Yeah, yeah, it's been a while. I am now a resident of Monforte d'Alba, Italy - I decided to move here to keep working on my book in a more serious manner and because I love this area. I'm fortunate to have sufficient work and many friends here, and one of them poured me his 1996 Barolo today: Luciano Sandrone. Luciano is an old friend - I first met him 1999ish and he is now like a second father to me. 1996 is a difficult vintage to evaluate at this point. It is generally considered to be one of the great "classic" vintages - a cooler year that led to terrific acid development, which is a hallmark of the wines. Many 1996 wines that I have had in the last few years are incredibly perfumed in the nose, hinting at great potential, only to be still-shrill with tight acidity in the mouth. A few of the great wines of the vintage have begun to come around - especially in Barbaresco - but for the most part these wines still require patience. I have begin to wonder if the fruit will ever outlast the acids. Great surprise on the 1996 Sandrones: they are beginning to open up. I tasted then after they had been open an hour and then again after 4-5 hours. These are both very savory wines - they have terrific acidity and minerality; the antithesis of the fruit bomb. Here are brief notes: 1996 Barolo Cannubi Boschis: Open an hour, this was incredibly perfumed, lots of dark berries, crushed rose petals and tobacco. Aromas are beginning to take on secondary characteristics. In the mouth, still tight but losing the shrillness I remember from a bottle 18 months ago. After 4 hours, the acids have mellowed even further, and the aromas are open and expressive. Nose of dried and fresh black cherry and dried blueberries, rose petals, hints of licorice and woody notes, with a tarry and espresso-bean center. In the mouth,it has softened considerably, with good dried fruit braced up by not-excessive acidity and soft tannins. Very long finish, ripe and focused. This is not an opulent CB, but a leaner, more precise and focused version. (4.0nb) 1996 Barolo Le Vigne: At one hour, this was still tight and bright - though the nose was deeply expressive, the wine was still too acidic in the mouth. After 4-5 hours open, the palate has caught up with the nose - Le Vigne is made from 4 different sites around the Barolo zone, and this wine shows the characteristics of higher-altitude fruit from Monforte. The nose is floral with black cherry/cranberry/pomegranate and tarry minerality, licorice and river rocks. In the mouth, bright acids frame complex and layered dried and fresh fruit. I generally prefer Le Vigne to the Cannubi and 1996 is no different. An excellent wine, and if you have a few more years of patience, this will be a great one. (4.0+nb)