La Scolca

Bianco Secco Cortese 2020

9.0

Gavi comes from small growing area in northwestern Italy located north of Genoa on steep slopes of Ligurian Apennines. White label is La Scolca’s everyday wine, an alternative to their “Black Label”. From Cortese di Gavi grape (younger vines), pale yellow color with aromas of stone and citrus fruits, extended lees aging. On the palate flavors of apple and lemon, nutty notes, nice mouthfeel. Medium finish, vivid acidity ending with a mineral character. Nice! — 10 days ago

Daniel, Anthony and 1 other liked this

Gianfranco Alessandria

Langhe Nebbiolo 2024

Stephen Fitzpatrick

9.0

Pleasantly surprised by this Nebbiolo; 2024 vintage, so a little young, but immediately hit with robust aromas of cherry, spice, and tobacco, followed by a very subtly light structured taste. Paired exceptionally well with truffle aioli and pulled beef dish. — a day ago

Andrew liked this

La Scolca

Black Label Bianco Secco Gavi Cortese

Alden Ridley

9.1

Pungent aroma at first, almost like a farm. But then it opens into sweeter notes like peach and stone fruits. Finishes with a strong minerality. Enjoyed with a fennel salad and couscous and it paired really well! — a month ago

Vigne Regali (Banfi)

Principessa Gavia Gavi Cortese

Sergio Del Rio

9.5

At John Aisenstat Memorial Scholarship Dinner with Carisa. — 2 months ago

Broglia

La Meirana Gavi Cortese 2023

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Pale lemon color with aromas of stone fruits, citrus and floral notes. On the palate flavors of peach, apple and lemon citrus with lively acidity and blossom notes. Medium+ finish ending with citrus and creamy mineral character. Drink now while it’s fresh. — 10 days ago

Daniel, Anthony and 1 other liked this

Fratelli Alessandria

Monvigliero Barolo Nebbiolo 2017

Joel Lara

9.1

I had high expectations for this wine. Had the 2017 San Lorenzo a few months back, and it was at a really good place, so I was thinking this wine would show well too. Unfortunately, the Monvigliero is really disjointed right now. I decanted for three hours, and after the decant it was closed off. After a lot of air in the glass, it did seem to open a bit. The flavor profile reminded me of the San Lorenzo, with nice dark cherry, spice, and balsamic flavors coming through. It had good depth on the palate with a nice, autumn spice finish. But then the tannin monster decided it wanted to ruin the party. After a while the tannins seemed to completely dominate the palate and finish. Perhaps if it was paired with a more robust dish the tannins would soften a bit? I had it with a traditional bolognese, and the tannins were over the top. I saw glimpses of tastiness, so rating this at a 9.1, and I’m thinking the tannins will soften further in a few years. I left a glass worth in bottle for day 2 to see how it develops. At day 1 though it’s definitely not at a good place. Day 2 update: Had the final glass, which I had kept in the bottle rather than decant. Some interesting new notes of violets and white pepper that I didn’t notice yesterday. After the first few sips all seemed good, except perhaps the wine was somewhat closed. Then the tannins took over, and they started to completely dominate. There were also some mineral/iron notes that seemed to exacerbate the bitter astringency. — a day ago

Jean-Philip, Scott@Mister and 3 others liked this

Jay Kline

Curious why you chose to decant for so long?

Joel Lara

Jay, typically I’ll decant a younger barolo for 2-3 hours. I think it worked for me for several bottles when I first started drinking barolo, and then I started always doing it. I’ve also gotten in in the lazy habit of decanting without even tasting upon opening, which is just bad on me. I wished I had tasted this initially to have a good reference point. How long would you typically decant?

Jay Kline

@Joel Lara Nebbiolo is a strange, wonderful variety that often benefits from air, true. But it can often be a bit of a rollercoaster and I’m always down for the ride! That being said, I usually don’t decant young (between release and 10-15 years past vintage) Barolo and instead, only decant old Barolo, about 1 hour for every decade old. They can often be grumpy and seem past…but they really just need to wake up stretch their legs. All of that being said, I try and make a habit of trying everything first to assess the condition. If it’s singing right after pulling the cork, I won’t decant and instead, serve right away or just put the cork back in and wait for dinner or whatever later in the day.