• 2001 Fattoria La Valentina Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Binomio - Italy, Abruzzi, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (10/14/2006)
  Post-Auction Offline (Toba Restaurant, Toronto, Canada): Inky ruby/black colour; opaque. Aromas of black licorice, blackberries, alcohol, spice, black plums, and a hint of iodine. Slightly Porty/Amarone-eske early on with a touch of raisins on the nose. Full-bodied, massive, lots of tannin, with spice, blackberry fruit, dried flowers, and alcohol on the palate. Port/raisin notes come through on the long, 40-45s finish, joined by black fruit, truffle, and spice. Tannic on the back end. Needs time as 5-6 hours of air was not nearly enough. Still 93-94 points, though. (93 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

You're a year behind posting notes? Glad to hear you got one that wasn't corked. I'll hold my other bottle for another couple of years.

I just had the '03, and it, too, is a monster. These really need some age.

I don't think Stefano Inama would approve of you listing it as La Valentina wine, however. It is a collaborative effort between the two, with it's own property distinct from the Valentina vineyards. It would be more just to list it as the Binomio Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, IMO.

chaad:

I copied and pasted the title of the wine from CellarTracker. I do realize it's a joint effort between Inama and La Valentina, however.

• 2001 Fattoria La Valentina Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Binomio - Italy, Abruzzi, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (3/25/2009)
  Decanted ~2 hours. Dark ruby colour. Huge, porty nose of raisins, prunes, chocolate, cherry, oak, caramel. Full-bodied, still pretty tannic and restrained, but it does show some chocolate, raisins, and prunes with more air. Moderate-length finish. I'll keep holding my remaining bottles. Try again in a couple years. (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker