This Aglianico is opaque and murky, a deep shade of garnet with slim legs in the glass.    The nose is showing bottle age- prunes, stewed black fruit, caramel, game, blackberry, coffee bean and black truffle.  The palate is fresher than I thought it would be.  Clean flavors of blackberry, coffee, game (also some bacon fat), caramel and a touch of the prunes/stewed fruits.  The wine is dry and the tannins are pretty integrated now but they have a presence- remember…. this varietal is extremely tannic in youth.  It’s not a very acidic wine but there is balance with the fruit, structure and body (mid to full).  The finish is medium but dominated by the tannins which have by now started to grip. A nice, mature Italian red that has softened with age, picked up tertiary nuance and will drink well till 2025.  I am pairing it with sausage and collard infused Arrabbiata on a bed of garbanzo pasta.  Should be interesting.  92 points for this $40 bottle makes it a 5 star effort.  Salut….

Wow- 99 points form one critic, I just had to try it!  Then I realized the pro in question rates on a different scale. It looks pretty dark in the glass, but there’s an effervescence appearing on the top that concerns me- either a tainted glass or something in the wine.  On the nose I’m getting currants, cherry and bramble.  The palate is quite sweet, with layered blackberry jam/blackcurrant reduction.  This wine is very thick and juicy, loaded with fruit extract.  There’s a nice dose of tannins that gently appear on the midpalate, melding with the dark fruits and carrying the wine to a nice, balanced finish of black berries, black currants and black tea leaf.  There’s a Ribena note right at the end that I’m enjoying.  This is a solid 91 pointer that will drink nicely till 2024.  I’m going 4 stars at $30 for this Aglianico.  Salut….

If you look close- effervescence in the glass

I bought some of this wine earlier in the year but the bottles were damaged in shipment.  The vendor sent me replacemens once it cooled down.  I’m glad they did!

The wine in nearly black in the glass.  The nose of blackberry and violets has an oaky touch that adds a certain delicious factor.  It’s more of a vanilla bean flavor but it is appropriate here.  The initial tastes of black fruit get melded with some very dry tannins that really get to my gums.  The wine transcends the mid palate with a shift to plums and coconut.  The dryness really reaches a peak on the finish where the fruit flavors meet spicebox.  I don’t sense an abundance of acidity which would help the wine’s cellaring potential, but think it will last until 2020 at the very least.  I hope some secondary flavors evolve, I’m optimistic.  It is 100% Aglianico, which happens to be one of my favorite grapes.  91 points. It gets 5 stars for the value it presents at $20.  Salut….