Tenute Sella Coste della Sesia Orbello

Popped and poured - beautiful nose w/ mint, violets, a hint of tar. Well structured w/ acidity but few tannis left (or not showing yet) - a tiny bit watery on the palate but a nice juicy finish. Still drinking well but my guess would be that its at peak now.

50% barbera, 25% nebbiolo, 20% cab franc, 5% vespolina. A bit thinner than past bottles (which were stemmy, gritty, and delicious) even after being opened for a few hours. Nice nebbiolo aromatics but the palate just doesn’t carry through. Decent enough with sausage/fennel pasta but if you have any of this, it’s time to drink up.

This was good, but not great... maybe needed more time in the decanter.

A typical night for us is to drink about ½ bottle with dinner and maybe a bit more afterwards. This bottle vanished in about 45minutes. It was really a pleasure to drink with Tuscan bean soup. Extremely aromatic, after 4 hours open, with dried herbs, tar, dried roses and lots of blue and red fruit flavor. It has this steminess in the opening flavor profile that I found distracting in earlier bottles but is really growing on me. The tannins …

This wine is a Northern Piedmont blend of 50% Barbera, 25% Nebbiolo, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Vespolina. Fermented in stainless steel with ambient yeasts, aged one year in 20 HL slovanian oak casks, and 6 more months in bottle. I opened this one on Sunday night and immediately poured half of it into a 375ml bottle, stuck the cork in it, and put it in the wine fridge. Day 1: First this wine has low intensity, but complex color, …

Opened 2hrs prior to meal. Really needs 3+ hrs for nose to open. This wine is both fun and interesting. The interesting part is the blend: 50% barbera, 25% nebbiolo, 20% cab franc (what?), 5% vespolina. There is plenty of fruit, joyous acidity, gritty tannic structure, some minerality, and a lengthy finish. The combination of blue/dark fruit and the deep cherry red from the nebbiolo is an interesting contrast that is a bit startling at first but grows on me. …

Chocolate tones are beginning to emerge. 50+4+12+16+7=89

50+4+12+16+7=89

Cool red berry fruit with light minerals and a floral aspect that recalls the Sella Lessona bottle. More fun than serious, with some sneaky tannins from the nebbiolo buried under the fruit. I enjoyed this. $14, 12.5% abv.

Okay, I admit it, I looked up the blend. I knew there was something besides Nebbiolo and Barbera. I've liked some of those blends before, esp. where the Nebbiolo is dominant. Here, the combination of Barbera and Cabernet Franc is too much for me -- it's too juicy, the blue fruits are too strong, without either enough meat (I like meaty, Southern reds) or bright, fresh berry, northern goodness. Don't get me wrong, this is good juice. Just not my …