The 2010 Padrone (Cabernet Sauvignon) comes across as super-ripe and almost jammy, at least judging by this barrel sample. It is a big, voluptuous wine with tons of inner perfume and expressive dark red raspberry jam, smoke, licorice and tar. There is plenty of energy in the glass, but I don’t find the 2010 Padrone meaningfully more complex or interesting than the Estate in this vintage. This is a bit on the heavy side today. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2020.
This is a strong set of wines from Signorello. Pierre Birebent is the winemaker. Luc Morlet consults on the wines as of 2010. I also tasted the 2008 reds for reference, and quality is definitely on the rise since those wines were made. Padrone is a selection of the estate’s best barrels, but the best barrels don’t always equate to a significantly better wine, especially when one takes into account the difference in price.