Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of three days. Best on Day 1 and 2. The 2017 Inferno, Fiamme Antiche pours a deep garnet color with a transparent core; medium viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe and tart fruit: Morello cherry, roses, espresso, leather, alpine herbs and granitic earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. Elegant and ever so lovely. Drink now through 2037. Only 6,206 bottles produced. — 4 months ago
This is the 2013 Ar.Pe.Pe Valtellina Superiore Sassella Riserva ‘Nuova Regina’. It’s 100% Chiavennasca and aged 39 months in cask.
It is PALE ruby in color with pronounced aromas and flavors of red and black cherry, bright raspberry, mulberry, pomegranate, purple fig, stewed strawberry rhubarb, rose, potpourri, black licorice, black tea, anise seed, fennel, tri-colored peppercorns, peat, vanilla, cardamom, nutmeg, forest floor, and mushroom.
On the palate, this wine is dry, w/ medium (+) acidity, a medium body, medium alcohol (13% ABV), & medium (+) tannins that are smooth and velveteen; it has a lingering finish.
It’s an outstanding wine, incredibly fresh now with runway to age & gain complexity in the bottle. — 8 months ago

This is a large-auditorium college intro class in Valtellina Nebbiolo. (In contrast to a graduate seminar led by Professor Marsetti or Professor Ar.Pe.Pe.) Loads of dried cherry fruit and winey old barrel scents on the nose. A bit of faded rose petals and stone. The light color looks fairly advanced. The palate is openly fruited initially, but has a bit of a tannic clench at the end. So the balance to be struck is drinking while the fruit is so nice but waiting to see if the tannins drop and soften. Not a long term project. Enjoy over the next few years would be my take, but I tend to favor things on the younger side. — 3 days ago


Quite light garnet , wide terracotta rim . Quite a lot of smoky sous bois, with some light red fruits, sweet dry spices , touch of hickory . On the palate this is pretty evolved and has started to dry out slightly , with some some sweet red currant , dried spices, salty acidity and resolved tannin . Ok , slate tinged finish . Drink now , and probably would have been better a few years ago . — 6 months ago
Amazingly tight for a 16-year old wine. The acids are smell-able on the nose, zinging along tart, macerated wild cherry fruit and glacier-crushed rock fragments. (OK, maybe I’m making up the part about how the crushed rocks were created.) In the mouth it’s deep but the acids rip this along on the palate like a whitewater canoe ride. Really really unique and good. — 7 months ago

romo
Felt a bit tired. Some drive in finish but lacking energy. — 8 days ago