Joel Lara

8.7

Really concentrated fruit, mainly pomegranate and cherry, with notes of white pepper and anise. Would be a lovely weeknight wine to have with pizza or pasta. Great acidity with light tannins on the uncomplicated finish. I liked this better the day after opening, as the fruits became a touch more subdued. A phenomenal wine for this price point (<$20). — 3 days ago

Joel Lara

9.4

This is an intense, full-bodied wine. A striking minerality with scents of cherry on the nose. On the palette, the rich cherry flavor comes through with beautiful violet tones melding together harmoniously with a ferrous-driven minerality. The finish is long with the violet and cherry flavors making way for iron notes and strong tannins, which are almost too strident on the finish. I see the tasting window starting in 2017 or 2018. I decanted most of the bottle for two hours while leaving a serving in bottle for the second day. These notes are based on second day. Tannins were smoother second day, although still quite strong. I had the 2016 in the fall, and it had more complexity with softer tannins on the finish. — 22 days ago

Joel Lara

9.4

Decanted this for an hour and a half and reserved a glass in the bottle for the second day. These notes are based on the second day, as the flavors seemed to shine through a bit more. On the nose, aromas of blackberry and leather, although had to do quite a bit of swirling to get the aromas to come through. On the palette , beautifully deep flavors of blackberry and black currant coming through, with hints of graphite and cocoa in the background. Tannins seems pretty well integrated with good acidity, although definitely some grip on the finish. Cocoa seems to come through a bit more on the finish as well. Overall really tasty, but seems to be closing down a bit for sure. I have one more bottle, so looking forward to seeing how this tastes in 5-10 years time. — 3 months ago

Joel Lara

9.4

This is showing beautifully right now, with a beguiling blend of orange peel, cassis, and anise aromas that carry over to the palette, where black cherries, balsamic notes, and a delicate mix of earthy autumnal spices provide a sensuous background. Soft mouthfeel with fine tannins that peek out a bit on the long finish, where the spiced citrus seems to last forever. Paired perfectly with pan-roasted wild mushrooms and dry-aged ribeye. — 8 days ago

Joel Lara

9.5

Decanted for a couple hours. This paired wonderfully with duck cassoulet. On the nose, scents of black cherry and currants with some earthiness in the background. Full bodied but fairly smooth mouth feel. On the palette, really sumptuous dark fruits come through along with mineral notes, and some clove, pepper and cocoa come through as well. Tannins are fairly well integrated with just enough acidity to provide balance, although the tannins do come through with some astringency on the finish. I could drink this on its own, but of course this went really well with the lamb and duck in the cassoulet. I would love to have this with a dry aged ribeye. I may have to find a couple more bottles to see its evolution. — a month ago

Joel Lara

9.3

This is a full-bodied barolo with grippy tannins and good acidity. On the palette, effusive flavors of cherry and roasted strawberries with cloves and anise come through nicely, with underlying white pepper, leather and savory notes. The tannin and non-fruit flavors seem to dominate the finish. Overall, flavors may have mellowed a tiny bit compared to when I had this in 2023, but still tasty. I’m noticing the white pepper and savory notes more now, but that may be just due to more experience tasting nebbiolo. — 3 months ago

Joel Lara

8.9

This is a pleasant nebbiolo that I see pairing well with a lot of pasta dishes. Overall, this wine has very scrumptious red fruit flavors with settled tannins that balance the fresh acidity really well. It’s a translucent, pale red that’s medium bodied with scents of cherry, rose, and leather. Primarily it’s the cherry that comes through on the palette. The fine grained tannins transition to black tea notes and cherry on the finish. The fruit on the finish quickly disappears. — 8 days ago

Joel Lara

9.4

Popped and poured. The mouthfeel had rich, creamy lusciousness with gentle acidity. Baked apple with warm, autumn spices flooded the palette. Also had an underlying minerality that provided nice backbone. Long, fine finish. This was absolutely scrumptious. — 2 months ago

Joel Lara

9.4

Popped and poured for Thanksgiving dinner. No V.A detected on nose or palette. Had with non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner of duck cassoulet, and it was a wonderful pairing. Lovely initial cherry notes on the palette followed with anise, woodsy herbs, and hints of leather with nice and smooth mouth feel. Tannins are well-integrated. Finish was long and beautiful. — 2 months ago

Joel Lara

9.6

Really stellar. Decanted for an hour and a half. Sandalwood and spice on the nose. Nice smooth mouthfeel with beautifully complex flavors of cherry, sandalwood, and some nice fall spices and woodsy herbs coming through on the palette. After some time in the glass, additional hints of crushed roses started to peep through. Just absolutely lovely now and went so well with braised short ribs, parmesan polenta, and wild mushrooms. The tannins are still bringing some astringency through into the finish though. I can see this being spectacular down the road once the tannins smooth out more, but this is at a good place right now. — 3 months ago