Fahrenheit 173 - Aged Spirits

Berta Elisi:
Oaky nose with nice notes of vanilla and cocoa but it's also earthy and a little rough. It also has a touch too much oak. The palate is at first oaky, herbal and a bit musty but de­velops very nice notes of fruits, black tea and vanilla. Nice, long, fruity finish. (83 p)

Berta Giulia (Grappa di Chardonnay):
Fragrant nose with vanilla and oak shavings. Also herbal with notes of citrus and green grapes. Not bad but a little heavy on the oak. The palate is at first light, fresh and fruity, then turns quite sweet (almost cloying) and quite floral (almost per­fumed). After that it's drying, de­velops oak and spices. Fruity, oaky finish. The palate has an in­ter­est­ing development but it lacks bal­ance. (81 p)

Berta Monprà (Grappa di Barbera & Nebbiolo):
Fragrant nose with wood shavings, fruits and berries, also notes of maraschino liqueur and polo mints. Interesting and rather nice. The palate is at first light and sweet with very nice notes of citrus fruits and maraschino cherries. Then it's drying and de­velops a fair bit of oak (maybe a little too much). Oaky, spicy finish with notes of mint and maraschino. (87 p)

Berta Piasì:
Quite nice nose with oak and olive oil. Also grassy with notes of vanilla and dark chocolate. The palate is sur­pris­ingly light with a nice minty freshness and a bit of oak. It's clean, bal­anced and rather nice. The finish is pre­dom­in­antly oaky and spicy and slightly dis­ap­point­ing. (85 p)

Casale del Giglio Grappa di Petit Verdot:
Complex, unusual nose with notes of oak, allspice, bread and meat soup. Unusual and in­ter­est­ing but not particularly nice. The palate is nicer, with notes of oak, vanilla. It's fruity (apricot) and fairly sweet at first, then drying, de­velops black pepper and more oak. Grows quite hot. Hot, spicy, warming finish. (80 p)

Marzadro Le Diciotto Lune:
Floral and quite woody nose with an unusual but in­ter­est­ing woodiness (not from oak, I'd say). It's actually quite nice. The palate is lighter than expected and not particularly woody. It's sweet and spicy in a very nice bal­ance with a fresh note of pepper­mint. All in all unusual but bal­anced and rather nice. (Aged in four dif­fer­ent kinds of wood, if I understood the Italian on the label correctly) (83 p)

Sibona Grappa di Barolo:
Quiet nose with wood shavings and citrus, also slightly musty and slightly sour (a bit like formic acid). The palate is nicer: it's fresh with notes of oak, pepper­mint and citrus. Sweet, chewy and quite nice. (82 p)

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