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2004 Palari Faro - Italy, Sicily, Faro (2/12/2017)
Needs air before it gets going. Light>medium brick red core, bricked to the watery and slightly tawny rim. On pop n pour, aromas of cedar/oak wood. It’s not till the wine’s been in the glass a full 20 minutes before some soil notes begin to emerge, followed by another 20 minutes before some red berry (cherry, mostly, with a brush or two of strawberry) fruit notes show up. The body is medium(-), the fruit is subdued by lots of tannins, more wood. I was thinking this was going to be a simple PnP, boy was I wrong. This is structured, for sure, but I’m not sure there’s enough fruit to allow this to reach some harmonious point with further ageing (held since release). That said, it wouldn’t surprise me too much if 15 years from now, with plenty of tertiary flavors and aromas, this wasn’t the bomb, either. The aromas are gorgeous by the 1hr mark (in the glass, with occasional swirling), but it’s clear, they’re still developing; will check on it for the next couple of hours and report back. As it is now, be sure to put this in wide-bottom decanter for at least 2 hours. At the 90 minute mark, lovely tobacco and darker soil notes with an admixture of blue and purple floral - but they are all very reticent. Long, tightly coiled finish that’s not overly rewarding, but that will likely get better with more cellar time. Delicate in many ways, austere in others. Not unlike a fine Burg, I suppose; classy, nonetheless. 13,5% abv., thru 2025. highly recommended
** edit** after 4 hours in wide-bottom decanter, I returned the wine to bottle and served it blind, 2 hours later. The wine was the bomb, or it least it seemed that way to others as many continued to talk about it. Having experienced the aromas in the moments after the cork was pulled, I have to say, where it ended up, 6 hours later, was a miraculous transformation. Additionally, I served this blind to my regular tasting group’s monthly dinner, the theme was Pinot Noir; it showed very well in that light.
Served non-blind; cork soaked 1/5, minimal sediment.
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