French Bakery BYO Brunello Dinner

Attnedees:Paul Chevalier

Attendees: Paul Chevalier(Shaw- Ross division of Southern)& Guest; Deidre Conley & Richard Groves(Boisset); Elaine Davis & Kevin Veilleux; Roberta & David Ehrenreich; Elland and Mark Friedman(me); Charlie Frumkin(The French Bakery); Jerry McGinley; Craig von Teuber; Jeannie & Gus Vidaurreta, and Jeannie's cousin Rob.

Maria Frumkin's excellent pairing menu:
- Antipasto: roasted vegetables,tomato confit, caramelized onions & Bruschetta (surprisingly the acidity in this dih paored well with the Brunello's)
- Spinach Canneloni alla Rossini
- Pappardelle w Bolognese Ragu
- Bell & Evans bonelless roasted chicken w Tuscan herbs
- Torta Ricotta Toscana

• 1997 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino 89 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Flight 1, #1. David's wine. Least complex wine in flight. With slight aeration it paired well with food, but lacked the complexity of the Fattoi or the Scopetani.

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• 1997 Fattoi Brunello di Montalcino 91 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Flight 1, #2. David and Roberta's wine. My favorite in the flight, and preferred by the wine professionals in the group. Most balanced and complex without any trace of brett.

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• 1999 Scopetani Brunello di Montalcino 90 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Flight 1, #3. Deirdre and Richard's wine. 2nd favorite in the flight, quite good, but had an inoffensive trace of brett.

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• 1997 Castelgiocondo (Marchesi de' Frescobaldi) Brunello di Montalcino 89 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Flight 2, #1. Charlie's wine in which he was disappointed. Good, but weakest wine of the flight. Was outclassed by the 97 Valdicava Madonna del Piano and the 99 Gianni Brunelli.

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• 1997 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano 93 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Flight 2, #2. Craig;s wine. Wine of the flight, and a candidate for WOTN(Wine of the Night). Drinking beautifully now with superb bouquet, palate and finish. Outclassed the 97 Frescobaldi Castelgiocondo, but was almost matched by the 99 Gianni Brunelli.

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• 1999 Gianni Brunelli Brunello di Montalcino 91 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Flight 2, #3. Deirdre and Richard's wine. Very, very good, almost the equal of the 97 Valdicava Riserva Madonna del Piano. There was a slight raisiny note on the finish. But still preferred over the 97 Frescobaldi.

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• 1999 Tenuta Greppo (Biondi-Santi) Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 90 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Flight 3, #1. Paul's wine. Good, but was up against the toughest competition, the 97 Ciacci, and the 99 Cerretalto. A classic Brunello that evidently needs time.

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• 1999 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto 95 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Flight 3, #2. Jerry's wine. My WOTN. Deirdre's and my reaction was that it is "a world class wine". Charlie likened it to a Parker wine, ie made to suit Parker's taste. Distinctly different than the other Brunello's but still an exceptional wine. Outstanding bouquet, excellent palate and rich cocoa finish. To me it outclassed my 97 Ciacci Piccolomini, which is regarded as the benchmark Brunello from the 97 vintage.

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• 1997 Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona Brunello di Montalcino Vigna di Pianrosso 92 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Flight 3, #3. My wine. Opened in the am, and aerated it w Vinturi aerator and rebottled. Perhaps a mistake, because it lost the intensity it showed last year. Still good, but was eclipsed by the 99 Casanova di Neri Cerretalto.Has been regarded as the benchmark 97 Brunello.

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• 2001 Tenuta di Collosorbo Brunello di Montalcino 91 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Flight 4, #1. Gus's wine(flight). Very good and the equal of most of the fine Brunello's we enjoyed this evening.

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• 2001 Il Poggiolo (Cosimi) Brunello di Montalcino Beato 91 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Flight 4, #2. Gus wine(flight). Again another excellent Brunello that showed well vs the competition.

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• 2001 Pertimali (Livio Sassetti) Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 93 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Flight 4, #3. Gus's wine(flight). Wine of the flight and the = to the finest wines of the night. A great Brunello.

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• 2001 Terralsole Brunello di Montalcino 92 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Flight 5, #2. Kevin's wine. A superb Brunello which to my taste eclipsed my 01 Valdicava, This wine is drinking beautifully now.

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• 2001 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino 92 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Flight 5, #2. My wine. Double decanted in am. I think its going into a dumb stage. I preferred the 01 Terrasole to it. Deirdre however preferred the Valdicava which she believed was perhaps the WOTN. Will patiently wait on my stash.

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• 1995 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Vin Santo del Chianti Classico 91 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Vin Santo del Chianti Classico

  Flight 6, #1. Dessert flight. Needed biscotti. Excellent vin santo, as was the 97.

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• 1997 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Vin Santo del Chianti Classico 91 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Vin Santo del Chianti Classico

  Flight 6, #2. Charlie's wine(?) Excellent vin santo, quite similar to the 95.

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Unfortunately with our move, this is written 8 days after the tasting. So the notes and the attributions may be lacking. In any event the Brunellos all showed well, and there seemed to be little vintage superiority, as we had a representative tasting of 97, 99, and 01's.

The 2 wines which were least appreciated were surprisingly the 97 Banfi Brunello normale, and the 07 Frescobaldi Castelgiocondo, both of which have received extravagant reviews. The WOTN was a toss-up between the 99 Casanova di Neri Cerretalto, the 97 Valdicava Riserva della Madonna del Piano, and the 01 Pertimali Riserva. My prefernece was the Cerretalto, but as Charlie noted it is not typical of Brunello.

All in all Brunello remains one my favorite wine regions anywhere, and there was consistently excellent quality in all the wines we tasted.