In my quest to clear my cellar of wines that need to be drank I pulled
my last bottle of 1996 Elia Pasquesro Barbaresco Sori Paitin to go
with soy marinated grilled Berkshire pork cheeks. I have drank
through a case of this wine over the years and watched it evolve with
each bottle as the wine was starting to fade. A fair amount of brick
in the reddish purple color and a lot of leather on the nose with a
good bit of barnyardy funk with the typical Nebbiolo tar and floral
aromas. The fruit was still at the forefront showing black cherry and
plummy notes followed by cedar and leather followed by a bracing
tannic grip. It seems as if the tannins actually grew but I think
it's a case of the ample fruit falling back a bit. A good effort for
a tired wine. "C+/B-"