We just dusted off a few bottles that have been cellared at the source in Montalcino. Beautiful wine with maybe a little time left; Drinking close to peak. Subtle sour cherry, notes of pencil and spice. Leather. Palate matches the nose with smooth tannins and still some fresh acidity. Showing age with obvious brick change at the rim fading into a subtle garnet. It did need some time in air. This was an immaculately stored bottle so seems to have some time left but I plan to drink our remaining bottles soon.
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Absolutely wonderful bottle. Color very deep red of af mature wine. Bouquet, taste and finish textbook Brunello of what one might call the classic style. I first read of Brunello from the printed catalogue of Village Corner in the early 1980's. Dick Scheer said the three great Brunelli were Biondi Santi, Conti Costanti and Fattoria dei Barbi. Never had Biondi Santi but Costanti and Barbi have been great. Perfect mature Brunello. The most elegant, complex sangiovese wine one can find. Bravi.
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Brownly color. Unpleasant nose with signs of premox. Much better on the palate: reduced red fruit, cherries but also a bit of plum. Round but drying out, at the end of development which is unusual for the year. Probably a bad bottle.
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Vinturi aerated with a one hour decant. Cedar, mushroom and earthy nose. Medium body, tannins slightly drying but pleasing and integrated. Blackberry fruit dominates with some vegetal notes. Med long finish. The wine continued to soften in the glass. A delicious wine significantly improved from my last bottle July/18.
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At the open: Smells of sweet earth, purple fruit, barn dust, and muesli dates Tastes of layered black cherries & earthy with a brightness and dampness. Moderate sandy tannins on the gums
Medium-full bodied.
This remains a favorite and drinks well after 30 minutes. The 2007 is remarkably reliable.
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(Decanted for two hours) Deep red colour with a youthful nose showing cherries, herbs and some oakiness. Still showing some austerity of the tannins on the palate with a nice finish showing dried herbs and some fruity sweetness as well. (Best 2017-2027)
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Pop and pour, consumed over 2 hours. Nose: Medium expressiveness, chalky earth, rust, and red fruit - pomegranate and raspberry. Palate: Medium-full bodied, rusty earth and red fruit attack, good balance, spicy rustic notes appear in the mid-palate, back-end shows some slightly rough edges but the flavors stay in balance and linger through a 30-45 second finish. This appears to be drinking very well at the moment and may still improve over the next couple years - very nice.
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Dark red medium big body wine (14.5%). Despite being open for 45 minutes this wine appeared to be "rough" and a little musty. Almost no finish. I wonder if it is past its drinking window,
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Beaucoup apprécié ce vin qui a mon avis rentre dans une belle phase. Les tanins sont biens intégrés avec encore une belle fraîcheur. La robe est claire. Nous sommes dans les fruits rouge avec une touche de poivre.
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Tasted blind. Definite initial musty note on the nose, dusty locker, certainly a note of age. After you get through the initial nose and let it breathe, it opens up to distinct stewed cherry, slight pepper, and a tiny hint of balsamic which helped on the guess of an aged Sangiovese.
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Vinturi aerated with a 60 min decant. On the nose blackberries, forest floor and some heat. Smooth mouthfeel but highly tannic still which overshadows the cherry fruit. Medium finish with some dried prune notes. I expected this wine to be drinking much better than it was.
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Lesser fruit than expected. Not that much cellaring aromas either. A bit to balsamic. Not balanced. Good anyway with its cherry fruit and tannins. A bit to much tannins. The legs are slow. There is no sediment in the bottle. It smells like blackberry, raisin, cherry, oak and lead pencil. It tastes like blackberry, raisin and cherry. The body is medium. The wine has narrow texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has high acidity.
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Tarry black fruit. Rigid and upright in the glass with firm tannin, med acidity and body trying to balance the wine out. It's not all coming together as yet but it is still drinking well despite this. It will be redu (I think) in a few years and it will be a stunner.
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Very nice brunello especially considering the price. Bouquet of ripe cherries, thyme, herbs, bark, wet soil, cedar, slate. Tannins are relatively strong but very mellow compared to a young brunello or Barolo. Good with food and somewhat harsh without. Lacks some elegance. Garnet with bricking edges. All in all a good brunello.
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Di Fara's Pizza and Wines that don't suck offline :-) (Brooklyn, NY): Was very happy to drink it though I am not sure I'd proactively seek another bottle: More earthy, darker brown red compared with the '07 Taurasi I tasted along side. It's a matter of preference- more earth and secondary notes here. More fruit front to Taurasi. Both were nice.
(Di Fara's offline)
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Drank quite nicely shortly after opening but the fruit seemed to diminish after a couple hours. Lots of acidity. Great with garlic toast and steak. Surprisingly good with the tiramisu dessert course. Long tannic finish.
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Tuesday Night $30-$50 Double Blind (Bin 75): Deep crimson, good clarity, rusty rim; graham cracker, charcoal, red cherry, dried roses, prune, may have seen too much air; Nebbiolo?, dry, cedar, dried roses; not sure about this one.
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Wildman Il Giro Italian 2014 Tour (Spiaggia - Chicago IL): Tasting, brief note. Forward and accessible with red berry, floral hints and some leather. Medium concentration. Probably not a Brunello to stash away in the back of the cellar.
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This is a nice example of Brunello, a touch young yet and definitely more in the traditional mold. The nose is lovely with tart cherry, fresh floral notes, leather, earth, and anise. The palate is currently a little tight with slightly coarse tannins, but I think with time this will improve and develop more depth and smooth out. It is definitely rustic right now, but if you can hold for another 3-5 years I think you will be rewarded with a lovely example of a classic wine at a pretty reasonably price.
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Vindredi (Bellevue, WA): Tasted blind. Oak, smoke, and spice dominate the nose. Very fruit forward with a nice rich mouthfeel. Great length on the finish, with very fine tannins and great balance. Very pretty wine.
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Clear, translucent ruby in colour. Traditional nose of red cherry, thyme, spicebox, but still in a phase where it is not yielding much. The palate is lovely with dry cherry, sweet tobacco, spices. the mouthfeel is fresh as acidity is high, in fact it is a tad too powerfull at the moment. This is traditional brunello, but on the light and lean side for the vintage. A tad austere at the moment, it needs time to soften the structure, and add complexities. Better than the 08.
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Smells of stone, asphalt, and slightly of red fruits (raisins). Tastes of tart cherry (classic) with a nice mineral structure and a surprisingly long finish. We also found the wine slightly chewy (caused by the tannins I suppose). Delicious, particularly after 45 minutes. Medium bodied.
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Dark ruby / garnet colour. A hint of caramel to the nose at first, then more pungent, rowan-berry like, then flowery, with a hint of violets. On the palate medium ripe tannines, dark chocolate. A good, pleasant wine.A full-bodied Brunello.
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The Italian Wine Masters (Metropolitan Pavilion): The nose showed sour berries and herbs but it was marked by a server aroma of hay and stable. On the palate, it was soft with strawberry fruits but turned bitter and dry into the finish.
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3/15/2024 - imsilver78 Likes this wine: 93 Points
We just dusted off a few bottles that have been cellared at the source in Montalcino. Beautiful wine with maybe a little time left; Drinking close to peak. Subtle sour cherry, notes of pencil and spice. Leather. Palate matches the nose with smooth tannins and still some fresh acidity. Showing age with obvious brick change at the rim fading into a subtle garnet. It did need some time in air. This was an immaculately stored bottle so seems to have some time left but I plan to drink our remaining bottles soon.
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8/15/2023 - Carlo Sarto Likes this wine:
Absolutely wonderful bottle. Color very deep red of af mature wine. Bouquet, taste and finish textbook Brunello of what one might call the classic style. I first read of Brunello from the printed catalogue of Village Corner in the early 1980's. Dick Scheer said the three great Brunelli were Biondi Santi, Conti Costanti and Fattoria dei Barbi. Never had Biondi Santi but Costanti and Barbi have been great. Perfect mature Brunello. The most elegant, complex sangiovese wine one can find. Bravi.
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7/18/2022 - shafer1994 Likes this wine: 85 Points
Brownly color. Unpleasant nose with signs of premox. Much better on the palate: reduced red fruit, cherries but also a bit of plum. Round but drying out, at the end of development which is unusual for the year. Probably a bad bottle.
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9/19/2021 - nkh1245 Likes this wine: 92 Points
루비, 경계선은 짙은 벽돌색
가죽, 담배, earthy, 붉은 과실
바디 3 탄닌 3 당도 1 산도 2
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1/6/2021 - boomecho Likes this wine: 90 Points
Vinturi aerated with a one hour decant. Cedar, mushroom and earthy nose. Medium body, tannins slightly drying but pleasing and integrated. Blackberry fruit dominates with some vegetal notes. Med long finish. The wine continued to soften in the glass. A delicious wine significantly improved from my last bottle July/18.
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6/10/2020 - Joe Binkley Likes this wine: 90 Points
Decamtersd for two hours, maybe could have used a bit more
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5/9/2020 - Woodford Likes this wine: 92 Points
At the open:
Smells of sweet earth, purple fruit, barn dust, and muesli dates
Tastes of layered black cherries & earthy with a brightness and dampness.
Moderate sandy tannins on the gums
Medium-full bodied.
This remains a favorite and drinks well after 30 minutes. The 2007 is remarkably reliable.
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3/21/2020 - thewiz Likes this wine: 91 Points
(Decanted for two hours)
Deep red colour with a youthful nose showing cherries, herbs and some oakiness. Still showing some austerity of the tannins on the palate with a nice finish showing dried herbs and some fruity sweetness as well.
(Best 2017-2027)
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2/1/2020 - shurpa14 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Garnet, still has fruit but definitely fading. Was better after a hour decant. Enjoyable but not great.
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1/14/2020 - jmottern Likes this wine: 88 Points
Dark red medium body wine. Fruit had faded so perhaps the wine was leaving its drinking window.
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1/5/2020 - Kiwi5709 Likes this wine: 88 Points
Fantastic after 4 hours decanting. Smooth & round with good dark fruit. Ready to consume now, will not get better.
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1/4/2020 - prasm Likes this wine: 91 Points
Pop and pour, consumed over 2 hours. Nose: Medium expressiveness, chalky earth, rust, and red fruit - pomegranate and raspberry. Palate: Medium-full bodied, rusty earth and red fruit attack, good balance, spicy rustic notes appear in the mid-palate, back-end shows some slightly rough edges but the flavors stay in balance and linger through a 30-45 second finish. This appears to be drinking very well at the moment and may still improve over the next couple years - very nice.
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12/8/2019 - czar33 wrote: 88 Points
Bien agréable, tout en finesse, équilibre, encore du fruit.
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10/10/2019 - jmottern wrote: 87 Points
Dark red medium big body wine (14.5%). Despite being open for 45 minutes this wine appeared to be "rough" and a little musty. Almost no finish. I wonder if it is past its drinking window,
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2/24/2019 - Morrisson Likes this wine: 91 Points
Beaucoup apprécié ce vin qui a mon avis rentre dans une belle phase. Les tanins sont biens intégrés avec encore une belle fraîcheur. La robe est claire. Nous sommes dans les fruits rouge avec une touche de poivre.
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12/8/2018 - maxwell18 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Tasted blind. Definite initial musty note on the nose, dusty locker, certainly a note of age. After you get through the initial nose and let it breathe, it opens up to distinct stewed cherry, slight pepper, and a tiny hint of balsamic which helped on the guess of an aged Sangiovese.
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8/7/2018 - boomecho Likes this wine: 87 Points
Vinturi aerated with a 60 min decant. On the nose blackberries, forest floor and some heat. Smooth mouthfeel but highly tannic still which overshadows the cherry fruit. Medium finish with some dried prune notes. I expected this wine to be drinking much better than it was.
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9/16/2017 - Tikkanen wrote: 87 Points
Lesser fruit than expected. Not that much cellaring aromas either. A bit to balsamic. Not balanced. Good anyway with its cherry fruit and tannins. A bit to much tannins.
The legs are slow. There is no sediment in the bottle. It smells like blackberry, raisin, cherry, oak and lead pencil. It tastes like blackberry, raisin and cherry. The body is medium. The wine has narrow texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has high acidity.
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7/27/2016 - czar33 wrote: 88 Points
Un peu austère et terreux mais complexe et bien fait.
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5/25/2016 - Barry G Likes this wine: 92 Points
Maturing with further development ahead.
Tarry black fruit. Rigid and upright in the glass with firm tannin, med acidity and body trying to balance the wine out. It's not all coming together as yet but it is still drinking well despite this. It will be redu (I think) in a few years and it will be a stunner.
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2/14/2016 - shurpa14 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Very nice brunello especially considering the price. Bouquet of ripe cherries, thyme, herbs, bark, wet soil, cedar, slate. Tannins are relatively strong but very mellow compared to a young brunello or Barolo. Good with food and somewhat harsh without. Lacks some elegance. Garnet with bricking edges. All in all a good brunello.
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2/9/2016 - odds wrote: 90 Points
Di Fara's Pizza and Wines that don't suck offline :-) (Brooklyn, NY): Was very happy to drink it though I am not sure I'd proactively seek another bottle: More earthy, darker brown red compared with the '07 Taurasi I tasted along side. It's a matter of preference- more earth and secondary notes here. More fruit front to Taurasi. Both were nice.
(Di Fara's offline)
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2/2/2016 - guy12 wrote: 88 Points
Rich smooth & long, better with food. Probably too early but very moreish
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7/16/2015 - om42 wrote: 89 Points
Drank quite nicely shortly after opening but the fruit seemed to diminish after a couple hours. Lots of acidity. Great with garlic toast and steak. Surprisingly good with the tiramisu dessert course. Long tannic finish.
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12/9/2014 - Rezy13 wrote:
Tuesday Night $30-$50 Double Blind (Bin 75): Deep crimson, good clarity, rusty rim; graham cracker, charcoal, red cherry, dried roses, prune, may have seen too much air; Nebbiolo?, dry, cedar, dried roses; not sure about this one.
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7/30/2014 - LFCHALA wrote: 88 Points
Degustação Estacion Sur (Restaurante Estacion Sur - São Paulo - SP): Fruity and accessible. Well integrated wood, without excesses. Tannins rounded. Mild bitterness. Without complexity. It would be a good Rosso di Montalcino.
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7/19/2014 - kkleg Likes this wine: 92 Points
Notes of cinnamon and cherries on the nose. Cherries, leather, and spice on the palate. This is drinking beautifully now but will last for many years.
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5/5/2014 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Wildman Il Giro Italian 2014 Tour (Spiaggia - Chicago IL): Tasting, brief note. Forward and accessible with red berry, floral hints and some leather. Medium concentration. Probably not a Brunello to stash away in the back of the cellar.
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5/4/2014 - jmottern Likes this wine: 89 Points
Balanced medium body Brunello di Montalcino. I should have decanted this bottle or waited an hour to allow it to open up.
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4/13/2014 - macker100 wrote: 87 Points
Boerne Wine Club Tuscany Wine Tasting (San Antonio, TX): At BWC Tuscany event. Not up to par with competition at the table. Sour cherries, rhubarb, earth. Very dry. My #12
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4/4/2014 - jnewman77 Likes this wine:
This is a nice example of Brunello, a touch young yet and definitely more in the traditional mold. The nose is lovely with tart cherry, fresh floral notes, leather, earth, and anise. The palate is currently a little tight with slightly coarse tannins, but I think with time this will improve and develop more depth and smooth out. It is definitely rustic right now, but if you can hold for another 3-5 years I think you will be rewarded with a lovely example of a classic wine at a pretty reasonably price.
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3/14/2014 - dpolivy wrote: 92 Points
Vindredi (Bellevue, WA): Tasted blind. Oak, smoke, and spice dominate the nose. Very fruit forward with a nice rich mouthfeel. Great length on the finish, with very fine tannins and great balance. Very pretty wine.
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9/10/2013 - mattias_hansen@hotmail.com Likes this wine: 90 Points
Clear, translucent ruby in colour. Traditional nose of red cherry, thyme, spicebox, but still in a phase where it is not yielding much. The palate is lovely with dry cherry, sweet tobacco, spices. the mouthfeel is fresh as acidity is high, in fact it is a tad too powerfull at the moment. This is traditional brunello, but on the light and lean side for the vintage. A tad austere at the moment, it needs time to soften the structure, and add complexities. Better than the 08.
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7/19/2013 - MWiking wrote: 91 Points
väldigt ung men ändå riktigt bra.
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6/7/2013 - Woodford Likes this wine: 90 Points
Smells of stone, asphalt, and slightly of red fruits (raisins). Tastes of tart cherry (classic) with a nice mineral structure and a surprisingly long finish. We also found the wine slightly chewy (caused by the tannins I suppose). Delicious, particularly after 45 minutes. Medium bodied.
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10/13/2012 - Kveldulv wrote: 90 Points
Dark ruby / garnet colour. A hint of caramel to the nose at first, then more pungent, rowan-berry like, then flowery, with a hint of violets. On the palate medium ripe tannines, dark chocolate. A good, pleasant wine.A full-bodied Brunello.
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2/7/2012 - Eric Guido Does not like this wine: 84 Points
The Italian Wine Masters (Metropolitan Pavilion): The nose showed sour berries and herbs but it was marked by a server aroma of hay and stable. On the palate, it was soft with strawberry fruits but turned bitter and dry into the finish.
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