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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 63 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by r.o.man on 5/27/2018 & rated 93 points: Tasted along Michele Satta Cavaliere 2001. Satta was more integrated, more compact. Brancaia had more fresh orange juiciness, more of the shine. But in terms of refinement the Satta was better. Still, this was a great wine with a great structure, depth and real sense of place. (2751 views) | | | Tasted by cephomer on 12/4/2016 & rated 91 points: Popped & poured last nite with the Marks at home. Generous nose of black fruit & dirt. Dark purple in color. Soft & subtle, still showing plenty of ripe black fruit--blackberries & plums. Tannins mostly resolved, some earth, some forest floor & tobacco notes. Lots of sediment. The wine has held up far better than I would've imagined. Very enjoyable. (4107 views) | | | Tasted by AlexHop on 4/25/2015 & rated 92 points: not especially expressive fruit but great acid and structure. (5711 views) | | | Tasted by Stevey on 3/8/2015 & rated 92 points: This wine was interesting. Popped and poured. Very dark purple color. Initial taste appear muted, wet earth, not much fruit. Muted nose as well. Then about an hour in it opened up, the fruit started to become prominent, dried blackberries, with good structure and length. Very good long finish as it's peak. But then past the 2-hour mark tannins appeared to dominate almost as if it was going backwards and closing again. Overall, it's in drinking window now but let air out for 30 min after opening before drinking. If you have some, I'd drink up now within 4 years because I'm not sure which way this wine will evolve 5+ years from now. (5623 views) | | | Tasted by hebatty on 11/28/2014: - Ruby color and aromas of blackberry. It's balanced and has flavours of blackberry with a medium body. Round texture with a medium finish. (5935 views) | | | Tasted by NandL on 10/25/2014 & rated 94 points: Last bottle of a case - still awesome in 2014! (4315 views) | | | Tasted by NotNYC on 6/21/2013 & rated 87 points: At this point this is only okay. Just never congealed to become a minor masterpiece. Serious sediment and despite its age just a bit chewy in the tannins. Therein lies the surprise and the flaw. They are taking too long to turn.
Had a case. the nose says absolutely mature. The taste conforms. I doubt there's much upside left to holding.
Enjoyed the early bottles and that my friends is that. (5436 views) | | | Tasted by PatCast on 5/4/2013 & rated 88 points: Quite ok but not ready yet, still harsh. Needs another year to get acomplished. (4427 views) | | | Tasted by cjsavino on 4/21/2013 & rated 93 points: Dark garnet color, almost inky dark. A bit of leather on the nose with licorice. On the palate more leather, very tannic mouth drying, and plum skin. (4399 views) | | | Tasted by cjsavino on 4/6/2013: - Garnet color. (4196 views) | | | Tasted by S_stas on 10/28/2012 & rated 93 points: Decanted. A mass of sediment left in the bottle. Big juicy nose with the spicy merlot coming through. Color is dark garnet, just starting to show some bricking on the edges. Tannins are still a bit forceful, but not overpowering. On the pallet the earthy terrior reflects this steep vineyard. The finish is long, but there is an almost chemical like taste that lingers. My first aged Brancaia, and it's turning out to be a nice treat. (4768 views) | | | Tasted by NotNYC on 8/27/2012: Agree with others on aeration. Once it comes round a full delicious mature balance. Pasta with a meat (short-ribs) sauce. (4207 views) | | | Tasted by Vinoevelo on 6/28/2012 & rated 92 points: Rich deep purple in colour, nose of dark fruits, herbs and sottobosco. Continues through to the palate with very meaty notes. Very brancaia, very Tuscan. Delicious and will continue to buy more. (4319 views) | | | Tasted by cjsavino on 4/8/2012 & rated 90 points: - Garnet color - Decanted before serving, nice garnet color, earthy with an herb de Provence background, with grainy tannins on the back end. (4251 views) | | | Tasted by Tim Heaton on 3/12/2012: This begged for aeration in a decanter. Very muted at first, with just 30 minutes in the decanter, this was gaining weight, and complexity. Dark brick-red toward purple core, no sign of age. Once this opened up we were offered a panoply of red and black berries, dark chocolates, dried roses, and the list goes on. I was not a fan on first sip, but at the one hour mark, my opinions shifted to the positive. Acids and tannins will likely outlive the fruits, so drink 'em if you got 'em. This must have been quite the brute on release - perhaps a mess, even. Score: B+
https://italianwine.blog/ (4289 views) | | | Tasted by Bro on 1/21/2012 & rated 90 points: Facilement la vedette de la soirée en accompagnement des fromages avant le merveilleux porto qui a suivi ... Je réitère que ce vin aurait pu traverser encore quelques années ... (3915 views) | | | Tasted by Bro on 1/20/2012 & rated 90 points: En raison du retard de l'invité, François Faucher le peintre, cette bouteille fut carafé pendant près de 3 heures ... Couleur très foncée, un bouquet sur les fruits noirs bien mûrs, et de la jambe à profusion ... Au goût, de la puissance onctueuse avec toujours les fruits noirs bien mûrs en toile de fond ... Les tanins, bien apprivoisés, sont toujours présents et ce vin n'était pas à bout d'âge ... Les dépôts sont abondants ... Une formidable expérience ! ... (3886 views) | | | Tasted by vcgagnon on 9/30/2011 & rated 93 points: À l'oeil: très foncé, opaque, beaucoup de dépots
Au nez: Épices, cassis, fruits mûres, terre
Au goût: Riche, épices, puissant, fruits bien mures, terreux
Très bon vin
Very good wine, ready to drink (4348 views) | | | Tasted by vickyj on 9/21/2011 & rated 93 points: Let me speak about 2002 vintage IL BLU first.
I couldn't believe it has been almost 9 years since it was bottled.
The wine showed fresh power like young wine, and had a lot of layers of falvours: Literally, it changed itself in a glass as time went by and I was astonished.
2002 vintage of Toscana, I was told, was not super-nice but this well-known brand seems to manage its quality well.
Fortunately I had another chance to have its 2001 vintage, and it was even more powerful and elegant. What made 2001 better than 2002 was maybe persistency-if I am saying it right.
So, I should say BRANCAIA is absolutely worth-trying, if you haven't. (3386 views) | | | Tasted by jakob99 on 3/13/2011 & rated 90 points: Still à bit harsh, but à beautiful wine. (4039 views) | | | Tasted by amgryger on 12/28/2010: NY/NJ WLTV Offline at Anthony Davids (Anthony David's, Hoboken): Very pretty nose that combines earthy, savory notes with dark, blueberry fruit. Similar notes on the palate. Smooth mouthfeel. Medium full body. Well integrated medium high tannin structure. Long finish. Really good wine. (4683 views) | | | Tasted by EMTAME on 10/28/2010 & rated 91 points: Others note very prominent and drying tannins, but this bottle showed much more rounded tannins and a good balance of fruit and structure. Reminded me of the '01 Castello di Brolio, but with a touch more merlot apparent. Very nice bottle of wine, and with several good years still ahead. Yum. (4018 views) | | | Tasted by snowine on 10/19/2010 & rated 87 points: Red fruit nose. Good red fruit on palate, but currently overwhlemed by the tannins. Not sure if this will balance out. Had this with beef for dinner and enjoyed it. Drinking a glass now by itself and not enjoying it nearly as much. (4152 views) | | | Tasted by Impulse on 5/27/2010 & rated 93 points: Powerful, fresh nose with the typical sour candies, red berries, etc. Depth was more than adequate. Mouthfeel still characterised by very present tanins but they are round and fat, fresh fruits and better than average length. will wait for 2-3 years to open the next one. (4410 views) | | | Tasted by Employee500 on 2/6/2010 & rated 82 points: Pretty foul stuff....tons of drying tannin, dried out cherry fruit. This is going nowhere fast. If you've got it, either drink it immediately, or stick it away for 6 years and pray for a miracle. (Incidentally, I had a gorgeous bottle of the '04 immediately after this one....either they've corrected a problem or this wine doesn't age at ALL. (4520 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Brancaia Producer website
U.S. Importer?
Casa Brancaia was founded in 1981 by the Swiss couple Brigitte and Bruno Widmer. It is located in the heart of the Chianti Classico region. The vineyard experienced a quasi vertical takeoff, as it already won with the 1983 vintage won first place at a major Chianti Classico tasting. This rapid success is the friendship with the Mazzei family, owners of the famous Castello di Fonterutoli owe. In their cellar, the wines of Casa Brancaia were pressed up to the 1997 vintage and expanded. Since 1998, the wines in their own, vinified using the most modern principles built cellar. The management of the property taken over in 1999 the daughter of Barbara Kronenberg-Widmer and her husband Martin Kronenberg. They are supported by star winemaker Dr. Carlo Ferrini. La Brancaia is already one of the flagship company of Tuscany and receives for its wines every year national and international awards. Brancaia Casa also has a winery in Maremma. From there comes the Ilatraia. SuperTuscan BlendSuperTuscan Blend refers to wines which feature a significant Sangiovese component combined with grapes not traditionally associated with Italy like Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon. This separates it from "Sangiovese blend" which is used for wines which are predominantly Sangiovese and combined with traditional Italian varieties. There is often confusion as many wines most famous associated with the term "Super Tuscan" like Sassicaia, Masseto and Ornellaia have no Sangiovese and are properly linked to 'Red Bordeaux Blend.'
In fact, Super Tuscan was a term coined to refer specifically to wines such as Sassicaia and Tignanello. These were wines that "fell out" of the official DOCG classification of Italian wines because they either contained grapes not permitted (international varietals such as cabernet sauvignon or merlot,) were aged differently (I.e. in barrique) or were 100% sangiovese - which was not permitted at the time for Chianti (E.g. Fontodi Flaccianello.) Forced to be classified as simply "Vina di Tavola" these wines nontheless quickly found favour in international markets and comanded prices above the highest quality DOCG Chianti Classico & Brunello di Montalcino wines at the time. The wine industry and press began to refer to these wines as SuperTuscans because of their popularity and quality, but also because of the prices they commanded. Subsequently, the Italian authorities, under the Goria Law 1992, redrew the classifications, and included the category IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) to classify the SuperTuscans.Italy Italian Wines (ItalianMade.com, The Italian Trade Commission) | Italian Wine Guide on the WineDoctorTuscany Tuscany (ItalianMade.com) | TuscanytToscana IGTHere is the Wikipedia entry for Toscana wine. |
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