Jay Kline

9.1

Popped and poured; enjoyed with a simple meal of pasta all’arrabbiata and over the course of a few hours. The 2021 pours a deep ruby color with a translucent core; medium viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of Morello cherry, orange bitters, exotic spices, black tea, black licorice, some dried green herbs and gravely earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and lithe in body. I’ve long been a fan of Fèlsina fan and their Chianti Classico and Riserva especially so. When it’s a great vintage like 2021? Back up the truck. These will drink well through 2031 with ease. I can’t wait to try the CCR! — 12 days ago

Daniel Bloom

9.2

N: Like a walk in the woods. In 10 yrs, oh my. Morello cherries, paste( like cherry paste) tree bark and some tar.
P: Really nice puckering tannins, w a braise, would be great. We did Ligurian walnut sauce. Great depth w/o being heavy, some pepper, deep dark red fruits, woody notes. Delish. — 2 years ago

with Sarah

Aaron Tan

9.0

Aced this blind, though I felt the palate weight does lean more towards a Langhe Nebbiolo by convention.
Like the blinded Margaux on the table, the nose led with Morello cherries, but without new oak and more layers such as aromas of dried roses, leather, star anise, and earth. The trademark Nebbiolo tannins and acidity on the palate was what scored the clincher for me. Lighter than expected for the level of tannins, but I felt it was still balanced especially with the mouth-filling mid-palate fruit (mixed berries here). Finishes with spice and fresh acidity. It’s a dangerous drink given how elegant it is at 14.5% abv. Best red of the night!

NB: The 2017 Blue Label Ascheri Barolo was made with a blend of fruits from La Morra, Verduno, and Serralunga. Fermentation was a 50% mix of 15-day batch and 25-day batch with submerged cap. Aging was for 24 months in large Slavonian oak barrels (70% new oak and 30% used) and for 12 months in stainless steel before bottling. It’s interesting to note how little wood character was imparted into the wine using large format barrels, despite the high percentage of new oak. I would imagine that one of the roles of this cuvée at Ascheri is just to season the new barrels for use in the better cuvées. — 2 years ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of two days. Best on Day 2. The 2019 pours a pale garnet color with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of Morello cherries, red roses, tangerine, pomegranate, talcum powder, dried sage, truffle, and dried stony earth. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and savory. A lovely expression of 2019 Barbaresco. Drink now with patience and through 2049. — 2 months ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.1

Vintage 2019 | morello cherries, eucalyptus, mon Cherie chocolate, great balance and a lot of potential. Nice bitters. — 10 months ago

Chris MacLean

9.3

Such a great value. Pretty, medium bodied, fruit forward. Morello cherry with nice earthy balance. Complete, complex, correct. No oak. — 2 years ago

with Sarah

Charles York

9.4

Leather. Tobacco. Morello cherry. Lilac. Mint. Gorgeous. Ready to drink, but better with a 30 min decant. — 3 years ago

Martinez

9.0

75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc. Notes of dark fruit, Morello cherries, tobacco. Fresh and juicy on the palate — 6 months ago

Pinotman /// Andreas

9.8

Tried side by side. Tasting these since 2009. These are now classic wines. The vineyards are very close to the tree line of the western slope of the black forest in Baden. Who knows what these clones are? May be the Cluny Monks brought them up from France. These are world class Grand Cru level Pinots and are stupid underpriced. With age they turn into incredible beauties which easily match GranCru Burghs. Will be a 10 in 5 years from now. The Muschelkalk is always lighter in color ethereal and elegant. Black forest thyme, touch crushed marble, wild sour raspberry, hint of black forest morello cherries, cranberry, Mexican lime, green moos. This needs to uncoil over night to really get the potential of this. Quite acidic. 12.5%. A stellar vintage. And sleeping beauty. I would say not approachable for a novice at this point. Lucky for me my neighbors get it. Revisit in 2031. — 7 months ago

Jason Keefer

9.0

Nice rioja, light tobacco and morello cherry. Probably in its prime right now! — 2 years ago

with Natasha