Italy

Rating

93

Release Price

$45

Drink Date

1997 - 2010

Reviewed by

Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Issue Date

28th Apr 1995

Source

98, The Wine Advocate

The 1990 Sammarco may prove to be a worthy rival to the glorious 1985. The saturated ruby/purple/garnet color is followed by an intense yet youthful fragrance of ripe black fruits, vanillin, and minerals. Full-bodied, rich, beautifully delineated and structured, it possesses considerable body, tannin, and extract. Although accessible, it is extremely young and ideally should have another 2-4 years of cellaring. It should age well for 15+ years. As I have said many times, Sammarco always reminds me of a top Graves, because of the tobacco/mineral component it often displays. This outstanding Tuscan producer has been exceptionally consistent over the last decade, so it is not surprising that the 1990s performed brilliantly. Importer: Vias Imports, New York, NY; Tel. (212) 629-0200

Rating

87

Release Price

$65

Drink Date

1999 - 2010

Reviewed by

Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Issue Date

30th Oct 1998

Source

119, The Wine Advocate

The dark ruby/purple-colored 1994 Sammarco, a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Sangiovese, reveals aromas of lead pencil, charred leather, black cherries, and toasty oak. With moderately high tannin, and a more angular, austere personality than is generally found in Sammarco, this very good to excellent effort will benefit from 1-2 years of cellaring. It should keep for 12 or more years.  

Much the same can be said about the 2000 Solaia, another wine with plenty of near and medium-term appeal, but less potential for aging.

-- Antonio Galloni 91 Antonio Galloni 2013 - 2018 Not Available Dec 2013

Rating

90

Release Price

$110

Drink Date

2005 - 2018

Reviewed by

Daniel Thomases

Issue Date

26th Apr 2004

Source

152, The Wine Advocate

The 2000 Solaia, not unexpectedly, is the best wine of the series with expansive aromas of black currants, thyme, and sage, much eucalyptus and chocolate on the palate along with ripe, sweet fruit, and a sizeable finish. Drink: 2005-2018. Are we dealing with a half-full or a half-empty glass here? Hard to say, but the competition among the bigger houses is getting tougher in Tuscany, and Antinori may have to look at its quantities in less favorable vintages. It is not clear, for instance, that the right stuff for over one hundred thousand bottles of Guado al Tasso was available in 2000. 

The 2000 Sorì San Lorenzo is another of the standouts of the vintage. It remains quite youthful, with notable energy in its dark, brooding fruit and considerable tannin. Despite its sheer power, the 2000 isn't as explosive as it can be. Still, there is little doubt the 2000 Sorì San Lorenzo has the stuffing to age well for many years to come.

-- Antonio Galloni 96 Antonio Galloni 2015 - 2030 Not Available Jun 2011

Rating

87

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

2017 - 2022

Reviewed by

 Monica Larner

Issue Date

28th Apr 2017

Source

230, The Wine Advocate

Compared to the 2002 vintage that seems serendipitously suspended in time, the 2001 Bolgheri Sassicaia is in a more significant downward decline. The 2002 vintage was widely-panned. Back in the day, the 2001 vintage was given a full five stars for excellence. Despite the accolades, this wine does not have much life to give. The bouquet shows aromas of cured meat, petrol, smoke, dried herb and dusty earth. The primary aromas have left the building. The mouthfeel is dry and quickly flat-lining.

Rating

93

Release Price

$60

Drink Date

2012 - 2024

Reviewed by

Antonio Galloni

Issue Date

2nd May 2011

Source

194, The Wine Advocate

The 2006 Brunello di Montalcino is fabulous in this vintage. Waves of dark fruit caress the palate as this juicy, delicious wine reveals its considerable charms. The fruit shows lovely weight and richness while maintaining an essentially mid-weight personality. Sweet scents of French oak linger on the round, caressing, impeccable finish. This is an excellent choice for drinking now and over the next decade-plus. The harvest took place from the 2nd to the 5th of October. The wine spent 24 days on the skins, after which it was racked into cask, where it spent 45 months prior to being bottled. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2024.  

Good deep red. Captivating aromas of red fruits and woodsy underbrush; a real essence of nebbiolo. Then silky and suave, combining compelling sweetness of raspberry and strawberry fruit and an impression of sheer size and structure that reminds me of Barolo. Wonderfully fine-grained wine with a sweet, rising finish that perfumes the mouth. Incidentally, Gaja indicated a slight preference for the Sori Tildin in 2006.

-- Stephen Tanzer 95 Stephen Tanzer Not Available Nov 2009

Rating

92

Release Price

$60

Drink Date

2009 - 2022

Reviewed by

Antonio Galloni

Issue Date

31st Aug 2009

Source

184, The Wine Advocate

The just-bottled 2007 Le Serre Nuove opens with sweet scents of mocha, berries, spices and flowers that lead to a soft, seamless expression of fruit. This is an accessible, silky-textured Serre Nuove to enjoy while the 2006 rests in the cellar. It is an unusually harmonious, refined wine that is sure to deliver much pleasure over the coming years. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2022. 

Antinori's 2007 Tignanello is wonderfully ripe and seductive in its dark cherries, flowers, spices, tobacco, sage, cedar, mint and minerals. This is as opulent a Tignanello as I have ever tasted but there is just enough acidity and structure from the Sangiovese to keep things from going over the top. The wine's richness and warmth are such that in a blind tasting I mistook the 2007 Tignanello for a wine from Maremma! The dense, muscular fruit follows through to an impeccable finish with no hard edges and impossibly fine, silky tannins. Simply put, the 2007 is a magnificent Tignanello. The 2007 Tignanello is 80% Sangiovese aged in 300-liter French oak barrels (1/3 new), 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc, both aged in 100% new 225-liter French oak barriques.

The 2008 Masseto is another huge wine. It boasts tons of energy in a tense, inward style I can only describe as implosive, as if the wine is holding back all of its energy. A deep core of black fruit, grilled herbs, licorice and new leather emerges from time to time, but the tannins are still imposing. There is no shortage of pedigree. I fully expect the 2008 to develop into one of the great Massetos. Needless to say, it will be interesting to taste the 2008 in vertical tastings in the future.

Bartolo Mascarello fans will want to stock up on the 2009 Barolo, a great choice for indulging in pure pleasure while vintages like 2006, 2008 and 2010 take their time to develop in bottle. Dried rose petals, fennel, anise, sweet tobacco and mint are all very much alive in the glass. The 2009 is ethereal, graceful and utterly beguiling from the very first taste. I expect the 2009 will mature relatively quickly by the estate's standards, but there is more positive to that than negative.

The 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Collezione De Marchi is magnificent. Violets, smoke, plums and cassis jump from the glass in a stunning wine. All I can say is the 2010 is incredible. Just bottled one month ago, the 2010 shows no hard edges, incredibly expressive aromatics and beautifully delineated fruit. The 2010 isn’t a huge wine, but rather one built on exceptional finesse and elegance. It is one of the great wines of what has turned out to be a great Tuscan vintage.

Rating

99+

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

2018 - 2045

Reviewed by

Monica Larner

Issue Date

4th Mar 2016

Source

223, The Wine Advocate

This is a towering achievement. It is delightful on every level. The 2010 Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto is an expressive, exuberant and stunning wine that opens to a dark ruby color and rich consistency. The bouquet is never-ending with immediate intensity that is followed closely by finely-tuned aromas of black cherry, spice, grilled herb, clove, tobacco, wet earth and white truffle. A gorgeous display of elegant mineral tones rises from the bouquet with time. Later, those aromas turn to cola, licorice and tar. This wine showed an impressive evolution over the 24 hours I tasted it and delivered solid improvements each time. The mouthfeel is silky and smooth, and there's enough power here to move the wine over the palate in seamless fashion. This is a bottle for the back of your cellar.

Kirsch, rose petal, pomegranate, exotic spices and mint are woven together in a fabric of notable class in the 2011 Tignanello. An exotic wine that captures the essence of the year, the 2011 is endowed with magnificent complexity, nuance and class. The silky, polished finish makes the 2011 incredibly appealing today, but the wines from this site have always aged very well. The 2011 is going to need time to shed some of its baby fat, but it will always remain extroverted and racy to the core. I can't wait to see how the 2011 ages.

Rating

94

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

2017 - 2035

Reviewed by

Monica Larner

Issue Date

29th Jun 2015

Source

219, The Wine Advocate

The 2011 Langhe Nebbiolo Conteisa is an irresistible wine with enormous depth, beauty and penetration. It sweeps over the palate in opulent waves with dark fruit, spice, leather and grilled herbs. It also shows a distinct balsam personality with cola and dried violets that give the wine a beautiful sense of aromatic lift and buoyancy. Langhe Conteisa is made with Nebbiolo (and a tiny part Barbera) from the Cerequio vineyard in La Morra. The 2011 vintage is slightly broader than past vintages, but this wine promises a long drinking evolution regardless.

MONICA LARNER: 92

The 2012 Bolgheri Le Serre Nuove is a voluptuous and generous wine that bursts forth with wild-cherry aromas, blackberry, crème de cassis, oak spice and smoke. The blend of grapes this year is 52% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc and 12% Petit Verdot. It awards pleasure and smoothness, thanks to its plump tannins and ripe fruit overtones. Le Serre Nuove shows the acidity and structure for ten years or more of cellar aging. eRobertParker.com.October, 2014