Azienda Agricola Lano Barbaresco Rocche Massalupo

Excellent Nebbiolo, in fact I don't think Nebbiolo has ever been better. The journey to get it to this point is worth noting, so I will recount the 3 day experience. Tonight is Christmas Eve, Sunday, and I opened this bottle on Friday afternoon at about 2:30 PM. I poured out one glass and tasted that glass over the next day. That glass had zero nose: Nothing to smell. It's palate was very tight and reticent. The next day, Saturday, …

This was delicious and paired very well with my lasagna tonight. Really good qpr. There is a good amount of fruit and loads of tannins to shed. There is a lot of oak and it overpowers a bit on the nose for my preference, but the nose is still quite nice. I think all of this will work out well in the long haul considering the massive tannins and fruit. I found the acid to be solid, not too low. …

Smooth dark fruited and integrated. Medium finish. Enjoyable

Licorice. Cinnamon.cherry.

I still like it, consistent with previous notes.

Opened to breathe and enjoyed over a 4h blind tasting at 1862 restaurant in the Union League. Good, but in a blind tasting of 5 other 2015 Barbaresco's this was among the least interesting. As before plenty of roses violet and fruit on the nose, on the palate cherry finished with some spices, acid and tannins, but in terms of complexity it was not on par with the others on the table tonight, which were admittedly 2x-8x more expensive. Outstanding …

The third of 6 blinded (all 2015 vintage) and one non-blinded (2008 vintage) Barbaresco's tasted over dinner at the Union League Club in Philadelphia. This was a lot darker than the first two with a slightly translucent medium to dark garnet color. The nose was fruity with mixed berries and lots of florals, roses and violets. The palate was a bit less tannic and lower in acidity than the others (medium-) and definitely more fruit forward. Finish was quite short …

one of six 2015 barbaresco's tasted at the Union League Club in Philly. This was the least favorite in my opinion. A darker garnet wine with a nose of rose and cherry that I felt was a bit subdued. The wine lacked linearity and had a somewhat poor finish. That said, the wine drank better when tasted an hour later. The structure and balance of this wine did not quite come together for me hence the lower score.

Opened to breathe for an hour before sampling. Expansive perfumy nose of violets, roses, and hints of spices. Very delicate, feminine. On the palate, smooth red cherries, berries, oak and ceder undertones, meshed with fine tannins and balancing acidity. Soft, subtle, and intruiging. Outstanding QPR. Inexpensive enough for everyday use, complexity and structure for years of aging. This is one I'm stocking up on!