tannins, spice, floral, vanilla, oak
Finish: Medium with floral, spice oak, vanilla
Evaluation: A DOCG Italian wine that will go great with a big red sauce pasta dish. Another great selection from my friend Talyor at Hennepin Lake. 90 points Hennepin Lake
2004 La Ca Nova Barbera d' Alba $$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Fruit, spice
Taste: Spice, currant
Finish: Multi layered, spice and earth
Evaluation: Solid overall 87 points
2004 La Ca Nova Nebbiolo $$
Color: Dark
Nose: Tannic, musty, earth
Taste: Musty, earth tones, hint of spice, little tannic
Finish: Long, earth, tannic, spice
Evaluation: This style of wine (Nebbiolo grape) requires a meal of game or hearty pasta to balance out the tannins. These are age worthy wines and I encourage you to try one and pair it with the right meal to see if this grape is for you. Well made but don’t drink alone. 88 points
2004 Villadoria d’Alba Nebbiolo $$
Color: Medium red
Nose: Oak, fruit,
Taste: Spice, burst of fruit, dirty/dusty earth
Finish: Mellow finish with spice and earth
Evaluation: The Nebbiolo grape goes well with food. Don’t drink this solo. 85 point
2004 Vitiano Falesco $$
Color: dark ruby
Nose: Violets but no noticeable fruit
Taste: A tannic taste with no distinct tastes emerging.
Finish: Short
Evaluation: A poorly made wine. 70 points
2005 Angelo Sassi Dolcetto $$
Color: Light
Nose: Floral, cranberries
Taste: Floral, cranberries
Finish: Light
Evaluation: A light red 83 points
2005 Cecchi Chianti Classico $$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Spice, mineral, oak
Taste: Smooth overall with plum, mineral, oak, vanilla
Finish: Medium with spice, plum, mineral, cherry
Evaluation: A great value Chianti. 88 points
2005 Cantele Primitivo Salento Puglia Region $
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Tobacco, plum, cherry
Taste: Earth, tobacco, plum
Finish: Medium
Evaluation: Simple sipping wine 84 points
2005 Ertae China Rosso Di Toscana $$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Black fruits and spice dominate
Taste: Black fruit, spice, and oak
Finish: Medium.
Evaluation: Good value 85 points
2005 Fattoria di Felsina Castelnuovo Berardenga Chianti Classico $$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Strawberry, spice,
Taste: Nice acidity with violets, spice, crushed rock
Finish: Medium and intense
Evaluation: One of the best producers from Chianti 89 points
2005 Ca'Marcanda Promis Toscana Super Tuscan $$$$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Meat, plum, earth
Taste: Smooth overall but nothing over the top
Finish: Medium and medium tannins
Evaluation: Over priced 87 points
2005 Poggio il Castellare Rosso di Montalcino $$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Earth, oak, floral
Taste: Earth, oak, floral, spice
Finish: Medium
Evalution: Solid wine 87 points
2006 Cecchi Sangiovese Toscana $
Color: Medium ruby
Nose: Earth, spice, plum
Taste: Simple wine with earth, spice, and some fruit
Finish: Medium
Evaluation: Good pasta wine 85 points
2006 Di Majo Norante Terre Degli Osci Sangiovese $
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Violets, cherry, mushrooms
Taste: Spices, violets, sweet fruits
Finish: A touch of sweetness with violets, spices, and cranberries
Evaluation: Solid effort for $10 87 points
2006 Fontanafredda Briccotondo Piemonte Barbera $
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Floral, cherry, spice, on a very impressive nose
Taste: Cherry, spice, floral, oak, vanilla, a little tannic
Finish: Medium and complex wine
Evaluation: Very tasty introduction to Piemonte wines. 90 points
2006 Tommasi "Rafael" Valpolicella $$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Spice, violets, plum
Taste: Spice, violets, plum, cinnamon
Finish: Medium and quite balanced
Evaluation: Try this Valpolicella today! 90 points
2007 Fontanafredda Briccotondo Barbara $$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Plum, blackberries, smoke, earth
Taste: Solid with concentrated fruits, smoke, and mineral
Finish: Medium and complex wine with nice acidity
Evaluation: One of Italy's best wines for under $15 91 points