Alzero Quintarelli 2008 (750ML)

95 Points, Monica Larner, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "This wine was first produced in 1983, and production remains unbroken because no vintage was ever skipped. The 2008 Cabernet Alzero is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc with 20% Merlot. These are the first grapes to be picked in September. After harvest, the grapes go through two or three months of appassimento and up to nine years of aging in large oak casks. Indeed, the winemaking process used here is identical to that of the Amarone, only this wine maintains a more international identity thanks to the grape varieties used. Dark plum, blackberry and raisin intermingle with spice, tar and tobacco. This vintage registers a 16.5% alcoholic content, and there is, once again, plenty of textural fiber and richness to support and cushion that heat." 08/19

93 Points, Josh Raynolds, Vinous: "Brilliant red. Highly perfumed red fruit liqueur, potpourri and Moroccan spice scents show impressive vivacity and focus. Sappy, alluringly sweet and precise, offering palate-staining raspberry and floral pastille flavors and a hint of spicecake. Closes very long and smooth, displaying excellent focus, even tannins and emphatic, floral-tinged persistence." 7/2018

92-94 Points, Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com: "Noticeably darker in color than the 2015, the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a bigger, richer wine and offers lots of ripe black cherry, currants and garrigue aromatics, full-bodied richness, substantial tannin, and a blockbuster finish. This 2016 checks in as 85% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre and 5% Syrah, aged primarily in concrete, yet with 10% in oak tanks. Buy a case, you won't regret it." 10/17