Tuscan evening...

Back in March a customer of a colleague wanted to do a celebratory Tuscan dinner and I was roped in to help given my penchant for all things Italian. It was a cracking line up for dinner but first we had a vertical of Andrea Franchetti's Tenuta di Trinoro from Magnum. Having done a few verticals before this was an exciting prospect.

Whilst everyone gathered we started the evening with a glass of Guilio Ferrari Riserva Franciacorta 2002, I know Ferrari pretty well from Zucca days of old, this 2002 had spent 10 years on the lees and is from 100% Chardonnay having been first made in 1972. A good good fizz with character and a nutty freshness.

Then it was time to start the evening proper, to have Andrea there to lead the tasting made it all the more special. Andrea gave an overview back to the start of the estate even before the first vintage which was 1997.

Tenuta di Trinoro 2009 Magnum - This has sublime completeness, rounded ripe tannins and delicious decadent yet fresh fruits, it is a wine to drink now or in 20 years time. It comes across, and this is easy for someone who has never made wine to say, as a wine that probably made itself. Long lasting red and black fruits, no signs of oak just ripe aromas.

Tenuta di Trinoro 2007 Magnum - Andrea commented how this was a vintage characterised by a low water table and a lack of water in the season itself. The vintage, fortunately, was not excessively hot in itself. There is a more secondary nature to this wine, a little less obvious juicy fruit and a more leathery, tobacco and savoury element. It is more degraded and more animalistic, there is a spiciness too.

Tenuta di Trinoro 2003 Magnum - The 2003 is seductive and in many ways has the opposite challenges of the 2007, very hot but not without a decent reserve of water from the wet 2002 vintage. I like this wine, there is a feel of smaller more concentrated berries but not a lack of freshness. Impressive.

Tenuta di Trinoro 2000 Magnum - "So complete" is how my not starts here, at 15 years of age this is in a lovely place, neither vibrantly young nor decaying, it just begs to be drunk. Mellow soft fruit, not bruised but easy to appreciate. Some of the character of the 2009 but with the lighting dimmed down. A wine you don't really need food with...just wallow in it.

We then made our way down for dinner and a lovely classcial Tuscan inspired menu.

Mushroom Ravioli with Truffle Sauce

Fillet of Beef with Chianti Sauce, Rosemary Potatoes, Grilled Vegetables

Tiramisu

Pecorino

The wine line up was rather monumental with a great spread of wines and vintages:

Tignanello 1988 - Sangiovese based wine with a little bit of both Cabernets. 1988 is cracking all round vintage in Tuscany, often better than the famed 1985 (which owes much to the Sasscaia 1985). This was a lovely easy mellow wine at its peak, probably has been for a while.

Brunello Case Basse, Soldera 1985 - I have a rather massive vertical of Soldera to write up and regular readers will know I love these wines and visit regularly so I will not dwell too long here. Tar and degraded sweet fruit, lovely.

Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Biondi-Santi 1990 - An iconic winery in Brunello if not seen as the dominant producer that Soldera is. This is fully mature with a lovely decayed sweetness and a good acidity with a saline aspect too.

Solaia 1982 - I learnt most of what I know about this from a vertical organised five years ago by "Sussex". This had a marked mintiness, not in bad way, it is just the Cabernet Sauvignon really showing through. This is a very early Solaia as the wine was first made in 1978. There was then a 1979 but no Solaia in '80, '81, '83 and '84. An easy and quite gentle wine.

Sassicaia 1988 - In so many ways the standard bearer for the Super Tuscans. The 1988 is a superb wine, iron and dark fruit with good body but also a completeness. I love the balance of this.

Masseto 1998 - from the most Iconic of the Cabernet Sauvignon Super Tuscans in Sassicaia we move to the Merlot one in Masseto. This wine has been around even less time than Solaia with the first wine made on 1986 but the first commercially released vintage was 1987. The 1998 is a wine I know well but before this I had not had it for 3 or 4 years. It retains a real vibrancy and densely fruited nature. A wine probably only now really getting into the drinking window. Delicious.

Tenuta di Trinoro 2011 Magnum - This is a bold vintage of Andrea's wine and shows such extreme ripeness that even Andrea at times wonders if it is too much. There is a slight toning down of the richness from the 2012. I love the decadence of this and it works well at the end of the meal.

Ornus dell'Ornellia 2009 Halves - Thomas Duroux, the former winemaker, now at Palmer, planted this plot of Petit Manseng in 2003. This is a late harvest desert wine, that is a tricky wine to describe the fruit character I'd pick out most is dried Apricot possibly with a little honey.

What a great evening... 

Mushroom Ravioli with Truffle Sauce 

Fillet of Beef with Chianti Sauce, Rosemary Potatoes, Grilled Vegetables

Tiramisu

Pecorino

Tenuta di Trinoro 2015's...

Sounds like a "line" but the best yet?

This is a tasting that we do each year, I wrote up the 2014's here. Andrea Franchetti was in town for a Tuscan dinner (write up soon) and to taste with him is always a pleasure. He is not one to get overly technical, he likes to speak common sense rather than science. He did say that the estate was really settling into the phase where super-maturity was not the focus, balance is the aim. "Rich" and "fresh" where two words he used, the harvest was a very protracted one but for good reason, they just picked what they wanted, when they wanted - 42 different pickings in total. The alcohol levels are all around 13.8%-14%.

Cupole di Trinoro - Ripe fruit, blackish in character then fresher and redder, so bright, ripe with a hint of savoury, just assembled by Andrea, big bold structure but not too weighty. Lovely, opulent and unpretentiously delicious. 17

Then on to the Cabernet Franc single vineyards:

Campo Magnacosta - 20 year old vines here. Subdued class then an explosion of red fruits, purity. Vibrant, rich yes but with good chalky tannins, a very moreish finish, some ferrous character on the palate. Fascinating and very good. 17.5-18

Campo Tenaglia - The youngest vines at 18 yrs, creamier and a shade darker of fruit, some tar and more seriousness, delicious savoury palate, big ripe tannins, spice and briary character too. 17-18(+?)

Campo Camagi - Means the "old creek", 25 yr old vines here. More muted on the nose then a little sweeter on the palate, slightly less clean, herbal but then drier, tighter and less easy to taste. 16-17


Palazzi - 100% Merlot as ever. So bright and vibrant, very well fruited not OTT but pretty extravagant. Crimson and red fruits but with creamy strawberries as well. Very good. 18.5

Tenuta di Trinoro - Richness and slightly degraded fruit character, opulent, you can see that this and Cupole are so linked. Bold yet fresh, rich, moreish and but with a saline and savoury side. 18-19

Skipping across to Etna:

Franchetti 2015 - So this is 100% Petit Verdot from Etna and ties into a recent Franchetti vertical we did. Andrea did say he may blend in a little Cesanese d'Affile as he often does. The wine is bold with big tannins, a little more savoury than some other vintages, the fruit though is delicious and definitely there.

If you are interested in Andrea and his wines and want to find out more there there is a very good interview on this podcast i'lldrinktothatpod.com (and lots of other fascinating ones too).

Tuscan 2004's...

This was a dinner organised with the same lovely bunch as attended a Barolo 2004 dinner at Zucca back in July. It seemed logical to follow the Barolos with Tuscans. We all gathered at The Quality Chop House and each with the instruction to bring a bottle of our choosing. We were very well looked after through the evening with a menu as shown below. The food was all simple, delicious and complemented the wines well. I think I'll take my son, Charlie, there soon - just his sort of place!

The organiser - Mr Gossip on this occasion - gets to bring the aperitif. We kicked off with 2011 Batar from Querciabella. This is a wine I have definitely had, and enjoyed, before though I can find no reference of it on this blog at all which is odd. This was quite rich but also very savoury and dry when cold, it really opened out with time and actually I think I preferred it when it was almost at room temperature. It will certainly repay 3-4 more years cellaring and beyond. The blend is a fairly "different" one being 50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Blanc. It was a nice opener and deserved the 93 its it gets from Galloni. This brings me onto one odd thing about the evening, more than half the wines get 93pts and that made it an interesting tasting as you can analyse that taster as well as the wines. I am not a big one for scores but it was an interesting aside.

We were now ready to start the 2004's. A little look at the vintage suggests it was the opposite of the extremes of 2003. There was a fair bit of work to do in the vineyards and green harvesting seems to have been repaid but all in all it was not a vintage of extremes, balance is always good so hopefully that would show in the wines.

The wines were served in pairs and with the traditional varietals first. I have scored them out of twenty for my own benefit as much as anything.

2004 Brunello di Montalcino from Il Poggione - This had been double decanted a couple of hours before dinner and is from a producer I really like (the 2006 is a little gem if you see it). The nose was initially quite volatile, it actually seemed to tighten up in the glass. It was a little grainy and savoury reminding me of ash and meat. There was just enough sweetness to pull it together. Either this will repay cellaring or it just lacks a little something. 16.5

2004 Brunello di Montalcino from Lisini - Nicely complete nose with a little gloss, then with time in the glass a little more meaty and savoury. This tastes young and has quite a bit of texture about it. 17

2004 Brunello di Montalcino from Salvioni - Saline, which for me the best Italian wines (Piedmont or Tuscany) must have. This was excitingly good. Richness, fresh greenness by which I mean "good zip", lots of life and good sweetness. Very very moreish acidity, classy, very fine. 18.5

2004 Brunello di Montalcino Rennina, Pieve Santa Restituta from Gaja - had the unfortunate job of following the Salvioni. This was good, grainy and grippy with a very moreish texture. It tasted wonderfully Italian but, and I don't want to be obvious here, it tasted more of Gaja than of Sangiovese. There is a real signature there and had I been told it was a Piedmont wine from Gaja and say 12-15 years old I would have agreed entirely. I liked it but may be wanted a shade more definition. Nice wine. 17-17.5

2004 Camartina from Querciabella - A blend here of 50% Sangiovese, 45% Cabernet and the last 5% being from Merlot/Syrah. The wine was quite glossy and clearly needs a little time, 3-5 years, to fully integrate. It has good ripeness and will be impressive in time, it is just a touch incomplete now. 17(?)

2004 Terriccio from Castello del Terricio - The 50% Syrah here really shows, it is  masculine wine with good sweetness, it is quite lush as well and has a savoury dimension. I found it quite surprising, in a good way. 17+

The next pair was interesting as I had both wines at an Ornellaia 1990-2010 tasting before and enjoyed them.

2004 Serre Nuove - Rich and a shade doughy on the nose but then really good with quite saturated dark fruits on the palate, this was impressive and really quite serious. 17.5 (a little higher than last time).

2004 Ornellaia - I think this was probably voted wine of the night by many. I may be just though the Salvioni shaded it but that really is picking hairs. The nose remind me of crusty bread, the balance was such that writing a note was tricky (a good sign)…there was a little saline and just a feeling of easy completeness. Very good. 18-18.5

2004 Sassicaia - Sadly this was just not a good bottle, not corked but just bruised, a little volatile and prematurely degraded. No score.

2004 Messorio Macchiole - In the absence of Masseto (a little out of the wine trades price range) this was to be the 100% Merlot. There was a nose of dry balsamic notes followed by lush fruit and quite a bit of richness. Somehow I found it a little bit much. 16.5.   

2004 Tenuta di Trinoro - This was my bottle so watch out for bias. I have tasted through quite a few vintages down the years but never the 2004 as far as I can see or remember. This has almost tropical fruits and a vigorous youth with a sweet texture and very fresh but youthful appeal. I really liked it. 17.5-18.

So as a whole what did we learn? 2004 is clearly a nice vintage, there was good balance and definition, I think we felt the wines were harder to asses that the Barolos which give a little more perfume earlier in their lives and probably due to being from a thin skinned variety are a little easier to describe and assess. A successful evening for sure...

By consensus the next evening for the group is Bordeaux 2005 under a certain price point (£50 a bottle say) of release…should be interesting!

Tenuta di Trinoro 2014's with Andrea Franchetti...

A great line up

I have posted a lot before about the Tenuta di Trinoro wines from Andrea Franchetti. I feel they are unique. The estates is a very special place that produces a varying number of wines. There is a very real affinity to Cabernet Franc though Andrea is not so keen to get drawn on exact blends of certain wines. This was a tasting of samples conducted on Friday 22nd May.

One change this year to the line-up is that the project to have a single vineyard/cru Cabernet Franc which happened in 2012 and 2013 with Magnacosta has been extended to include two more "Campo's" - Tenaglia and Camagi.

2014 was a vintage that had a cooler season all the way through. You would think this lead to later picking than the already very later timings Andrea uses here but actually it meant the pickings were the same if not a shade earlier as the cooler weather meant that the plants kept working at a consistent rate rather than in the more normal hot years where the temperatures, as high as 42degrees, shocked the plants into stopping. The other main change is that alcohols are lower, 13-14. So the wines...

Cupole di Trinoro - Like raspberry coulee, lovely freshness and a bit of good greeness, I am very impressed with this and think it is the best Cupole of the last 5-6 years.

Campo Magnacosta - Darker than Cupole, cool berry fruit, good sweet attack, then a lovely gravelly, cool stone, not followed by a nicely mineral palate with a little freshness, good-greenness, really lovely. Understated and balanced.

Campo Tenaglia - A thick limestone soil "Like Ausone" Andrea says. More vibrant, more full, good fruits, juiciness. A shade more extracted or it appears that way.

Campo Camagi - Expressive, balance, a nice tightening dryness on the palate, really lovely, good fruit combines well with the good acidity.

Palazzi - 100% Merlot, Vibrant red juiciness then the palate has a nice coolness (not always the case with Palazzi which can be hedonistic) there is a really balanced savoury edge to this overall, along with Cupole I would say this is another "best ever". Everything Merlot sound be - sun and soil.

Tenuta di Trinoro - Approximately 45% Cabernet Franc, 35% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot. This is immediately more serious but still has a lovely sweetness of attack, very good balance and lift, energy. The favourite amongst the tasters.

Andrea and Joe discuss the tannins

One more wine was added which is released at the same time but is from Andrea's other estate in Sicily - Tenuta di Passopisciaro - and that is:

Franchetti 2014 - 100% Petit Verdot and a wine that has always been a "wonderful anomally". My note starts that this is like a "cool evening after a hot day". I say this because there is a bonkers nose of deep dark fruit and intensity but then there is a cooler more stoney palate that makes this a wine to just be impressed by. This is not an everyday wine, nor priced that way, but it is an amazing, dare I say, unique experience.

Bravo Andrea...

Tenuta di Trinoro vertical

I am a little overdue on posting about this cracking tasting. A colleague - Sara Guiducci - has done a far more in depth post on the C&B Blog but I wanted to get my brief notes down. I hosted the evening by introducing Andrea Franchetti who spoke and as well as ever with his own brand of savage honesty to the fore as always. Also for me it had quite a large overlap with this other Vertical in Oxford at the start of the year.

I won't go into too much background but this tasting took us back to the very first vintage, 1997, although there was a wine (Cupole di Trinoro, now the name of the second wine) produced in 1995. Andrea made his way to creating wine via Bordeaux and his passion for Cabernet Franc in particular stems from a bottle of Petit Cheval 1990 he once had. The estate picks very late, even in November on occasions with 125-135 days of "hang-time" not unusual. 

As the tasters assembled we had a glass each of the Guardiola 2012 from Andrea's estate on Etna. 100% Chardonnay but totally unoaked this is a wine I have enjoyed from the start but to be honest the 2012 is a serious step up on the good vintages before. It manages to be both unctuous and fresh, rich and delicious. There is considerable and enjoyable complexity to this wine. With that we started the reds and it was only the principal wine - Tenuta di Trinoro itself. All the wines were pre-poured and questions came along as and when. No fixed "flights" so to speak.

2012
Cabernet Sauvignon predominant which is rare. Rich and full, drought was less of a problem here than previously. It is a deep dark wine but a wine with opulent balance. The Cabernet Franc that wasn’t included was of good quality but just did not make the blend (there was a new wine made called "Magnacosta"). Opulently beautiful…time will treat this very well...


2011
A real favourite of Andrea's, a “monster” was how he described it– red fruit, cherry and almost elegant on nose then bold and generous – it is a cracking wine of extremes. It fermented for about a year which is remarkable…overall there were 12 pickings of Cabernet Franc (the predominant variety in contrast to 2012). A hot year like they used to get...unique.


2009
This is a vintage I know quite well from tasting over the years. Until the 2011 came along I considered it the most extrovert of the Trinoros. A riper, higher toned wine than previously, but elegant and in balance, it now has an ever so slightly chalkily enticing palate…Andrea commented that it was an easy vintage (a little like almost all of Europe then!).

2007

"Dry leaves being raked" was Andrea's comment as it was a very dry vintage. To my palate this was the one wine that may be showed less than I expected, it is slightly in an "in between phase". Oak a little too obvious, high octane and opulent but in a more vegetal style. I'd love to re-assess in a couple of years.

After this point everything was served from Magnum simply because there are very few bottles of these vintages at the estate (not that there are many magnums!!)

2006 Magnum
I can't quite remember the context but there was a comment about the “Disease of ripeness” this had an exoticness, balance on palate, new leather with a refreshing greenness (I can never explain what I mean by this) – more corrupt but in a good degraded sweetness fashion!

2001 Magnum
To use Andrea's own words "The best I have made". I asked around the room at the tasting and afterwards and if people were asked for 2 or 3 favourites then they all included this wine. It has a simply superb balance of sweet, slightly degraded fruit, tannin and a refreshing acidity, complete.

1999 Magnum
This was a really interesting vintage, far gentler than many. Mellow notes of herbal water, cucumber water, a lightness, delightfully mature with some sweetness still. Drink and enjoy.

1998 Magnum
“Smaller and neat” was Andrea's comment. I found a little dark fruit then some mint and iodine. A savoury saline edge gave complexity. More masculine than the 1999. I really liked this.


1997 Magnum
So the first vintage and from vines planted, amazingly, in 1993. The vintage is one that in many ways put Italy on the modern fine wine map. This was mature but with some good dark fruit, Iodine showed as well, mellowness. Very good right now!

The overall standard was very high, the differences were very encouraging with all the wines having their own personalities...I just can't wait to see what a trio like 2012, 2011 and 2009 taste like in 10 years (or for that matter the brilliant 2001)...

Mostly Magnums at Hawksmoor...

An end-of-year gathering organised by Jordi at Hawksmoor in Basinghall Street. The price of admission was a magnum. The food was what you would expect, well executed, filling and meaty!

Dom Perignon 1990 - This was on great form, quite bold on the nose and then both refreshingly and fresh fruited on the palate, far more citrus than bread or biscuit, ripe and quite full, it got the appetite going.

Riesling Smaragd 2010, R.Pichler - Dry and following the DP may be too dry to be fair on it, it was not young or mature and was a wine of texture over extrovert aromas and flavours. would be great with oily fish.

Meursault Charmes 1996, Roulot - Possibly wine of the day for me. If all mid 1990's Burgundy was in this sort of shape then the fine wine world would be a happier place. The nose had a little reduction on the attack (a thing I love) and then the wine was all waxy mellow citrus and frankly so delicious that I struggle to add many many adjectives- complete and as good as you could ever expect - wonderful!

Chambolle-Musigny 2007, de Vogue (2 bottles)
Fresh and pure red fruit, this is very Chambolle and very pretty, not overly serious and whilst it will age why would you when it tastes so lovely now.

Corton Renardes 1971, M.Gaunoux

Soft powdery, slightly bruised red fruit with an fresh acidic lift. There was then some white pepper spice. The wine held together well in the glass for 45 minutes or so and then got a little fragmented into it's parts and became a little medicinal. The high-toned sweetness of the fruit was remarkable, fascinating wine.

Ermitage Le Pavillon 1989, M.Chapoutier
If it is possible to be medium weight and a bit of a bruiser at the same time then this is that very thing. Quite primary with black fruit and some black pepper, not "too much" but certainly with more complexity to come. Promising and balanced.

Magdelaine 1985

My red of the day. Now before people shout that I am being biased (not that it was my bottle) I need to point out that this Chateau does not even exist anymore in terms of production as one estate. It has been "rolled" into Belair-Monange . The wine had a real charm and perfect balance between sweet and savoury with a lovely elegant medium weight and no hard edges at all. I would imagine that in magnum this will remain delicious for many decades. This is stunningly understated and all the better for it.

Domaine de Chevalier 1961

Savoury and deep in colour, this had good initial fruit and then became more "stocky" and deeper and more saline with time. For Pessac of this age it had amazing texture and weight.

Leoville Barton 2000

To me this was the only real disappointment of the lunch, it was just far too much on the savoury side, even a little metallic, ferrous and blood-like, it just needed some sweetness and lift. I might be being harsh...

Stag’s Leap “Cask 23” 1991

I thought this was really lovely and had a slightly sweet fruit finish, this worked well in contrast to the slightly dry finish of the Barton and the Chevalier. I would not have been near the 23 years of age if served blind, there was evolution but in a very sedate and steady way. Really lovely.

Percarlo 1990

Good sweetness to the ever so slightly bruised fruit, a good bit of spice that was balanced by a dash of minty freshness, really good, better even that when I had it during this tasting, the sort of wine I'd love to have spent a while with.

Tenuta di Trinoro 1997

Rich and pretty opulent, ripe without being over the top, nice balance and the slight sweetness worked well at the end of the meal...this is a wine I've had a couple of really in-depth looks at, the first of which was here and the second I need to write up!

Then there was one more wine that came around during the meal...

Mystery Chambolle-Musigny Amoureuses

This was absent of either producer, although Negoce was the thought, and vintage. I agreed with our organiser that it may well be 1966 but that can be no more than an educated guess. I wish I had taken a pic so I could do some research. It had a lovely mature Pinot sweetness without a hint of stink or farmyard, feminine for sure...

Tenuta di Trinoro 2013’s

While Andrea Franchetti was in town to show the Passopisciaro 2012 Contradas wines we also did a smaller tasting of the Tuscany 2013’s including a wine from Andrea’s cousin Carlo, more of which later.

Le Cupole di Trinoro 2013 – The estates second wine in a classical Bordeaux sense. This had not yet been racked and as a result was hard to judge as a fully finished wine. Tannin definitely there, quite black fruit, good acidity.

Magnacosta 2013 – 100% Cabernet Franc from 3 separate vineyard plots. Berry fruit and a little dryness, then a lovely expressive nose. Quite tight with good structure. Good wine 17.5-18.

Palazzi di Trinoro 2013 – 100% Merlot. Quite high-octane, very much sweet berry concentrated fruit. How will it age? 17-18.

Trinoro 2013 – Very good, serious nose, depth and dark fruit to the fore. Good balance with some definite structure. 18-18.5

I am liking the style of the 2012 and 2013 wines from Trinoro there is a cooler refinement and a lovely balance. The 2011’s are amazing but very highly toned (the vintage). A recent vertical (Tenuta di Trinoro from magnum) shows how great this estate is...

Vertical of Tenuta di Trinoro from magnum

On thursday just gone I was delighted to join Andrea Franchetti in a tasting given for the Oxford University Wine Circle. The tasting was, two trios of the great estate but ten years apart. The wines were in magnum and had been sent to Oxford one week prior to the tasting:

After giving a low down on the estate and the ideas behind it we were off and tasting. Going from the youngest and most recently bottle wine (2011) back to the first vintage of Trinoro (1997). The wines were all severed cool having been opened 15-30minutes in advance and not decanted.

2011 - Decadent, black fruit but not heavy fruit, creamy in texture, a little light spice, good acidity, there is an opulence. A red element to the fruit character as the wine opens out. 18/20.

2009 - Almost impossible to discern between the red and black fruit. The fruit is dense but not heavy, the savoury side is there but in no way overpowering. A hard wine to describe as the balance is exquisite (something I found only yesterday with Dominus 2010). Almost any flavour you can think of, from damsons to bacon, can be found. Very serious 19/20. (see comment regarding 2001 below).

2007 - An almost Amarone like note on the nose. This is hi-octane. A little smokiness gives way to a bright red fruit. Bruised fruit and a little leather is evident on the palate. It is a heady wine to drink with big food or even after dinner. If Francois Mitjavile made wine in Tuscany there is a chance it would taste like this, a touch "degraded". 17-17.5/20. This may be in an every so slightly adolescent phase.

2001 - Wow, superb. When Andrea said he feels it is the best wine he has made I was worried that expectation may cause disappointment. I was wrong. There is a sweet ripeness but also balanced by a gentle leather and tobacco. The structure has just started to mellow and whilst it is here it is "in" the wine. Very long, splendid, really superb. In so many way the bother of the 2009. I need some of this for my son (born in 2001). 19.5/20

1999 - Some ripe green bell-pepper and a funky stink that soon blows off. Lovely acidity, fresh fruits, on the red side. The savoury element of this wine is fascinating like a vitamin B pill. Has a real easy complexity about it, really enjoyable. 18/20.

1997 - So drinkable, easy going, mellow, lovely fruit but also a little beef stock and cheesecloth. A wine that is in a lovely phase two of it's life. Really showed well, when you think how young the vines were this is quite remarkable. Lovely. 18/20.

I have been drinking and tasting Trinoro or quite some time now but this tasting really exceeded my expectations in both the way the wines had aged and the overall quality. I must admit bias as I do work for the UK agent but the way the older trio had evolved but retained their sweet fruit is very encouraging or a Andrea described it "rewarding".