We are happy that Bernard, who has sampled so many wines, has shared his notes with us. We do have, or have had for sale a few of the wines Bernard writes about, and we include a link to our stock page whenever it is a producer we carry (but since the stock page is kept up-to-date and the wines are sold, don't expect any but the newest of wines to show up in our stock!). Mostly though, since we specialize in County of Santa Barbara Wine and Central Coast Wine, we don't carry a lot of the wines Bernard writes about. But we think it is important that you be able to have an idea what they're like in case you are planning to buy some somewhere, or have them in your own collection. Enjoy.

Here are Bernard's notes from June 8, 1998:

94 Umberto Cesari "Liano"--A Sangiovese/Cab blend. Very nice. Strawberry,  cloves. Deep rich fruit with lovely finish. Excellent QPR. 

93 Umberto Cesari Passito (Dessert wine)--Good nose. Spicy orange flavors  with somewhat bitter finish. 14% alcohol. Enjoyable. 

94 Brolio "Casalferro" Sangiovese--Beautiful nose. Round, but somewhat  thin in the middle. Finishes short. Overpriced. 

93 Fontanafredda Barolo--Very tasty. Good flavor. Good value.  93 Fontanafredda Barolo "Galerey"--Lovely nose, but thin flavor profile.  Dominated by oak. Pass.  93 Fontanafredda Barbaresco Coste Rubin--Fine attack, moderate oak, but  finishes with astringency. Pass. 

95 Castello Vicchiomaggio Chianti Classico "San Jacopo"--Fine flavor but  thin texture. Sweet fruit.  94 Castello Vicchiomaggio CCR "Petri"--Good grip. More depth than the  San Jacopo. Fine tannic structure. Earth, leather. Decent value.  94 Castello Vicchiomaggio CCR "La Prima"--Dark purple. Deep, complex,  complete wine. Earth, minerals, black cherry. Pushing the value limit. 

96 Collavini Refosco "Puino"--Lovely bouquet, roses. High acid. Short  mid-palate. Might be fine with food, but this shows why refosco is more  commonly a blending wine. 

Vietti, the distinguished Piemontese producer has a number of wines:  97 Arneis--Very pleasant, balanced. Lime and minerals.  96 Dolcetto d'Alba "Tre Vigne"--Very nice with good substance.  96 Barbera d'Alba "Tre Vigne"--OK wine, but more acidic and thin than  I prefer, even for a Barbera.  95 Nebbiolo d'Alba "San Michele"--Very light color. Decent flavor. Lingering  tannins. Could stand a bit of cellaring.  93 Barolo "Castiglione"--Pretty decent, but could stand more depth.  97 Moscato d'Asti "Cascinetta"--Very nice and refreshing. 

From Jacopo Biondi-Santi:  94 "Rivolo" (Sauvignon Blanc)--Very light. Some Tuscan experiments with  Bordeaux varietals clearly don't work. Uninteresting considering the  plethora of good SB values coming out of NZ, the Loire, and CA.  94 "Sassoaloro" (Sangiovese Grosso)--Acidic, bright fruit, round with  prominent acidity on finish. Cries out for food, but a complete wine  that offers excellent QPR. Recommended.  91 Brunello--Straight forward Brunello. Lightish. OK, but not what I look  for when I spend the kind of money they want for this Brunello.  94 "Schiodone" (Cab/Sang. Grosso/Merlot)--Biodi-Santi's entry in the  Super-Tuscan category. Very refined, Bordeaux-like structure. Needs a  few years. At $75/bottle Wholesale(!), this cannot compete with comparably  priced Bordeaux, but maybe it's a vintage thing. We'll have to see what  they do with the 95 vintage.  95 Poggio Salvi "Lavischio" (Merlot)--Very nice. Soft, balanced. Tasty.  Very good QPR for an everyday kind of Merlot.  95 Poggio Salvi Rosso di Montalcino--Good balance, deep fruit, fine finish.  What I look for in a top Rosso, but not priced to compete with the better ones.

From Antinori:  95 CCR--Very good, and good QPR.  94 Tenute Marchese CCR--Very concentrated, tannic. Very long. Excellent.  This will be priced high for CCR. As long as you can still find 90 Monsanto  Il Poggio for $28, this will be priced too high. Nevertheless, I wouldn't  turn it down in a restaurant.  94 Badia A Passignano CCR--Very full, black cherry, tobacco. Even more  expensive than the Marchese. Same reaction.  95 Peppoli CC--Tart, fruity. Good food wine. Earthy. leather, oak. Long. 

93 Guerrieri Gonzaga "San Leonardo" (Cab/Merlot/Cab Franc)--Huh? Cab  franc in Italy? Not exactly Cheval Blanc. Sweet oak. Lacking fullness  in mid-palate. Spicy nose. This will be way overpriced above $40. 

93 Argiano Brunello--Not everyone made insipid Brunello in 93. This one  really stands out. Sweet fruit and oak. Delish! Fine tannins, structure.  Should be very reasonably priced around $30. 

93 Acinum Amarone--Raisiny nose. Sweet, balanced. Fine tannins. Dried fruit,  leather. Why don't I drink more Amarone if it can be this good? 

96 Salviano "Turlo" (Sang./Cab)--Very good value. Fine fruit, good oak.  Balanced. 

91 C. dei Rampolla "Sammarco" (Cab/Sang.)--One of the top super-Tuscans,  but not in 91. Firm fine tannins, but not enough depth. Way overpriced.  Avoid. 

95 Colosi Malvasia Delle Lipari--Very nice. Caramel, citrus, orange.  Huge nose. Cloves, bergamot (there's one for all you TN lovers!), vanilla.  Really lovely dessert wine. 

93 Avignonesi "Grifi" (Prunolo/Cab)--Lots of oak overwhelms the modest  fruit. Very tannic. Overpriced.  94 Avignonesi Vino Nobile--Good grip, tannin and oak, cloves. 

93 Rocca di Castagnoli CCR "Poggio A' Frati"--Very decent. Balanced.  Tannic finish. Good value. 

96 Foradori Teroldego Rotaliano--Very good dinner wine. Medium body,  medium tannins. Rustic flavor. Robust. Price is in line. 

96 Fattoria di Manzano "Il Vescovo" (Gamay)--Yeah, what is this fine  producer doing making Italian Beaujolais? Priced higher than almost all  Cru Beaujolais, this wine is the hands down winner of the WORST QPR of  the tasting. Thin, no tannins. Nothing of interest. Fast pass. 

90 Tenuta Trerose Vin Santo--Very suave. Fine flavors, like cognac,  calvados. Excellent. 

Biggest disappointment is that Palm Bay Importers didn't show, so I  did not get to try the lines from Bertani, Fattoria di Barbi, or  Marchesi di Barolo. 

Note on prices: All prices were given as Wholesale. In the few cases  where I put down prices, they were approximate retail prices,  about 25% above cost.