• 2003 Pio Cesare Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (6/15/2012)
  Decanted one hour. Medium ruby colour with some orange flecks. Aromas of mint, smoke, tar, leather, roses, and crushed blackberries burst from the glass. Full-bodied and well-balanced with good acidity and nicely integrated tannins. Tar, mint, leather, blackberries, and minerals on the palate through to a solid, 35-40s finish. This wine exceeded my expectations. I was expecting a good wine, but not a great wine. The winery did an excellent job managing the vintage, as if I was served this wine blind, I would never guess that it was from the 2003 vintage. Really, really great job. This wine will drink well for the next 5-6 years at a minimum. Drink now-2018+. (93 pts.)

• 2003 Pio Cesare Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (12/3/2012)
  Opened for about an hour before drinking but not decanted. Some bricking at the rim.
  
  If the finish were longer this would be really terrific. Nicely balanced combination of dark fruit, earth, tar, some smokiness, spicy producing a tingling sensation in the mouth. This is in a really nice place right now.

quote:

Originally posted by futronic:
Yup, it's a really nice wine. Much better than I was expecting from 2003! The freshness that the wine showed was key.