95 Points | International Wine Cellar , August 2012

(60% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot and10% cabernet franc; 15% alcohol and a very high 40 grams per liter dry extract):  Deep ruby.  Red cherry, licorice, plum and vanilla on the rich nose.  Then creamy-sweet and suave,  with ripe red cherry, balsamic vinegar and coffee nuances carrying through to a long, fine-grained finish.  This is perhaps the smoothest Giusto di Notri ever:  it's almost too easy to drink right now.  Owner Stefano Frascolla says it reminds him of the 2004 and 2006, but I find it smoother than the 2004.  I find it amazing that a young cabernet/merlot blend could be this seamless.  And it's also hard to detect the wine's high alcohol--because of the balance of the wine, not because your senses will have been numbed into oblivion after the first glass or two.