Fully mature with deep nose of chocolate and plummy fruit. Do not think it will improve further. Still has good acid core and held up nicely to meat sauce.
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I gave it a WOW in 2008 and it hasn't budged much from there; dense yet spicy, leathery, tobaccoey, red fruited, relatively clean for Pertimali- I've never had the patience for Riserva brunello, and sometimes think they are just too heavy, but this one is nothing short of brilliant
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With Gary and Tito. I bought a six pack of this wine last year, and the first two bottles were not very good. The first, in South Beach, was overly dry and I suspected that this batch was heat damaged and then put up for auction. The second bottle, at Bruce L's NY offline at La Grolla last May, didn't show that dryness, but wasn't open at all. This third bottle is starting to show some promise. No dryness, just a smooth entry with dark fruit and still plenty of tannin. My perception is that this is a lean, backward wine that is just beginning to emerge from its shell. It will never be a forward, effusive, layered wine, but it does show the potential to develop some additional complexities and provide a heady, contemplative experience when it matures . . . which is probably at least another five years in the future. I note that within the last few months, I have had the '99, '00 and '01 vintages of this wine (along with a single bad bottle of the '90), and the '95 really stands alone within that context as leaner, more backward and undeveloped than these more recent vintages.
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This was a WOW showing for this wine. Out of a mag, seemed richer, less evolved, a tad more primary. Oak notes, if you didn't know better you'd think it had briefly miscegenated with some barrique, but never here. With air the wine rounded out, the wood evolved into the wine, and the telltale notes of rich fertile oath at the foot of the Montalcino hill, spice, leather, tobacco smoothed into a burgundian experience. Further to my point that Sassetti is a genius, an alchemist with sangioveto grosso. Only wish I had a few more of these mags, but alas others have figured this out and picked McArthur clean. What a great showing
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Garnet color. Pretty aromas of black cherry, horse saddle and white pepper. Medium-bodied fruit in the mouth with good structure, complexity and depth. Dusty tannins in the finish. At peak.
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Trip to Boston; 6/4/2008-6/9/2008: sweet cherries, leather, very strongly built, still rather tannic but good middle. lots of spices and sour cherry in the middle. an excellent showing for this wine. YUM
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What a tremendous surprise. The wine, from the moment it opened, showed rich, saturated, black cherry fruit. The bouquet, after about 45 minutes, became quite exotic. Damp cedar (not the kitty litter that a e-bob poster cynically wrote), asian spices, a whiff of anise toward the end. Classic complex Pertimali bouquet. Medium weight, a slightly sour edge, but quite a fine wine, and flamboyantly shows Livio Sassetti's magical hand.
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Think I might have waited a bit too long on this one. No real nose to the wine. While it was ok to drink there was nothing special going on here. I had other bottles of this which I drank earlier and they were better.
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Completely characterless....drinkable as a food wine, showing acidity, dusty leather, pepper and a hint of cherry. The primary problem is that it's lacking in fruit. And this from a well-stored magnum!
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Drank at an off-line. Not decanted but opened for approx. 1 hour. Dark ruby color all the way to the rim. Nose of cherries and some spice, with a hint of strawberry. Crisp acidity on the palate but not that well rounded. The acidity dominated the fruit. Drink now.
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Tasted April 14, 2007 at an offline. Garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of leather, white pepper and red plums. Flavors of black berries, red cherries and just a hint of bitters on the finish. Medium acidity, tannins and body. Drink or hold.
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Drinking well now. No hurry, but I'd plan to drink these in the next few years. Light ruby color. Nose took a little time to open, but offered moderate complexity. Smoothe.
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Structure dominates. Unusual perfume on the noise and little fruit to offset the other strengths. Tannins most pronounced and overly so. Unbalanced.Disappointing
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Great fruit at open, nice nose, some bricking, classic sangiovese fruit. Stayed fine over four hours, but never made it to special; sixth of six bottles with consistent notes. All right, but not quite what hoped for in a fine Brunello.
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A nice chance to see what my small stash of Brunello might evolve in to. Very nice. Had this at Corkage's dinner in August. This one is still a quite young though. Makes me wonder how many years from the vintage you have to wait to get one really 'ready'. ;-) 91 pts
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4/19/2019 - Drrobjo Likes this wine:
Fully mature with deep nose of chocolate and plummy fruit. Do not think it will improve further. Still has good acid core and held up nicely to meat sauce.
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3/6/2016 - Rob MacKay wrote: flawed
corked
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3/5/2016 - Rob MacKay wrote: 88 Points
Surprisingly needed to be open for a full day to show best. Nicely balanced at that point. Still lively. Drink with proper decant, or hold.
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10/9/2015 - baroloboy55 Likes this wine: 94 Points
I gave it a WOW in 2008 and it hasn't budged much from there; dense yet spicy, leathery, tobaccoey, red fruited, relatively clean for Pertimali- I've never had the patience for Riserva brunello, and sometimes think they are just too heavy, but this one is nothing short of brilliant
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11/9/2014 - Pknut wrote: flawed
Slightly corked, but under the TCA some deep dark fruit. L'Apicio with Neil and Bruce.
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7/23/2013 - Keith Levenberg wrote: flawed
Corked.
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6/10/2011 - CRUSHER wrote: 91 Points
mature well balanced, nice nose
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1/30/2009 - Pknut wrote:
With Gary and Tito. I bought a six pack of this wine last year, and the first two bottles were not very good. The first, in South Beach, was overly dry and I suspected that this batch was heat damaged and then put up for auction. The second bottle, at Bruce L's NY offline at La Grolla last May, didn't show that dryness, but wasn't open at all. This third bottle is starting to show some promise. No dryness, just a smooth entry with dark fruit and still plenty of tannin. My perception is that this is a lean, backward wine that is just beginning to emerge from its shell. It will never be a forward, effusive, layered wine, but it does show the potential to develop some additional complexities and provide a heady, contemplative experience when it matures . . . which is probably at least another five years in the future. I note that within the last few months, I have had the '99, '00 and '01 vintages of this wine (along with a single bad bottle of the '90), and the '95 really stands alone within that context as leaner, more backward and undeveloped than these more recent vintages.
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9/27/2008 - baroloboy55 wrote: 94 Points
This was a WOW showing for this wine. Out of a mag, seemed richer, less evolved, a tad more primary. Oak notes, if you didn't know better you'd think it had briefly miscegenated with some barrique, but never here. With air the wine rounded out, the wood evolved into the wine, and the telltale notes of rich fertile oath at the foot of the Montalcino hill, spice, leather, tobacco smoothed into a burgundian experience. Further to my point that Sassetti is a genius, an alchemist with sangioveto grosso. Only wish I had a few more of these mags, but alas others have figured this out and picked McArthur clean. What a great showing
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9/10/2008 - hsacks wrote: 92 Points
Garnet color. Pretty aromas of black cherry, horse saddle and white pepper. Medium-bodied fruit in the mouth with good structure, complexity and depth. Dusty tannins in the finish. At peak.
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7/19/2008 - Oskiwawa wrote:
reminiscent of Choo Choo Cherry and Rootin' Tootin Rasberry but not in a bad way. Minimal body. Not offensive but not inspiring. Very good.
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6/8/2008 - Mlermontov wrote: 91 Points
Trip to Boston; 6/4/2008-6/9/2008: sweet cherries, leather, very strongly built, still rather tannic but good middle. lots of spices and sour cherry in the middle. an excellent showing for this wine. YUM
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5/24/2008 - baroloboy55 wrote: 92 Points
What a tremendous surprise. The wine, from the moment it opened, showed rich, saturated, black cherry fruit. The bouquet, after about 45 minutes, became quite exotic. Damp cedar (not the kitty litter that a e-bob poster cynically wrote), asian spices, a whiff of anise toward the end. Classic complex Pertimali bouquet. Medium weight, a slightly sour edge, but quite a fine wine, and flamboyantly shows Livio Sassetti's magical hand.
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1/10/2008 - rjayson wrote: 87 Points
Think I might have waited a bit too long on this one. No real nose to the wine. While it was ok to drink there was nothing special going on here. I had other bottles of this which I drank earlier and they were better.
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12/24/2007 - Employee500 wrote: 84 Points
Completely characterless....drinkable as a food wine, showing acidity, dusty leather, pepper and a hint of cherry. The primary problem is that it's lacking in fruit. And this from a well-stored magnum!
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4/14/2007 - futronic wrote: 89 Points
3rd Annual Philly Brunello Offline (Pumpkin Restaurant, Philadelphia, PA): Not decanted. Light-medium ruby colour. Aromas of bing cherry, flowers, earth, and plum. Medium-bodied, with integrated tannins, showing cherry, earth, orange rind and currant notes. Plenty of acidity. Short-moderate finish, ~20-25s, with red fruit. Drink now.
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4/14/2007 - Longboarder wrote: 88 Points
Drank at an off-line. Not decanted but opened for approx. 1 hour. Dark ruby color all the way to the rim. Nose of cherries and some spice, with a hint of strawberry. Crisp acidity on the palate but not that well rounded. The acidity dominated the fruit. Drink now.
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4/14/2007 - wineismylife wrote: 89 Points
1995 Brunello Offline (Pumpkin in Philadelphia, PA): WIML89?,WA91,WS90
Tasted April 14, 2007 at an offline. Garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of leather, white pepper and red plums. Flavors of black berries, red cherries and just a hint of bitters on the finish. Medium acidity, tannins and body. Drink or hold.
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4/14/2007 - psmith wrote:
Heady and pure nose. Dusty, medium-body with dark fruits. Still quite tannic. Nice wine.
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1/14/2007 - Ibetian wrote: 90 Points
Drinking well now. No hurry, but I'd plan to drink these in the next few years. Light ruby color. Nose took a little time to open, but offered moderate complexity. Smoothe.
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10/25/2006 - Bob Fyke wrote: 86 Points
Structure dominates. Unusual perfume on the noise and little fruit to offset the other strengths. Tannins most pronounced and overly so. Unbalanced.Disappointing
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7/20/2006 - Rechrom wrote: 88 Points
Great fruit at open, nice nose, some bricking, classic sangiovese fruit. Stayed fine over four hours, but never made it to special; sixth of six bottles with consistent notes. All right, but not quite what hoped for in a fine Brunello.
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12/29/2005 - pwarms wrote: 91 Points
Enjoyed immensely Xmas 2005 at Helene's. Wonderful, full, red fruit flavors with no earthy smell or taste. WOW!
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8/6/2005 - Pool Boy wrote: 91 Points
A nice chance to see what my small stash of Brunello might evolve in to. Very nice. Had this at Corkage's dinner in August. This one is still a quite young though. Makes me wonder how many years from the vintage you have to wait to get one really 'ready'. ;-) 91 pts
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