Absolutely singing right now. Perfume of Sangiovese on the nose; deeply integrated and mellowed tannins and long finish that you never want to end… A brunello all-star!
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This was almost cherry cola-ish, light color and texture, almost sweet in the mouth with kirsch, smoke and leather flavors that led to a drying finish. Not great, not really overly good. Maybe an outlier but I’d consider a short leash here. Rotten QPR.
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Nose: Ripe red fruits, mocha, and leather are prominent. There is also some cedar, plum, and a faint hint of wood smoke. It smells delicious.
Palate: Ripe cherries and raspberries hit first, followed by lots of leather and some dark chocolate. A bit of earthiness and tobacco leaf. There is good acidity, the tannins are well integrated but still present, and the finish is medium-long.
Overall, a delicious wine that seems to be solidly in its drinking window. It pairs great with a fatty steak or red meat dish, and is delicious on its own!
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This is drinking well. 3 hour decant the first night, still a bit tight, but paired well with lamb. Second night is much improved, mellowed out, still good fruit. I’ll hold my last bottle for another year I think.
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This is a nice wine, good strawberry flavor. Little to no tannins or acidity, so while it is good it is missing something vital. Consumed over three nights.
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15%! Well-made, just not my thing as I get closer to giving up on BdM. Bright red coloring. Can smell some oak and the 15% on the nose. It's full bodied, slightly rich, but clean and cool. Long and chewy, probably needs 5 years for things to further integrate. Tasty with my steak, but tiring at the same time. Solid.
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So elegant. A sweet, mild floral immediately after cork is popped. As I wrote previously, "sweet spices, light Burgundian color with slight orange on the edge. Light body with red fruit on the nose as well." Not tangy as it was back in Aug., 2017. Now it seemed to immediately open with nice fruit. Still a little bit of heat that dissipates quickly. Dry, but long, supple finish. Very well done !!
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None of the barnyard/animal shit present that is mentioned in the prior notes. Not sure why, but that’s fine with me. Lavender, blueberries, and violets on the nose, with dark cherries on the palate right after opening. After a few hours the nose adds notes of orange peel, earth, and eucalyptus. The orange peel comes through on the palate, as well as vanilla, caramel, some earth and leather. A little more fruit overall than other brunellos I’ve had. It’s a lovely wine and worked wonderfully with a bolognese sauce over bucatini.
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Beautiful sweet fruit and red berries, excellent clean fruit and high drinkability factor. More developed and accessible, but less complex than the restrained and structured 2010. Drink now while waiting for the 2010 to come around.
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A nice funky, barnyard aroma right away with a mild floral as well. Sweet spices, light Burgundian color with slight orange on the edge. Light body with red fruit on the nose as well. Tangy taste immediately with nice fruit following. The little heat dissipates quickly. Dry, but long, supple finish. Well done !!
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Somewhat lighter than other Brunelle Di Montalcinos that we've had. Decanted for an hour. Brought out citrus fruit and cherry flavors. Balanced with a smooth finish.
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Peculiar bottle. Opened with overpowering aromas of brett, sulphur and horseshit, yet the palate displayed balance and a good dark cherry fruit profile. The barnyard smell blew off after a hard 2 hour decant, and left something far more in the mould of a Sangiovese. This has a dark fruit profile, quite an unctuous mouthfeel, though is tightly bunched and fairly primary / linear. Medium bodied, fine tannins, med+ acidity.
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Ninth vineyard visited - Le Ragaine on my Montalcino trip. The 2010 was a top rated wine at a blind tasting in December so I had high expectations and it didn't disappoint. Medium aroma, light hue. Soft tangy burst, well balanced and fruity - strawberries, orange. Dry finish smoky, Barnyard but very smooth. Not quite the level of 2010 given that was a big vintage, but very good.
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An above-average effort in a less than average vintage (one marked by extreme dryness and excessive heat). Light ruby color, with a nose that offers little in the way of complexity at the moment as it's still quite young (most in this vintage are already fully available), but after 15 minutes in the glass, this begins to show its raw material and I really like what's there. The medium-bodied palate is cool and red-fruited, and again, it's tight and mostly unyielding. Will likely be one of the top efforts in this region and vintage, but you need to HOLD for another 3-4 years. recommended
PnP, tasted non-blind at the winery. After a morning full of tasting tank samples of the 2014 and 2015 wines, one thing that is present in all of Riccardo's wines is structure, and this challenging vintage was no exception; it never hurts to have some of the region's best growing sites.
Note: there is no 2014 Brunello here, all of those grapes were bottled under the Rosso
https://italianwine.blog/
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A week in Tuscany (and Lots of wines); 10/19/2015-10/21/2015 (Tuscany, Italy): This will be released in a few weeks. Deeper ruby than the 2009. The nose has cherries, slight floral notes and a bit of tarragon. On the palate, there is a sweet cherry fruit. I asked and was told there was no residual sugar, just ripe fruit. It is very tight right now, but there seems to be a nice complexity and depth to it.
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4/7/2024 - leposeur Likes this wine: 97 Points
Absolutely singing right now. Perfume of Sangiovese on the nose; deeply integrated and mellowed tannins and long finish that you never want to end…
A brunello all-star!
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4/2/2024 - guitarguy wrote: 87 Points
Light red color with light flavors of cherry, ash and leather. Never great.
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12/5/2023 - guitarguy wrote: 84 Points
This was almost cherry cola-ish, light color and texture, almost sweet in the mouth with kirsch, smoke and leather flavors that led to a drying finish. Not great, not really overly good. Maybe an outlier but I’d consider a short leash here. Rotten QPR.
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6/8/2023 - Whisk[e]y & Wine Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted for ~1.5 hours.
Nose: Ripe red fruits, mocha, and leather are prominent. There is also some cedar, plum, and a faint hint of wood smoke. It smells delicious.
Palate: Ripe cherries and raspberries hit first, followed by lots of leather and some dark chocolate. A bit of earthiness and tobacco leaf. There is good acidity, the tannins are well integrated but still present, and the finish is medium-long.
Overall, a delicious wine that seems to be solidly in its drinking window. It pairs great with a fatty steak or red meat dish, and is delicious on its own!
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3/31/2022 - paalck Likes this wine: 87 Points
Excellent black fruits with a medium strong finish. Little to high on alcohol.
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10/17/2021 - ramclain Likes this wine: 92 Points
An outstanding showing at this age. Smooth yet intense, with notes of dark fruit, including fig.
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11/23/2020 - ramclain Likes this wine: 91 Points
Stellar
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5/20/2020 - lfbaum Likes this wine: 93 Points
Solid fruit cherries and plums. Well balanced with a medium finish.
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5/7/2020 - ramclain Likes this wine: 91 Points
Superbly balanced.
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12/28/2019 - jhbehrens Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wonderful
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10/24/2019 - ramclain Likes this wine: 92 Points
Wonderfully balanced and extremely high quality Brunello.
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9/9/2019 - ddingley Likes this wine: 91 Points
It's been over a week and I liked it, so no details. 2 more to try
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7/29/2019 - ramclain Likes this wine: 92 Points
Amazing Brunello! Flavorful yet smooth, with a nice light brown hue.
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7/13/2019 - Tosti-Lane Likes this wine: 91 Points
This is drinking well. 3 hour decant the first night, still a bit tight, but paired well with lamb. Second night is much improved, mellowed out, still good fruit. I’ll hold my last bottle for another year I think.
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6/22/2019 - lfbaum Likes this wine: 92 Points
Wonderful Brunello. Well made - very smooth from nose to finish.
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6/2/2019 - Mtpisgah Likes this wine:
This is a nice wine, good strawberry flavor. Little to no tannins or acidity, so while it is good it is missing something vital.
Consumed over three nights.
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6/2/2019 - decaturwinedude wrote: 90 Points
15%! Well-made, just not my thing as I get closer to giving up on BdM. Bright red coloring. Can smell some oak and the 15% on the nose. It's full bodied, slightly rich, but clean and cool. Long and chewy, probably needs 5 years for things to further integrate. Tasty with my steak, but tiring at the same time. Solid.
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1/20/2019 - ChopperWine Likes this wine: 92 Points
So elegant. A sweet, mild floral immediately after cork is popped. As I wrote previously, "sweet spices, light Burgundian color with slight orange on the edge. Light body with red fruit on the nose as well." Not tangy as it was back in Aug., 2017. Now it seemed to immediately open with nice fruit. Still a little bit of heat that dissipates quickly. Dry, but long, supple finish. Very well done !!
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12/29/2018 - Westportwhiner Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted 2 hours prior to drinking opened up well - good finish despite high alcohol level was well balanced
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6/22/2018 - lfbaum Likes this wine: 92 Points
Starting to drink better. Strawberry flavors. Balanced with longer finish than previous bottles.
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2/24/2018 - Italiana Likes this wine:
Very transparent light red. Strongly aromatic. Delicate and precise. Worked well with food, less exciting by itself.
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12/9/2017 - NAS Likes this wine: 92 Points
None of the barnyard/animal shit present that is mentioned in the prior notes. Not sure why, but that’s fine with me. Lavender, blueberries, and violets on the nose, with dark cherries on the palate right after opening. After a few hours the nose adds notes of orange peel, earth, and eucalyptus. The orange peel comes through on the palate, as well as vanilla, caramel, some earth and leather. A little more fruit overall than other brunellos I’ve had. It’s a lovely wine and worked wonderfully with a bolognese sauce over bucatini.
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10/23/2017 - Markus IWC wrote: 91 Points
Beautiful sweet fruit and red berries, excellent clean fruit and high drinkability factor. More developed and accessible, but less complex than the restrained and structured 2010. Drink now while waiting for the 2010 to come around.
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8/4/2017 - ChopperWine Likes this wine: 92 Points
A nice funky, barnyard aroma right away with a mild floral as well. Sweet spices, light Burgundian color with slight orange on the edge. Light body with red fruit on the nose as well. Tangy taste immediately with nice fruit following. The little heat dissipates quickly. Dry, but long, supple finish. Well done !!
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3/4/2017 - lfbaum wrote: 91 Points
Somewhat lighter than other Brunelle Di Montalcinos that we've had. Decanted for an hour. Brought out citrus fruit and cherry flavors. Balanced with a smooth finish.
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1/20/2017 - nfurlong Likes this wine: 90 Points
brick orange; smoke, burnt wood. dark cherry, airy barn, granite.
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12/2/2016 - D. Fulton wrote: 88 Points
Thin, dilute, and acidic. Could pass for a good 7 EUR Chianti. 2011 is turning out to be quite a poor vintage.
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9/5/2016 - Phenol73 wrote:
Peculiar bottle. Opened with overpowering aromas of brett, sulphur and horseshit, yet the palate displayed balance and a good dark cherry fruit profile. The barnyard smell blew off after a hard 2 hour decant, and left something far more in the mould of a Sangiovese. This has a dark fruit profile, quite an unctuous mouthfeel, though is tightly bunched and fairly primary / linear. Medium bodied, fine tannins, med+ acidity.
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5/26/2016 - ShangGuy Likes this wine: 94 Points
Ninth vineyard visited - Le Ragaine on my Montalcino trip. The 2010 was a top rated wine at a blind tasting in December so I had high expectations and it didn't disappoint. Medium aroma, light hue. Soft tangy burst, well balanced and fruity - strawberries, orange. Dry finish smoky, Barnyard but very smooth. Not quite the level of 2010 given that was a big vintage, but very good.
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4/28/2016 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:
An above-average effort in a less than average vintage (one marked by extreme dryness and excessive heat). Light ruby color, with a nose that offers little in the way of complexity at the moment as it's still quite young (most in this vintage are already fully available), but after 15 minutes in the glass, this begins to show its raw material and I really like what's there. The medium-bodied palate is cool and red-fruited, and again, it's tight and mostly unyielding. Will likely be one of the top efforts in this region and vintage, but you need to HOLD for another 3-4 years. recommended
PnP, tasted non-blind at the winery. After a morning full of tasting tank samples of the 2014 and 2015 wines, one thing that is present in all of Riccardo's wines is structure, and this challenging vintage was no exception; it never hurts to have some of the region's best growing sites.
Note: there is no 2014 Brunello here, all of those grapes were bottled under the Rosso
https://italianwine.blog/
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10/20/2015 - Loren Sonkin wrote:
A week in Tuscany (and Lots of wines); 10/19/2015-10/21/2015 (Tuscany, Italy): This will be released in a few weeks. Deeper ruby than the 2009. The nose has cherries, slight floral notes and a bit of tarragon. On the palate, there is a sweet cherry fruit. I asked and was told there was no residual sugar, just ripe fruit. It is very tight right now, but there seems to be a nice complexity and depth to it.
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