So, I’ve been wanting to try this wine since I read the WS review a few months ago. The review compares it to Fernet Branca which I love, but I’m not sure I’ve ever had a wine make me think of it. Has anyone that’s had the wine even considered such a descriptor and is it really as unique as spectator makes it sound? Here’s a link where you can read all the reviews on the Wine Library retail site. The WS score is by far the lowest but also the one that has me most intrigued.
Have not had this wine, but Di Costanzo is has a special offer here:
Hi Robert ~ I’d be lying if I said I totally understood what James Molesworth was going for with that review 
but the essence we do agree with, in that this is a wine that has an alluring dark side, a bitter quality that counterbalances the brighter, more lifted aromatics. Bitter cola, baking chocolate, tobacco… black olive, graphite, tar… all of these delicious dark notes that we find in the great wines of the world we love so much, like those from Barolo and Graves. We find and love a subtle, soft, herbal streak in this wine, but I don’t personally find that it reminds me of the herbal bitterness in an amaro like Fernet. All the same, it sounds like the description was appealing to you, so we might be a great fit for your palate.
Here are the tasting notes we wrote for this wine upon its release:
TASTING NOTES
COLOR:
Oxblood satin with a purple undertone. In searching for a name for this striking color, we return to one perfectly descriptive word: Cabernet. It entices, and paints the glass. Where else in nature can you find a hue this rich, this intense, this beautiful?
NOSE:
An effusive, abundant bouquet immediately nods to the wine’s layered complexity. Loamy earth, dark cocoa, dark red fruits. Deep spice. Trademark Farella graphite is present as well as soft-leaved herbs.
PALATE:
Enveloping, radiant, expressive with energetic tannins, this is a distinctly savory tasting experience. The fruit is present and fresh, but neither sweet nor juicy. A carousel of kola nut, orange peel, and volcanic minerality. This Cabernet Sauvignon possesses a natural depth and crystalline intensity. A cool, deep lake versus a lava flow. Overall, this wine is judicious, with not a note out of place, and perfectly efficient in its display of fruit, which is beautiful, but permits the wine’s savory and mineral elements to shine. Succulent acid. Elegant.
The drinking window is large. We drink our wines in their relative youth, and by default always decant a bottle for about an hour or two before drinking. We invite you to cellar with confidence for the next 20+ years.
Let me know if you pull the trigger, or if I can help you procure any 
Cheers, Erin
Thanks Erin,
All the reviews (including yours) kind of point to a similar streak in the wine that sounds so alluring to me. I really would like to give it a go and would prefer to support you direct if you still have some available. I’ll send you a pm.
My two predictions:
- this virus won’t let up by Easter
- Di Costanzo will soon carry cult status
- agreed, unfortunately
- agreed, because these wines are great, and the people behind it are even better…
Robert- this was one of my favorite wines that I tried last year and during our Sept trip to Napa. I purchased some more after our visit with Erin. Outstanding wine and the style is right in my sweet spot. Here was my note from our trip:
2016 Di Costanzo Farella- I’ve had the 13 and 14 recently and am a big fan of what Massimo does with Farella. The 16 I believe is the best yet. It’s a bit deeper, darker and slightly more savory than the 14. There is great energy and verve balanced by friendly tannin that makes the wine very approachable now. There is a great note of dark cocoa running through the finish. It will be hard to leave these alone as its terrific now but will want to try this in a few years as I think some additional time in bottle will help. Outstanding and if I had to put a number 96 points with upside for me
Thanks for the insight Fred, I have some Di Costanzo bottles coming!