Riserva Bramaterra Nebbiolo Blend

One of the good bottles, and a beautiful reminder of why old Alto Piemonte is magic. Gorgeous mature nose of moss, seaweed, red roses, desiccated cherry, loam, chestnut, dried leaves and bark, with that old Nebbiolo road-tar thing hovering underneath. Palate still has real charge and life, with surprisingly youthful fruit, juicy cherry on the finish, and big 1989 structure, but the tannins are integrated and carrying the wine beautifully. Not refined like great Barolo or Barbaresco, but soulful, wild, alive, and deeply compelling. With air, the wine is getting more integrated and more beautiful. The nose has moved into that old Nebbiolo caramelized/seared register, with the desiccated cherry, roses, loam, moss, bark and chestnut now feeling deeper and more fused. The palate is gaining finesse, but this is not polished or refined in a Barolo/Barbaresco way. It is old Alto Piemonte: high-acid 1989 structure, big but integrated tannins, gorgeous fruit, and that wild, soulful mountain Nebbiolo charge still running through it. Still 9.4, maybe nudging higher if it keeps knitting together.

Last of my bottles & a bit sad to see it go- these were soulful wines, demanding not just in managing & extracting their corks but in leaning in to taste what they have to say. After a double decant & cheesecloth/strainer, tasted over 2 days, using a half bottle for day 2. What I loved was the wholeness & evocativeness of the wine, with all the parts having melded; fairly closed on nose but by day 2 old forest floor, rose hips, & black tea leaves; on palate all that & rose petals, dried cherries. The drinking window is closing as previous Delectable users have noted, but what a cool sunset.

1989 | Red Blend
(60% Nebbiolo / 20% Croatina / 10% Vespolina / 10% Uva Rara)
Tenuta Monolo (Umberto Gilodi); Riserva Piedmont; Bramaterra, Italy
(90-92; Drink 2014-2024)

Now we’re talking—the acid hound’s (me) question answered of how much air/ decant does an ‘89 wine need? A lot, as in multiple hours. When the unfurling begins, this is a quiet, contemplative Nebbiolo blend with those rose petal & violet notes vibrating but at a lower ebb, like a star. It’s a very pretty star too, but you really need a dark sky to truly appreciate it. All kinds of tertiary things going on in background too (?), like dried porcini & beef jerky. Tasted over 5 days, with a half bottle used to store it.

Corked. What a pity.

Best bottle yet

Was worried for a sec but ultimately a solid showing

Roses, bright red cherry fruit, leather, earth, high acid, well preserved 😘

Just a wonderful alto Piemonte with great age. Lots of sediment, needs a decant for that but not in general. Nose really leaps from the glass. Great acid and some very nice secondary fruit on the red end of the spectrum. Very long finish with just a hint of that slight menthol refreshing note. No need to wait on this.

Really lovely and amazingly fresh, while still showing all the complexity that comes with maturity.