Super Tasting 6 of 6 - Brunello di Montalcino with Greg

I was very excited for this tasting and to see what aged Brunello was all about. I've had a few examples but comparative tasting is always superior.

• NV Tarlant Champagne Cuvée Louis 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  12 years on lees, 50/50 blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. 96, 97, 98 vintages. Beautiful appearance with very fine bubbles. Powerful, mature leesy nose. Nose of nutty, dusty, lightly oxidative walnut skins, candied lemon peel, cinnamon covered baked apples. Interesting secondary notes poke through like nut shells and cheese rind. Palate maintains fresh tight acids. Excellent.

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• 2006 Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona Rosso di Montalcino 87 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino

  (Tasted blind) More of a ripe, modern interpretation. Certainly youthful. Fruit profile is of the powdered purple grape candy variety. Some nice secondary notes of tar, violets make an appearance. Firm tannic structure. Alcohol on the nose and plate is noted and is high (discovered later 14.5%).

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• 2001 Tenuta Greppo (Biondi-Santi) Brunello di Montalcino 93 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  (Tasted Blind) Huge contrast to the previous wine. Very secondary, focused entirely on the non-fruit elements of this wine. Nose features rustic elements of leather, tomato (sundried /canned), dusty earth. Palate features quite integrated tannins with abundant acid built on a sour and tart finish which repalys the tomato notes. The arch classisist of this region. Such a beautifully savoury wine.

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• 2005 Fuligni Brunello di Montalcino 90 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  (Tasted Blind) Interesting nose on this: coconut, caramelized banana, powdered sugar, florals. Dark in color. Polished. A slightly modern leaning producer and must be young. Really had something like a rice pudding and sugary coconut note going on. Over time I noticed something akin to seaweed coming through on the nose. Fruit profile is in the dark cherry spectrum. Mouthfeel is very silky and round. Young and could/should improve with age. I was surprised on reveal that this was fuligni and I was expecting something more traditional from them. I'd call this a slightly modern leaning tweener. Clearly not as extracted and dark as the casanova di neri served afterward.

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• 2005 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino 89 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  (Tasted Blind) On first pour the nose started with a very reduced rubbery note. Once it settled down notes of plastic, tar, and naimal fur poke through. Fruit is fairly dark in the dark cherry, plum, casssis spectrum. Highly extracted and dark in color leading to a slightly trying finish.

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• 2011 Argiano Non Confunditur Toscana IGT 89 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

  (Tasted Blind) Evidently ripe and dark in color. Notably oaked and clearly has pyrazines. This has to have Bordeaux varietals in it. Fruit is in the dark black spectrum featuring plums and cassis. Firm young palate.

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• 2008 Casanova di Neri Rosso di Montalcino 90 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino

  (Tasted Blind) By contrast to the previous wine this is very red fruited. Red currants and leather feature prominently. Palate repeats tart red fruit and dusty earthy notes. Very surprised this was Casanova di Neri! Much more classic than their Brunello.

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• NV Tarlant Champagne Brut Rosé 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  Very nice nose of raspberries, fresh strawberries, light cherries, with hints of brown sugar and brown spice. Very tart sour acid and a somewhat short finish hold this back a bit.

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• 1995 Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona Brunello di Montalcino Vigna di Pianrosso 94 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  (Tasted Blind) Loads of brown spice, brown sugar, mushroom. Enters sweet and turns very savory on the finish. Some tomatoey elements and roasted meats. So savory. Palate is so pure, vibrant, and complex. Long finish.

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• 1995 Conti Costanti Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Flawed

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  This is showing overripe and oxidative notes. Lingers on raisins and dates.

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• 1995 Pertimali (Livio Sassetti) Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 92 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  (Tasted Blind) Very funky wine. I was a little more tolerant of this than others at the table. After some reduction blew off the nose turned to very sweaty sneakers (high-toned almost like hairspray), saline, spices, and leather. On the negative side sulfur is also evident. Fruit is a mixture of dark and red fruits. Nose is better than the palate. Really a lot of stink is overwhelming this wine though it is a really classic rustic style in my opinion. Saline notes repeat on the palate. Others were arguing that a rubbery/reduction note was detracting but I appreciated the rusticity.

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• 1997 Fuligni Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 90 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  (Tasted Blind) Noted density and a fair bit of oak. This felt kind of modern. Sweet entry, plush mouthfeel with fairly high alcohol. Over time really showed some prunes, and bruised apple. Palate is integrated and nice, but finishes a touch short.

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• 1997 Conti Costanti Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 93 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  (Tasted Blind) Nose of roasted meat, dried blood, herbs, juniper berries, and cured meats. Fruited leans to the red spectrum, though dark fruit is also there and is quite fresh. Finish is quite long on this. Very solid performance.

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• 1997 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino Poggio alle Mura 93 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  (Tasted Blind) This was fairly ripe but also brings some rusticity and some exotic spice and charcoal notes. Lovely palate and long finish bolster this wine. We were shocked on reveal as we had this pegged as #1 in this flight. The expectation was that Banfi would be the most modern, however this bottle was very balanced and showed some nice traditional elements.

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• 2000 Tenuta Col d'Orcia Moscadello di Montalcino Pascena 91 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Moscadello di Montalcino

  Showing a fair bit of oxidation like a vin santo though far less alcohol (12%) which was nice. Nose of orange rind, almond/marzipan, orange blossom. Palate is not too viscous or sweet and brings sufficient acid on a long orange tinged finish.

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This was a fantastic night of great food and company. I thought most wines showed well and seemed fairly representative. The 95 Conti Costanti Riserva was a huge disappointment as that could have been wine of the night. It was interesting that both Fuligni's we had showed much more modern that expected and really weren't to my tastes. Props to the Ciacci, the dark horse which stole the show.