2001 Northern & Central Italian Horizontal

“(published under Verbena labelling) Burnt coffee, black tar, cherry cola, almond paste, stewed strawberries and a note of rubber create a dramatic, slightly over-the-top Brunello. There’s a viscous fullness to the mouth that makes a good match for the wine’s fruity, clean finish.” (04/2006)

“This cuvée is showing a tad more new oak now than it did back when Giacomo was still alive. His daughter is still making one of the most complex and classy examples of Barbera to be found, but the wine is a bit more polished as a result of the wood. The bouquet on the 2001 is excellent (particularly after twenty minutes or so in decanter), as it offers up a lovely mélange of red cherries, woodsmoke, a bit of nuttiness, gamebirds, coffee, a lovely base of soil and a touch of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, focused and tangy, with excellent mid-palate depth, bright acids, modest tannins, and excellent length and grip on the soil-driven finish. A lovely bottle that is just now beginning to hit its apogee.” (02/2007)

“The 2001 Barbera d’Asti Bricco dell’Uccellone, a dark and intense ruby, offers lovely aromas of jammy fruit, tar, and chocolate and soft, round, deep flavors of ripe black fruit and spicy oak. (DT)” (10/2003)