Marengo Marenda Barolo Cerequio 1989

Wickedly herb dominated nose tonight but with great mulberry and limestones notes , captivating hints of smoke and earth. Lush cherry fruit in the mouth with strong notes of menthol and limestone, high toned, acidity a touch lower than ideal but still vibrant, lovely insinuating black spicy, heady stuff, very powerful and dark tonight with almost bitter notes of licorice root backed by great sweetness of red fruit offering a compelling contrast, finish is quite long but marred slightly by the alcohol, there is a slight edge of over-ripeness which impacts the midpalate but doesn't particularly read more...detract from the whole. This will benefit from additional cellaring, say 3-5 years before trying again.    (hide)

July 2007

This had aromas that just exploded from the glass with notes of veal, sour cherries, moist earth, minerals, sweet root vegetable tones and background notes of angelica root and sweet herbs. On the palate this had lovely structure, super-fine tannins paired with zesty yet integrated acidity that supported a rich core of sweet wild cherry fruit. There was a nice touch of mineral grab on the mid-palate that lead to a minerally, tarry, waxy finish of moderate length. This was just super friendly if a touch chunky and inelegant but it had wonderfully immediate appeal. 2009-2019 91pts

November 2009