1997 Gallo Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon Barrelli Creek

Bottle loaded with sediment. Just a ton. Not a good sign for a wine this young. Rich inky garnet color. Tough nose to get through. Of course the normal berry, smoke and leather, but initially a harsh alcohol scent that eventually mellowed into earth, eucalyptus, and a vague hint of waxy kerosene. Medium to full bodied with still-to-mellow tannins, the wine is heavily extracted with a nice finish of tart cranberry and smoky cassis. Acidity probably a little low. Overall I haven’t seen this wine improve with time. My first impression over a year ago was over 90 points, but now I’d rate it more in the 89 range. I’ve got about half a case left, and won’t hold it for the future. But highly recommend to drink if you need a wine now. Don’t shy away from it, but don’t shelve to see where it’s going to be in five years. I suspect a little too much “modern” winemaking technique at work here.

I think it's a pretty dang tasty wine. I've consistently rated it 91 points twice over the last 4 months and I don't think this wine is declining. If anything, I felt this wine might improve over the course of 2003 and hold there until 2005. It's a really good QPR and you can find it every store in Chicago.

Price paid? Current price?

There's a lot of love in the room tonight.

I've had this wine 7-8 times and concur with the heavy sediment observation. I would not rate this wine an ager based on the way it sours on the second and third days without gas. This may very well be the only cali cab I have ever tasted that was clearly spoiling on the second day after opening. Like the over-ripe, high-extracted style, but recommend drinking in one sitting and not holding for long.

Let's roll...

I found the '97 Gallo Estate performed very similarly.......already throwing sediment, stained bottle, and rapid decline over the following day.

-DRAB

So much wine.....so little time!!!

My Barelli's have never made it to the second day, so I can't comment on that. Price is right around $22. Grossie, you can pick it up at any Binny's.

As for the Estate, it's overpriced Cali crap. I found it to be well below the Barelli.

Agree that the Barelli Creek is not an ager but it is a darn enjoyable wine. I just happened to open a bottle last night and it didn't show any difference than when I had it last about 4 months ago. The reason I opened one is because a friend of mine was at a wine store and he gave me a call asking for advice. He went down the California isle and started naming wines on the shelf. He got to the Gallo single vineyards and started laughing. I said that I recommended them and he thought I was joking. I then explained the "jug wine image" that Gallo has with most people and that the single vineyard wines were actually good. He didn't end up buying it so I decided to bring a bottle for dinner at his place. Both he and his wife ended up loving it.

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Have to agree that the Barrelli is quite a nice wine. Goes for $37CDN and have always enjoyed it. Definately a go to wine when in a rush to go to a dinner party.,

Noticed that there is a lot of sediment build up though. Not sure if I can hold it till 2005 to see how it evolves. The stuff is just too yummy.

Now....where's that Screwpull?

Just finished this bottle tonight after opening it yesterday. Only had a glass last night and I corked it immediately after pouring. The fact that it didn't get much air last night probably doesn't prove much, but I saw improvement over last night. Loads of dark fruit and oak with good structure and nice balance. As noted by others previously, this wine was throwing more sediment than expected, but it seemed to have the backbone to easily last a few more years. Glad I have a few of these left in the cellar! 91 pts.

[This message was edited by brian123 on Feb 17, 2003 at 11:11 PM.]

Was searching the forum looking for comments on the 97 Barrelli Creek and decided to add my comments as well. Discovered the Barrelli while visiting Stuart FL several months ago and took several bottles home on the airlines. Had not seen this wine before, but that's not unusual for living in south metro Atlanta.

Had a bottle of 99 Artesa last week and a day later I had the 97 Barrelli. The Barrelli was outstanding even if was throwing some sediment and I would spend my $$ on more 97 Barrelli than the Artesa. In fact I am packing up another 5 bottles of Barrelli @ $20ea for the trip home on the airlines. Wine store has 2 cases left and will be making one more run to Stuart next week for my last time buy. What a great value for the money. If it didn't have the Gallo name, it would sell for twice that.

Interesting. I have enjoyed both the 97 Gallo Barelli Creek and Fre Ranch CAB. The 97 Gallo Stefani Ranch has been a disappointment. Heavy sediment and rather harsh at this point. Barelli and Frei are holding up great.

Also heard the 99 Barelli has is now available and supposed to be great.

GKM