From the Cellar

My Banfi Weekend - May 2021

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Category: Uncorked Tonight

Tasted May 2021

Spied two bottles of Banfi wines in my cellar, one a little higher end than the other. Tried both bottles on two separate days - these were my findings...

Banfi 2013 ASKA
Smells dusty and dried with notes of cassis and cedar, plus smoky, coffee and a little chicory. On the palate things move quick with notes of spiced-black cherry coming to the fore as it opens, then other dark fruits, and other complimentary notes, emerge: cassis, mocha, black cherry, blueberry, licorice, cedar, smoky - it just keeps on giving ... good wine to drink now - It takes some time to open and it peeks around the hour and a half mark, before slowly sliding into more tertiary flavours.

Banfi 2016 Poggio Alle Mura Rosso di Montalcino
Rich exciting wine with good acidity, plus coffee, cassis, vanilla, cedar and anise along with balsamic, blueberry, and smoke layers, all with a long finish. There is a spicy / acidity interplay here at about the hour and a half mark- but this wine proves to be silky smooth, but also maintains a spice edge with good acidity - there's also some mocha, blackberry, black cherry and cassis on the lingering finish.

A Couple of High End Wines

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Category: Uncorked Tonight

Tasted April 2021

Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet 2015 Meursault 1er Cru Les Poruzots
Tasted this with two Chardonnay fans and boy was this a big disappointment. Nose had a hint of Band-Aid maybe a little bit of pineapple and fig with some vanilla herbal and cedar notes, but that charred barrel or Band-Aid note never really gave up on the nose or palate; so we gave up on it. It was a very very disappointing bottle.

Antinori 2012 Tignanello
Aromas of golden plum (odd), ripe cherry along with some dark fruit, plus hints of cedar and smoke; actually very smoky, but the bones are there and the tannins are quite ripe. As the bottle opened nice red and dark fruit appeared well-spiced and there was great balance to the wine - I'm thinking it is peaking. As the wine continued to remain open it seemed to go a little downhill, so the optimal drink window is probably about an hour to 2 hours.