1996 Elia Pasquesro Barbaresco Sori Paitin

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-"