Montalcino visit Spring 2011

Montalcino
Tasted Wednesday, May 25, 2011 - Saturday, May 28, 2011 by Jochems with 803 views

Flight 1 - Producer visits (11 Notes)

  • 2006 Sesta di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino 95 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

    (5/27/2011)

    Ruby/red color. Lots of black fruit and cherry aromas with some cedar and allspice evolving with some hints of leather and licorice. Following trough full bodied with black fruit, silky smooth layered tannins and balanced fresh acidity. And a very long finish that echoes the fresh fruit and spices. Pretty attractive in its youth right now, but has lots of structure to develop more complexity with some cellar time. If you drink it now, give it lots of time to breathe. Otherwise: drink 2015 - 2030.

    Another great Brunello from this producer that can hardly be called a newcomer anymore. The first Brunello release was 1999. Since then Ettore and his crew have produced an impressively consistent string of vintages. In top vintages ('01,'04 and '06) outstanding wines, and in lesser vintages ('03 and '05) still Excellent. Even the '02 was actually quite nice.

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  • 2009 Sesta di Sopra Rosso di Montalcino 89 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino

    (5/27/2011)

    ruby color with some purple at the rim. Full aromas of black cherry some cassis and leather and hints of dried herbs. Full bodied with dusty tannins, some good fruit and lots of fresh acidity. A long and fresh finish. Could use some time to settle down. And has some potential to develop further Drink 2012-2019.
    Not as concentrated as the '07 but pretty close.

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  • 2007 Querce Bettina Rosso di Montalcino 89 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino

    (5/26/2011)

    Light ruby color. Aromas of dark cherry with some anise and hints of dried herbs. Medium-full bodied with chewy-smooth tannins lots of fruit and balanced acidity. A long finish.
    Less refined than the '06 but more depth and weight. Drink now - 2017.

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  • 2008 Querce Bettina Rosso di Montalcino 88 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino

    (5/26/2011)

    Ruby color. Cherry and fresh berry aromas with some toast. Medium-full body with chewy, mouth coating, tannins and fresh acidity. A long finish.
    Needs some time to settle down, and is much better with food. Has less fruit on the palate compared to '06 and '07. Could improve with a little more bottle time. Drink now - 2014.

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  • 2005 Querce Bettina Brunello di Montalcino 91 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

    (5/26/2011)

    Ruby color. Full aromas of Blackcurrant, cherry some tobacco and spices evolving with hints of licorice and cinnamon. Full bodied with smooth tannins balanced acidity and some good fruit. The finish is long and fresh.

    This is a great example of classic Brunello that stands out in refinement and complexity. Its not a huge-structered Brunello. But it provides much of the unique character that a better vintage like '04 and '06 will give in 5-8 years time. Perfect Brunello to get to know something about the greatness of wines from this DOCG, without having to wait for another half decade. Drink now - 2018.

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  • 2006 Querce Bettina Brunello di Montalcino 95 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

    (5/26/2011)

    This is as impressive as my first encounter with this producer (the '04 vintage), but in a slightly different way.

    Ruby/red color. Full aromas of cherry, blackcurrant and some berries with hints of leather and meat evolving in the glass. Following trough full bodied with lots of fresh fruit, smooth and dusty tannins and lots of fresh acidity. The finish is very long and remains fresh. This wine is still very young, but very attractive. It has lots of potential to develop for a long time to come. drink 2016 - 2030.

    Compared to the '04 this vintage has more depth and some darker/brooding tones, the '04 is more refined and delicate. I think both are great Brunelli!

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  • 2010 Querce Bettina Brunello di Montalcino

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

    (5/26/2011)

    I tasted this from barrel just a few days after malo-lactic fermentation had stopped. Its my first tasting of a Brunello in this stage of its development. My only comparison based on Sangiovese is to the '07 and '08 Torrione that I tasted in the same stage.
    It was extremely concentrated and the tannins where huge, but very smooth already. Much riper than I've tasted before in such young Sangiovese. Considering this, the very dense and concentrated fruit and the acidity balance, this might become a huge wine. We'll have to wait another 4 years to see!

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  • 2004 Conti Costanti Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 92 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

    (5/28/2011)

    Medium ruby color. Full aromas of cherry, blackcurrant some cedar and anise and hints of leather. Following trough full bodied with chewy-smooth tannins and lots of fresh acidity. A long finish that remains fresh throughout. Quite tightly wound, perhaps closing down? This could use quite a few more years to show its full potential. I would leave my bottles alone for some years (If I had some....) Drink 2016 - 2026.
    On par with the '05 normale at the same tasting. I liked the '06 normale quite a bit more.

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  • 2005 Conti Costanti Brunello di Montalcino 92 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

    (5/27/2011)

    Light ruby color. Full aromas of fresh cherry, blackberries with hints of leather and red licorice evolving in the glass. Full bodied with lots of fresh and rounded acidity, fresh fruit and smooth, dusty, tannins. A very long and fresh finish that keeps lingering.

    This wine has lots of classic Brunello character and is quite accessible now. It shows refinement and a particularly full bodied mid palate. The acidity balance makes this wine much better with food. Excellent wine for this vintage! It might improve a bit more over the next 5 years. And if it behaves like the '98 of this house, it won't shut down in the mean while. Drink now - 2020.

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  • 2006 Conti Costanti Brunello di Montalcino 94 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

    (5/27/2011)

    Ruby/red color. Initially quite tight. After quite a bit of air it gave lots of fresh berries, cherry and blackcurrant flavors with some leather and allspice. Following trough full bodied with very smooth and dusty mouth coating tannins and lots of fresh acidity and some good fruit. The finish is very long and fresh.
    This is a very fresh and refined Brunello with quite a bit potential to develop with some cellar time. And it surely has the structure to develop for a long time to come. Drink 2016 - 2030.

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  • 2009 Conti Costanti Rosso di Montalcino 89 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino

    (5/27/2011)

    I tasted this wine at the winery, pretty short after it was bottled. It showed a bit fragmented and some reduction. But after a while in the glass it was at least as impressive as the '04 and '06 Rosso from Costanti. Which I like a lot BTW.
    Ruby/Red color. Lots of cherry, berries and some hints of leather and dried herbs. Medium-full bodied with smooth tannins, fresh fruit and fresh acidity. And a long finish. Refined and fresh!
    Wait half a year before opening a bottle. Drink 2012 - 2016.

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Flight 2 - Tastings in town (7 Notes)

  • 1990 Tenuta Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino Vigna La Casa 95 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

    (5/26/2011)

    From the great Brunello cellar of Il Giglio in Montalcino. The wine was popped and poured and consumed over about 3 hours. It was immediately open for business, but kept on evolving over dinner. After about an hour the nose was more muted and had changed from the prominent leather component to fresh black fruit. Later on the leather blended back in and some savoury meat and light herbs set in. At some point this was my overall impression:

    Ruby color with some light brick at the rim, hardly showing any age! Full aromas of fresh black fruit, cherry, old leather with some meat and dried herbs evolving in the glass. Following trough full bodied with silky smooth tannins, good fruit and rounded acidity. The mid palate is striking with its full body and soft texture. The seamless finish is very long and remains fresh throughout.
    This wine has developed gracefully, and we concluded that we might even have been drinking this bottle to early! This will easily develop further over the next 10 years. It might even develop the sweetness and etheral character that I've found in some other older Brunelli. That will even take it beyond 95pts. Drink now -2025.
    (please bear in mind that this drinking window is based on a bottle that never has left Montalcino, most likely other bottles will be further in their development and are more likely to be 'drink now'!)

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  • 2006 Siro Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino Pelagrilli 88 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

    (5/25/2011)

    Ruby/red color. Aromas of cherry, strawberry and some toast. Medium-full bodied with smooth tannins. Medium finish.
    A slightly disappointing Brunello. Very accesible, but not so Brunellesque(!) to me. I might have been put of by the non-typicity, Some might like it more. Still the lack of body and complexity is what I partly base my rating on.
    The '08 Rosso from Siro Pacenti at the same tasting was much better. Which is odd since IMO the '06 vintage is miles better than the '08 vintage.

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  • 2006 Podere Salicutti Brunello di Montalcino Piaggione 95 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

    (5/25/2011)

    Bottle was open for one day.
    Ruby/red color. Full aroma's with lots of fresh berries, cherry, leather some spice and hints of red licorice. Following trough full bodied with smooth, mouth coating tannins, lots of fresh fruit and acidity. The finish is very long and has a spicy zing to it. This wine is very attractive now in its youth and it has the structure to develop into a real classic aged Brunello over the next two decades. It seems the type of Brunello that will shut down in a few years so, drink now or 2016 - 2030!

    This is the best Brunello I've tasted from here. In the past few years I loved their '04 and '06 Rosso, but their BdM less so. Where those RdM shine with their delicacy and refinement, the '06 Brunello offers all that AND huge structure and depth. Based on that it might develop beyond 95pts.

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  • 2008 Siro Pacenti Rosso di Montalcino 89 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino

    (5/25/2011)

    Ruby color. Full aromas with lots of black fruit and licorice with some leather and basalmic notes. Full bodied with chewy tannins and balanced acidity. A very long finish that remains fresh throughout. Not as good as the '07 RdM but very good for the vintage.

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  • 2007 Podere Salicutti Rosso di Montalcino 89 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino

    (5/25/2011)

    Ruby/red with some purple at the rim. Fresh aromas of cherry, red berries with hints of cedar and wet earth. Full bodied and fresh with smooth tannins and balanced acidity. A very long finish with some spicy hints.
    A very nice Rosso, slightly less refined than the '04 and '06 but with more body.

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  • 2006 Máté - Podere il Falconaio Brunello di Montalcino 90 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

    (5/25/2011)

    Initially this wine had some burned rubber notes on the nose. This blew off after some time. After that:
    Ruby color. Full aromas of blackcurrant, berries and some dried herbs and basalmic notes with hints of cedar. Medium-full bodied with chewy tannins and lots of fresh acidity. A long and fresh finish. slightly fragmented on the palate. Could use a few more years to settle down, but this doesn't seem one for the really long haul like some other '06 BdM. Drink 2015-2021

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  • 2006 Luciani Brunello di Montalcino 89 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

    (5/27/2011)

    ruby color. Full aromas of blackcurrant, cherry and hints of licorice and tobacco. Medium-full bodied with silky smooth tannins some fresh acidity. Medium-long finish.
    Nicely balanced with refined and complex aromas, only let down a bit by the medium body and finish.
    Drink now - 2016.

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