Last opened a bottle 2-3 years ago and this was significantly better tonight. Flush with sweet cherries and borrowing from another note, some wild strawberries. Loamy mid palate. Bright but smooth tannins. Amazingly paired (not intentionally) with braised teriyaki chicken. Sweet and savory but more towards the sweet spectrum. Medium length.
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Dark red color with limited transparency. Plum, dust, blackberry, and cherry on the nose. Palate is chewy and rustic with plum, licorice, loam, and blackberry that carry into a tannic and acidic medium-long finish. This settles down over the course of 3 hours open but needs more time to really come together. Drink the normal 2013 Altesino Brunello over this right now if you have the choice between the two.
Fresh and lean in the style of the vintage and it's slow to unfold in the glass. Delicious flavors then begin to emerge with dark berry fruit and notes of bitter chocolate and sweet earth with a hint of unresolved oak. Medium-bodied with crisp acidity and a refined finish that's beginning to layer up. This is just turning the corner into maturity and should provide very nice drinking over the next decade. 90+
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Unfortunately due to circumstances had to PNP but was surprisingly open already. I suspect nose would improve with couple of hours of air but clearly is in its drinking window.
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This was delicious, had a double decant and then really opened up in the glass. wild strawberry, cherry, dried herb, some oak too that was almost creamy, good acidity. Just hitting the sweet spot, may improve in next 5 years.
Color is light ruby. Nose is some light soy, vanilla with a little floral. Fairly high acid, tannins in the mid palate. Palate is red cherries, some vanilla with a hint of floral and residual sweetness. Drinking well bUt will likely evolve further.
Ambivalent, klassischer Stil, wirkt schon sehr reif, ziegelrot mit braunen Rändern, auch in der Nase schon ziemlich weit, kaum Frucht, mittlerer Abgang in
Two more years in bottle has helped this one out. I think 93 is a fair grade on this one, right now.......bright red and thin on opening but with an hour or two of air some weight is added, the fruit darkens a bit, the nose takes on some dark greenery, sage(?), a little camphor to go with the dark cherry fruit. There is ample wood and astringency left to go for quite a few years. Toward the end a little black tea develops. Nice. Maybe this hits a 95 in a few? Perfect with cuisine from our fav local Italian place......
What happens when Somms and ITBers get together (tango sur, chicago IL): Nose: The nose is perfumed, balanced, and savory with dark red cherries, strawberries, roasted herbs, rose petals, tobacco, licorice, violets, savory tones, and crushed rocks. There is excellent depth with a brightness to the red fruits right now.
Taste: The feel is Medium/full bodied with tart, high acidity and chewy, medium+ tannins. The feel is well balanced and deep with dark red cherries, strawberries, roasted herbs, licorice, rose petals, tobacco, savory tones, and some crushed rocks.
Overall: This is on the young side, but it is also gorgeous. There is a lot to like already but the structure is holding the wine back just a bit right now.
Olive, dried tomato, spices and vanilla as well as red fruits in the nose with supporting leather notes. A little thin, alcohol is felt more than 14% as written on the label. Pronounced acidity, medium soft tannins, could keep longer at least for another 5 years
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The first glass was packed with some fruit sweetness and no doubt had an potential of 95+ scores, but this glass two hours ago somehow got a little weak both on the nose and palate; The left bottle was corked back and brought to dinner 3 hours later, weak in perfumes: some anise and leather but no fruits; palate was good but not great and also lost the sweetness to be a 95+ wine We were expecting something more I can only say this might not be in the right time window, sigh
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Tartness well balanced against dark fruit in a nice counterpoint. Notes of cedar and an earthy funk. Medium grip tannins. Young, but really good now, with lots of room to evolve. Made for game. Went well with grilled elk and salmon.
Winebar [4 Whites, 8 Reds, & 4 *shared* bottles] from 02/08/19 (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): Torben & Dr. Tom, you accomplished MORE than you would have imagined by noticing/SHARING this! [I'd tasted it on 12/1, deciding to purchase several wks later -- only to find it was out of stock. :( In all honesty, had you *not* shared this, I likely would NOT have noticed the shop rec'd what they'd been shorted on their 1st shipment. And such a wine doesn't hang around long: There were 4 in the bin prior to you selecting it, & because of your generosity there now are... NONE. ;) ]
Should you be interested, I’ve uploaded info for this vintage which you can peruse at your leisure. 😉
N: Init closed, though Torben & Dr. Tom both noticed some BRIEF "stinkiness"; Later I got cherries poss with flowers, & budosyu LOTS of earth, tobacco, & blk cherries
P: LM body; LOVELY frt met by an astringent pucker which, while staying in touch with the frt, seamlessly transitions into a very LONG finish with an ELEGANT *swtness* & OCCASIONAL *glimpses* of a very, VERY slight bitterness to the firming, yet unoffensive, dusty tannins. SENSATIONAL stuff for now & __ yrs more? [Yet, DESERVES cellaring through '20, I'm guestimating.] 14% ABV; My EXC/EXC+, more a virtual lock down the line. [This vendor's now out of stock $74.95 was a *stunning* $10 < the next lowest of wine-searcher's LARGE posting!]
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Winebar [4 Whites, 9 Reds, & 5 *shared* bottles] from 11/30/18 (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): From the 13 acre Montosoli Vyd, planted 1973/1999, @ 1,485 ft elev in "limestone soils with a 360 degree exposure & yielding 2.4 tons/acre;" Fermented in s/s tanks for 15-20 days @ 82-86°F; Aged for 48 mos in 5-20 yr old Slavonian oak, 5,000-10,000 L barrels,; Bottle aged for 4 mos; 1,250 cs made.
N: Vanilla slightly atop ripe berries -- & other unparsables (poss hints of pyrazines?)
P: Med, poss LM, body; Rndish entry with LOVELY almost swtish frt fairly quickly met by an astringent pucker which, SURPRISINGLY, quite resolves by the LONG, BALANCED finish with a DELIGHTFUL tangy/swtness to the relatively few dusty tannins. Approachable now, but DESERVES into '20, then making its 15th? 14% ABV; My EXC, more a virtual lock down the line. 99 pts & a "Cellar Selection" WE @ $125, 98 Suckling, 97 ea WS & Vinous (D'Agata), 96 winealign.com, 95 WA, 92 (2x) Decanter, but 15/20 Jancis Robinson! [This vendor's $74.95 is a *stunning* $10 < the next lowest of wine-searcher's LARGE posting!]
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Tasted next to 2013 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino. Even more dense and layered on the nose - floral notes, herbs, spices, red fruit, hints of dark fruit, crushed stones. Quite intoxicating and beautiful. On the palate a little less open and expressive in comparison. Firm tannins, tight, fresh, vibrant. Lovely concentration of fruit, very well balanced. Very very long. Excellent, but needs time. 94-95+
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The 2013 Montosoli is a simply gorgeous Brunello from one of the most historic estates in Montalcino. This fantastic Brunello begins with pretty aromas of wild berries, red plums and dried cherries which take shape around spices, orange zest and floral nuances. On the palate this is medium-bodied with a silky, refined texture, underlined by a subtle austerity. It remains beautifully focused and precise with outstanding balance through the finish. As always, Montosoli is a fabulous, age-worthy wine, however this will likely need a bit more time in bottle before it begins to hit its stride.
Poultry seasoning on opening, by that, I mean sage. Loads of it....on the nose and in the glass. This is on the thinner side, the tarter cherry side but with some smokey wood and mouth puckering tannin, but I would not call them chewy. Plenty of acidity. This wine begs for food, definitely not a porch pounder...but sitting in Rome in your hotel room after a day of walking in 90+ degree heat, it sure tastes good......ps.....a canister of Pringles goes well with this! For some reason, our hotel room comes with a canister of Pringels here in Rome.......
Tasted at Benvenuto Brunello NYC. Color is a touch lighter than the basic Brunello at a light to medium garnet. Nose is bright and floral with red berries and wet stones. Bright and lively on the palate again with lots of minerality, cherry, raspberry and violets together with a very long finish. Should age well 10-20 years for sure. Lovely wine, but certainly didn't blow me away as some writers have gushed with 98-99 pt. scores.
2/6/2024 - EM_MB Likes this wine: 93 Points
PNP and in a good spot now.
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11/6/2023 - JB12 wrote: 94 Points
Decanted 3 hr. This is a great BdM. Cherry flavors are there, but not tart. Easy ending.
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8/14/2023 - The wine steward Likes this wine: 93 Points
Last opened a bottle 2-3 years ago and this was significantly better tonight. Flush with sweet cherries and borrowing from another note, some wild strawberries. Loamy mid palate. Bright but smooth tannins. Amazingly paired (not intentionally) with braised teriyaki chicken. Sweet and savory but more towards the sweet spectrum. Medium length.
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8/4/2023 - fredb Likes this wine:
Dark red color with limited transparency. Plum, dust, blackberry, and cherry on the nose. Palate is chewy and rustic with plum, licorice, loam, and blackberry that carry into a tannic and acidic medium-long finish. This settles down over the course of 3 hours open but needs more time to really come together. Drink the normal 2013 Altesino Brunello over this right now if you have the choice between the two.
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9/10/2022 - dream Likes this wine: 90 Points
Fresh and lean in the style of the vintage and it's slow to unfold in the glass. Delicious flavors then begin to emerge with dark berry fruit and notes of bitter chocolate and sweet earth with a hint of unresolved oak. Medium-bodied with crisp acidity and a refined finish that's beginning to layer up. This is just turning the corner into maturity and should provide very nice drinking over the next decade. 90+
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7/28/2022 - EM_MB Likes this wine: 92 Points
Unfortunately due to circumstances had to PNP but was surprisingly open already. I suspect nose would improve with couple of hours of air but clearly is in its drinking window.
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6/20/2022 - Noel Likes this wine: 95 Points
This was delicious, had a double decant and then really opened up in the glass. wild strawberry, cherry, dried herb, some oak too that was almost creamy, good acidity. Just hitting the sweet spot, may improve in next 5 years.
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12/20/2021 - jhbehrens Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drinking very well right now. Classical Brunello aroma of red cherries with nicely balanced acidity
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11/15/2021 - tbuysse wrote: 91 Points
Good, but not on par with Casanova or Fuligni. Expected more for this price.
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10/2/2021 - Ksquare Likes this wine: 93 Points
Color is light ruby. Nose is some light soy, vanilla with a little floral. Fairly high acid, tannins in the mid palate. Palate is red cherries, some vanilla with a hint of floral and residual sweetness. Drinking well bUt will likely evolve further.
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9/15/2021 - decaturwinedude wrote:
A Good Tuesday, Vol. VI: Italians (Benanti, Calafe, Produttori, Cornelissen, D&R, Quintarelli...: Still fairly tight. Did not peg as Brunello, but I don't drink much Brunello and my mind doesn't go there by default. Powerful wine. Classy wine. Good with food. Deft balance. Still years ahead for this one.
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7/19/2021 - cebo2hot wrote: 93 Points
Popped and poured, excellent on every count. Surprising smooth and composed. Great with food. Overall excellent.
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7/18/2020 - awever Likes this wine: 90 Points
Ambivalent, klassischer Stil, wirkt schon sehr reif, ziegelrot mit braunen Rändern, auch in der Nase schon ziemlich weit, kaum Frucht, mittlerer Abgang in
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5/9/2020 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 93 Points
Two more years in bottle has helped this one out. I think 93 is a fair grade on this one, right now.......bright red and thin on opening but with an hour or two of air some weight is added, the fruit darkens a bit, the nose takes on some dark greenery, sage(?), a little camphor to go with the dark cherry fruit. There is ample wood and astringency left to go for quite a few years. Toward the end a little black tea develops. Nice. Maybe this hits a 95 in a few? Perfect with cuisine from our fav local Italian place......
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3/2/2020 - KeithAkers wrote: 92 Points
What happens when Somms and ITBers get together (tango sur, chicago IL): Nose: The nose is perfumed, balanced, and savory with dark red cherries, strawberries, roasted herbs, rose petals, tobacco, licorice, violets, savory tones, and crushed rocks. There is excellent depth with a brightness to the red fruits right now.
Taste: The feel is Medium/full bodied with tart, high acidity and chewy, medium+ tannins. The feel is well balanced and deep with dark red cherries, strawberries, roasted herbs, licorice, rose petals, tobacco, savory tones, and some crushed rocks.
Overall: This is on the young side, but it is also gorgeous. There is a lot to like already but the structure is holding the wine back just a bit right now.
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10/18/2019 - Liskit Likes this wine: 91 Points
Olive, dried tomato, spices and vanilla as well as red fruits in the nose with supporting leather notes. A little thin, alcohol is felt more than 14% as written on the label. Pronounced acidity, medium soft tannins, could keep longer at least for another 5 years
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8/12/2019 - Ward Huang Likes this wine: 93 Points
The first glass was packed with some fruit sweetness and no doubt had an potential of 95+ scores, but this glass two hours ago somehow got a little weak both on the nose and palate;
The left bottle was corked back and brought to dinner 3 hours later, weak in perfumes: some anise and leather but no fruits; palate was good but not great and also lost the sweetness to be a 95+ wine
We were expecting something more
I can only say this might not be in the right time window, sigh
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6/17/2019 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 91 Points
Brunello di Montalcino 2013 tasting (Restaurant Vineum, Rotterdam, NL): Tasted blind. 14% ABV. Mature but lively appearance; borderline overripe fruit on the nose; supple and juicy attack, rounded, light and slightly green tannins, no noticeable oak, finishes a bit short.
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5/31/2019 - Pinot_Geek Likes this wine: 93 Points
Tartness well balanced against dark fruit in a nice counterpoint. Notes of cedar and an earthy funk. Medium grip tannins. Young, but really good now, with lots of room to evolve. Made for game. Went well with grilled elk and salmon.
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2/9/2019 - srh Likes this wine:
Winebar [4 Whites, 8 Reds, & 4 *shared* bottles] from 02/08/19 (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): Torben & Dr. Tom, you accomplished MORE than you would have imagined by noticing/SHARING this! [I'd tasted it on 12/1, deciding to purchase several wks later -- only to find it was out of stock. :( In all honesty, had you *not* shared this, I likely would NOT have noticed the shop rec'd what they'd been shorted on their 1st shipment. And such a wine doesn't hang around long: There were 4 in the bin prior to you selecting it, & because of your generosity there now are... NONE. ;) ]
Should you be interested, I’ve uploaded info for this vintage which you can peruse at your leisure. 😉
N: Init closed, though Torben & Dr. Tom both noticed some BRIEF "stinkiness"; Later I got cherries poss with flowers, & budosyu LOTS of earth, tobacco, & blk cherries
P: LM body; LOVELY frt met by an astringent pucker which, while staying in touch with the frt, seamlessly transitions into a very LONG finish with an ELEGANT *swtness* & OCCASIONAL *glimpses* of a very, VERY slight bitterness to the firming, yet unoffensive, dusty tannins. SENSATIONAL stuff for now & __ yrs more? [Yet, DESERVES cellaring through '20, I'm guestimating.] 14% ABV; My EXC/EXC+, more a virtual lock down the line. [This vendor's now out of stock $74.95 was a *stunning* $10 < the next lowest of wine-searcher's LARGE posting!]
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12/1/2018 - srh Likes this wine:
Winebar [4 Whites, 9 Reds, & 5 *shared* bottles] from 11/30/18 (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): From the 13 acre Montosoli Vyd, planted 1973/1999, @ 1,485 ft elev in "limestone soils with a 360 degree exposure & yielding 2.4 tons/acre;" Fermented in s/s tanks for 15-20 days @ 82-86°F; Aged for 48 mos in 5-20 yr old Slavonian oak, 5,000-10,000 L barrels,; Bottle aged for 4 mos; 1,250 cs made.
N: Vanilla slightly atop ripe berries -- & other unparsables (poss hints of pyrazines?)
P: Med, poss LM, body; Rndish entry with LOVELY almost swtish frt fairly quickly met by an astringent pucker which, SURPRISINGLY, quite resolves by the LONG, BALANCED finish with a DELIGHTFUL tangy/swtness to the relatively few dusty tannins. Approachable now, but DESERVES into '20, then making its 15th? 14% ABV; My EXC, more a virtual lock down the line. 99 pts & a "Cellar Selection" WE @ $125, 98 Suckling, 97 ea WS & Vinous (D'Agata), 96 winealign.com, 95 WA, 92 (2x) Decanter, but 15/20 Jancis Robinson! [This vendor's $74.95 is a *stunning* $10 < the next lowest of wine-searcher's LARGE posting!]
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11/23/2018 - rossi.wine wrote: 95 Points
Tasted next to 2013 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino. Even more dense and layered on the nose - floral notes, herbs, spices, red fruit, hints of dark fruit, crushed stones. Quite intoxicating and beautiful. On the palate a little less open and expressive in comparison. Firm tannins, tight, fresh, vibrant. Lovely concentration of fruit, very well balanced. Very very long. Excellent, but needs time. 94-95+
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10/17/2018 - InternationalWineReport wrote: 95 Points
The 2013 Montosoli is a simply gorgeous Brunello from one of the most historic estates in Montalcino. This fantastic Brunello begins with pretty aromas of wild berries, red plums and dried cherries which take shape around spices, orange zest and floral nuances. On the palate this is medium-bodied with a silky, refined texture, underlined by a subtle austerity. It remains beautifully focused and precise with outstanding balance through the finish. As always, Montosoli is a fabulous, age-worthy wine, however this will likely need a bit more time in bottle before it begins to hit its stride.
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7/29/2018 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 91 Points
Poultry seasoning on opening, by that, I mean sage. Loads of it....on the nose and in the glass. This is on the thinner side, the tarter cherry side but with some smokey wood and mouth puckering tannin, but I would not call them chewy. Plenty of acidity. This wine begs for food, definitely not a porch pounder...but sitting in Rome in your hotel room after a day of walking in 90+ degree heat, it sure tastes good......ps.....a canister of Pringles goes well with this! For some reason, our hotel room comes with a canister of Pringels here in Rome.......
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1/29/2018 - oldwines Likes this wine: 92 Points
Tasted at Benvenuto Brunello NYC. Color is a touch lighter than the basic Brunello at a light to medium garnet. Nose is bright and floral with red berries and wet stones. Bright and lively on the palate again with lots of minerality, cherry, raspberry and violets together with a very long finish. Should age well 10-20 years for sure. Lovely wine, but certainly didn't blow me away as some writers have gushed with 98-99 pt. scores.
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