Tabarrini, Colle Alle Macchie, Montefalco Sagrantino

figs and prunes on the nose intially, calmed down after a few hours decant. Definitely needs food to be appreciated.

Dark fruits, strong tannins upon opening. 2 hour decant softened the tannins and allowed this well-made Sagrantino to show what it had. Great with food, balanced and full-bodied.

Opera Wine 2017 - 100 Great Producers (Verona, Italy) : { OperaWine2017, Verona } Remarkably approachable, but then I have no problems with tannic (and young) wines - only wines with too little acidity. This is a tiny production wine, circa 3500 bottles is all, and the yield is quite low, roughly <2 tons an acre. The vines were first planted in 1997 to a southern exposition. Notwithstanding Sagrantino's tannic nature, this wine is allowed to spend ~ one month …

Russk at Ken and Andrea's central Italy tasting. My WOTF and 2d WOTN. Ready now. But plenty more life in it. Gave it a 5hr decant. The 2005 was also good.Buy more and hold for 10+ yrs.

Russk. HlwdWS at Vienna. Tight, with menthal and some bile bitterness. May want to wait longer.

2011 Wine Bloggers Conference Sponsors Wines (except Virginia wines); 7/22/2011-7/24/2011 (Omni Hotel, Charlottesville, Virginia) : Opaque black red violet color; clove, tart berry, black fruit, tar nose; tight, tasty, rich, tar, asphalt, black fruit, herbs palate; needs 3-plus years; medium-plus finish (3 years in wood, 3 in bottle)

2011 Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri Tasting; 2/15/2011-2/16/2011 (Beltramo's in Menlo Park, California, and Fort Mason, San Francisco, California) : Opaque purple red violet color; rich black fruit, tar nose; tasty, rich, intriguing, tart black fruit, berry, ginger cake palate; medium-plus finish