1999 Brunello Blind Tasting
Tom's House, Palo Alto
Tasted May 8, 2011 - May 9, 2011 by aagrawal with 696 views
Introduction
This was a very difficult tasting for me blind given my very limited history with sangiovese and brunello. I am proud that I could pick out the Leonetti, but in terms of ranking the brunello it was spur of the moment preference. Overall the wines were excellent except for the one corked wine (which was still only faintly corked), and I would be happy to drink any of them with dinner. The pre-wines were excellent, though I didn't catch the names and so are not listed here. Thanks to Ross for organizing such a wonderful tasting!
Flight 1 - Prosecco (1 note)
Flight 2 - Pre-wines (3 notes)
Two viognier that were dead-ringers for NZ sauv blanc. Very aromatic wines, very good. A chardonnay that was nothing like any chardonnay that I've had before. In all, a very interesting flight. All very affordable wines and good for the price.
White
2009 Carmenet Chardonnay
USA, California, Napa Valley
Served blind. Funky, earthy, ripe fruit. Full bodied, low acid. Very interesting. When revealed, most of us were stunned that it was a chardonnay. I would have guessed a rhone white varietal because of the funky characteristics and low acid. I really liked this wine on an intellectual level, though I don't know if I would buy a lot of it.
White
2010 Cline Cellars Viognier Estate Grown Sonoma Coast
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Served blind, may have gotten mixed up between the 2010 cline california viognier and 2010 cline contra costa viognier.
Wine B: Grassy, anise, mint, hint of citrus. Lovely, palate full bodied, creamy. The nose is the strong suit here. This smells exactly like a NZ sauv blanc, but the full creamy palate makes that less likely. I didn't guess viognier. 89
Wine C: Fruit. citrus. Balanced, good acid, not that much flavor. Somewhat pedestrian but still good. 84
White
2010 Cline Cellars Viognier
USA, California, North Coast
Served blind, may have gotten mixed up between the 2010 cline california viognier and 2010 cline contra costa viognier.
Wine B: Grassy, anise, mint, hint of citrus. Lovely, palate full bodied, creamy. The nose is the strong suit here. This smells exactly like a NZ sauv blanc, but the full creamy palate makes that less likely. I didn't guess viognier. 89
Wine C: Fruit. citrus. Balanced, good acid, not that much flavor. Somewhat pedestrian but still good. 84
Flight 3 - Brunello (8 notes)
I could pick out the corked wine and the non-brunello sangiovese, but other than that the wines were all approximately the same level of good. So, for now, I can't tell the difference blind between a $40 and $80 brunello. Perhaps with more experience...
Red
1999 Tenuta Fanti Brunello di Montalcino
Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
Tasted blind. This was a difficult wine for me to judge. Started off a bit off-balance, tannic finish, definitely needs a bit of time. With some air it opened up a bit and showed some fruit. Very hard to evaluate.
Red
1999 Siro Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino
Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
Tasted blind. Of all the wines served tonight, this could use the most time to improve. Very tannic palate when first opened, but really started to show good fruit after 45 minutes of air. It didn't stand out to me. My #5/8.
Red
1999 Poggio Antico Brunello di Montalcino
Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
Tasted blind. Somewhat hidden nose, hint of complex red fruit and spice. Well integrated tannins with moderate fruit. Good acid. Middle of the road, #4/8 for me.
Red
1999 Leonetti Cellar Sangiovese
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
Tasted blind; stood out from the other 7 brunello like a siren. Completely different, super-floral with ripe candied cherry and vanilla oak; good structure, great red fruit. Intense, excellent. Balanced, medium-long finish.
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