April 4, 2024 - Light body. 13.5pct alcohol is which nice. Browning robe. Splash decanted for 3 hours and it needed every minute of it. Finally started to come into balance towards the end. Fruit is a bit thin, acidity a bit high although dissipates with time. Good with food but I wouldn’t go seek this out - poor QPR.
March 31, 2024 - I imagine this is beginning to enter a more mature phase. Plenty of fruits but also lovely early maturity with leather, rides, tar etc. Medium-full bodied, this is a great wine, from a less than great vintage.
December 23, 2022 - Disappointing
December 17, 2022 - Biondi Santi Masterclass
Shows bottle development of smoke, roasted walnut, wet leaves and forest floor with typical dry orange peel notes. Medium plus flavour intensity and long finish.
June 9, 2022 - Nose was rather reticent at first, after an hr in the decanter really started to open. Dried florals, cherry, spice, a touch of charred wood, really nice nose, palate was elegant with good acidity, astringent tannin and great structure, classic/old school Brunello character, a real joy to drink and great with dinner. Just starting to show some maturity with the structure to age nicely. 92-93+
April 20, 2022 - Birthday Drinks (Casa Esperanza): Decent, but not firing on all cylinders tonight. It did have a nice nose, with black cherries and plums, a touch of spice, and a little ferrous, bloody note, all underpinned by slightly savoury, earthy undertones. Quite classic Brunello notes. The palate took over where the nose left off, with more dark cherry and plum flavours wed to savoury hints of meat and earth, and then hints of spice and mineral towards the backpalate. This felt a little light at points - almost like a mid-weighted Rosso - especially at the finsih. Nevertheless, a pleasant wine, with a good dose of nicely bright Sangiovese acidity that gave it a yummy juiciness. At this point, enjoyable, but a tad simple. It should put on some weight and complexity as it ages a bit more.
April 3, 2022 - A matter of taste - Day 2: *** Brief notes from wine fair, primarily for my own memory ***
Glass: Stölzle Universal
Nice, rather complex nose, fully open. Good Brunello with potential, smooth, good structure and length. But unfortunately nothing special and I highly doubt the price tag... 92-93
January 30, 2022 - 醒酒器四个半小时，闻香有皮革和火腿的味道，草本植物气息，车厘子的香气和一些香料味，入口酸度高，单宁紧致，颗粒细腻，酒液咸，草本植物混合着车厘子和樱桃的果香，还有一股奶油冰激凌的味道，余味是红果香气，还有淡淡木质香气。口感纯净，酒体不大，细腻精致。一款十分羞涩的酒，还处在一个相对封闭的状态，不知道何时绽放。
October 15, 2021 - What is Better Than a By-the-Glass Lunch at Wally's? (Wally's - Beverly Hills CA): So interesting in context of the 1990 and 2013 Riservas I tasted last week. So much fruit here, with so much structure. While it was tough to tell which dominated, there is a superb "old school" character here that demanded my attention and wouldn't let go. Further upside from here.
May 29, 2021 - Waited 7 years to drink! Bought directly from the Montalcino as a new release. Beautifully classic brown/red hue and strong fruity nose. Soft smooth first Brunello burst but a little light on the strong red berries typical of these wines. Hints to tobacco and currants. Finish is nicely earthy, lipsmackingly dry with a medium linger. 2009 wasn’t a fantastic year like 2010 so my expectations weren’t huge, but it is an excellent quality wine from an OK year by a producer that we expect to produce excellence.