Fruity, tart, acidic and smooth. Nice summer sipper! — a year ago
2015 vintage. This is the top wine of this small 8 hectares estate, named after the 18th century Irish priest owner. A blend of Merlot (40%), Cabernet Franc (35%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (25%). Not for label drinkers since it is a humble Bordeaux Supérieur, but punching well above its weight. Refined and classy, this is all about subtlety. This medium-bodied elegant wine is in a very good place now, but should age well. Nice long fresh minty finish. Very good value at 15 euros. — 4 years ago
Naples .. for Larry’s Birthday — a year ago
Love the story: vineyard of the parish priest in Piedmont. Forced to sell by the Catholic Church.
Beautiful note, reminds me a little of Nebbiolo: perfume, recipe red fruit, just wants you to put your nose in the glass. Little heavier on the palate with noticeable acidity and some tannins. — 4 years ago
The 2016 “Don Fiorino” Riserva is a very special bottling from Produttori. So special in fact, that I can only recall them making a similar Riserva on two other occasions in their history: 1990 and 2008. When the vintage is strong, Produttori will bottle single-cru Riservas from 9 specific MGA’s within the cooperative. However, in 2016 the vintage was deemed to be so remarkable that they made a Riserva blend. Included in this blend are the 9 typical MGA’s along with grapes from some other, important MGA’s that are never bottled on their own (I believe Cottà and Faset are two of them). To commemorate the occasion, the wine was named after the priest, Don Fiorino Marengo who founded the Produttori in 1958. This is a wine fitting to such a legacy. Imagine the 2016 Produttori classico cranked up to 11. That’s about what we’ve got.
Popped and poured, enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2016 “Don Fiorino” pours a deep garnet color with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the palate, the wine is developing with powerful notes of tart and ripe dark fruits: black cherry, pomegranate molasses, red flowers, talcum powder, sage and gravelly earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with low-key high tannin and zippy, medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is remarkably long and juicy. So juicy in fact that it seems to mask the tannins but they are definitely there. The density is unreal. I expect this wine to live forever. Drink now with patience to appreciate its precocious youth (and because the 2016 vintage is so damned giving) but I expect this to be even better after 2031 and then remarkable through 2066. Thanks to @Lyle Fass for the assist. — 6 months ago
Aerin Anbinder
Gorgeous color, long legs. Medium body, dry finish that backs off when decanted. — 3 months ago