Exceptionally delicious Brunello. Alive with the mushroom and dank qualities of a well aged, well constructed wine.
It was stunning with the ribeyes. An absolutely stunning pairing with perfectly integrated tannins, earthy layers, and Herbal qualities that served up a symphony of flavors.
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N: Slight earthiness, then vanilla, with cherries underneath?
P: LM body; LOVELY, almost swtish frt BEAUTIFULLY counterbalanced by an acidity which seamlessly transitions into a LONG, balanced finish with a tangy/swtness to the very, VERY fine tannins. For now & probably making its 30th. 13.5% ABV; My EXC+/Exceptional-. 96 pts WS (Suckling), 93 WA, & 14/20 Vinum. [*Thank* you for this selection, José!]
Interestingly, most of the comments I heard felt this was a Burgundy.
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Prominent and familiar acidity across all vintages. Faded color; subtle fruit flavors and some earth/forest aromas. Nice but seems to be getting long in the tooth.
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(At The Grill NYC) Tart cherry, some sous-bois. Tannins fully integrated. Not much nose, not much finish. Nice, but not memorable. Feels like this is on the downhill run...
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Gary's Intro Retro -- Italia!: Served double blind. I found the nose here tired with older fruit and rust notes. The palate is tighter with loads of acidity. Can't much depth out of it outside of mature sour cherry. Meh. My #5, group's #5.
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Chicago Wine Flock...Gary Goes Italian (Chez Weber - Chicago IL): Double blind in Altesino flight. Black cherry with floral elements and charming earthy notes and subtle savory spice. Harmonious and elegant with moderate power. I liked this more than most of the others in the group tonight.
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Opened and let breathe in the bottle for 2 hours. Drank over the next 90 minutes
Ruby red color with a slight brown tinge. This bottle was drinking really nice now. Tannins fully integrated. Soft mouth feel. Typical BdM profile with predominat cherry. The finish was a bit weak coming across as slightly watery. If this bottle it typical, I would drink them up over the next 2-3 years.
Splash decanted. Clear, medium ruby with a garnet rim. Legs. An expressive nose of aged meat, wild flowers, sweet red cherries, earth and leather. Oddly enough, after some air, the nose developed very pronounced notes of fresh barnyard and arterial blood. Medium(+) acidity, full body. Medium(+) flavour intensity with red cherries, iron minerality, leather and meaty notes. Medium integrated tannins, and a long finish. A beautiful wine with great balance. Drinking very well now. The evolving nose was a little odd though, especially given its age - usually the barnyard notes on the nose would recede with air, not the other way round..?
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Mini Brunello Night (Extra Space): Year after year of this same bottle. Another solid showing. Poured into decanter and drank over 2.5 hours. Appearance is clear, medium intensity, ruby colour with garnet rim. Legs. Nose pronounced intensity, with aromas of funky earth, leather, meat, red cherries, some sweet tea leaves. Developed. With more air, the nose became somewhat explosively barnyardy with dirty horse stable - in a good way - enjoyable to me. On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium+ alcohol, firm medium+ tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of savoury earth, meat, leather, sweet red cherries, red plums. Long finish. Very good quality.
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Fill vts. Lots of dark, dark fruit on the palate and really quite Bordelais in character with good, multilayered complexity. Although lacking any sense of terroir or even varietal expression, this isn't a wholly unsuccessful presentation of what for most estates was a typical and classic vintage. Drink over the next few years.
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Back Vintage Wine Night (Extra Space): Poured into decanter and drank over 2 hours. This was really very tight initially and needed almost the full 2 hours before it began to show itself. Appearance is clear, medium intensity, garnet colour. Legs. Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of earth, soy sauce, slight mushroom, horse saddle, used leather. Developing. On the palate, dry, medium+ acidity, medium+ alcohol, firm medium+ tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of savoury earth and meat, worn leather, sweet ripe red cherries, red plums. Long finish. Very good quality. Nice Brunello, drink now with long aeration time in decanter. Otherwise, keep for another 5 years before re-exploring. No hurry to drink this up at all.
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this wine was fine but not great on opening (noon'ish), reticent nose and palate was a bit tight and sharp, dbl decant and then had around 7pm and it was really good, big amounts of spice and acid and grippy tannin but enough fruit had come forward to create some nice balance, definitely med- to full-bodied and while definitively old world in style it was big, perhaps this wine has another 10-15 years of positive development… almost tasted more '97 than '95 due to its "size"
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Italian Wines < 2000 vintage (Extra Space): Tasted blind. Apparently opened and slow-oxed in bottle for 3 hours before drinking. Appearance is medium intensity, light brown colour. Lots of fine sediments. Nose is clean, pronounced intensity, with aromas of red fruits and floral ?rosebush scents. On the palate, high acidity, nice firm tannins, full body and long finish. Flavours of spice on the entry, earthy minerality, cherries and plums. Fruits increased on both the nose and palate with more air over the course of the night. I guessed a late 80s to early 90s traditional-styled Brunello. Spot on except for the vintage. This feels a little older than it is. Drinking nicely now, no need to keep for much longer.
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A wonderful, wonderful Brunello. Perfectly formed and well developed tannins and fruits. I bought 2 bottles in 2010. Drank one is 2012. This was the final one. The wine has lots of earthliness taste. Definitely an Old World style wine. I wish I could find more of these. I paid $96 per for the 2 bottles I bought. What a bargain!!!
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This wine is an archetypal example of the secondary character of aged Sangiovese. The nose is full of old-wine complexity--it's as earthy-smelling as anything I've come across, and at various points I picked up licorice, leather, smoke, paprika, and herbs, though obviously there's some overlap between those scents. There's only the slightest hint of bitter fruit left. It's extremely advanced for a wine of this pedigree still short of its 20th birthday--I'd suspect poor storage, except that the cork was clean, the fill was good, there were no roasted or stewed or oxidized notes whatsoever, and it was very consistent with a 1990 tasted earlier this year. (That wine came from a somewhat riper, superior vintage that provided a bit more stuffing, but provided a similarly cerebral experience.) There's decent acid and an occasional touch of tannin, but I think this is already on its downslope. I'd be interested to try a younger Montosoli to see if I can find my sweet spot on the aging curve of this prestigious single vineyard.
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Wonderful earthy rustic Italian notes. Lasted well into the evening. Nice red fruit on the palate, with that musty earthy raisiny mid palate that is so common with Brunello and other Italian wines. Quite enjoyable.
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With an hour of air this was drinking very well. Good fruit, earth and structure. Nice finish. Not great, but a very good wine with food and seems to be holding. A-
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This wine was incredibly smooth from the moment we opened it (decanted it for about an hour) and drank perfectly. Nose had tobacco, leather and licorice. Finish lasted for over thirty seconds. Acids and tanins were there but not overpowering. Beautiful way to start the evening.
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I opened this wine at 8 am smelled the cork and put it back in the bottle (smelled great) to slow O till dinner at 7:30 pm tonight. We had this with bistecca fiorentina using the Mario Batali recipe, grilled polenta with robiola cheese and grilled scallions. The wine is dark red showing some orangey tints. Smells principally of earth with some hints of cherry fruit. This wine tastes tight even after all the slow O'ing. Tannins are firm, acidity is bright. Tastes of earth and cherries with some barnyard and leather. This wine has power. This is my last bottle and I think I drank it too young. A few years ago, I popped and poured one of these and it was terrific. I probably caught it before it shut down. I think this wine has upside if it is aged further.
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Wonderful chocolate and pie cherry nose with pronounced barnyard and forest floor too. It's slightly dry at mid pallet but then the finish turns so mild and balanced and it keeps pumping out those same cherry-chocolate notes that you find it a very pleasant experience thru the 3 hours. There's a fine suppleness to the wine and the fruit is aged but certainly not long-in-the-tooth. Not sure if a couple years earlier might have been wiser or it's about perfect now. Forget the hair-spliting. It should hold like this for a year but enjoy it now. Drank with lamb shanks slow roasted in the wood-fired pizza oven.
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Tremendous depth, with multiple layers of flavor. Pretty violet aromas on the nose. Meaty, spicy, plummy, supple and very long. One of the best glasses of Montosoli (of any vintage) I have ever had. Had it with a grilled leg of lamb that had been marinated overnight in yogurt, bay, thyme and garlic. Great pairing.
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Opened and poured. Dark ruby to the edge w bricking very evident but the nose - Wow! strawberry & vanilla nose that is simply amazing, almost like a perfume.. Strawberries, vanilla, cherry, spice and a hint of wood, maybe cedar, maybe cypress...Rich, smooth and almost silky now compared to my last tasting in 2008; this wine has really matured and developed into a wonderful Brunello. It is drinking so well now that i am not sure it gets better from here - i am going to finish my 750ml's now and hold the Mags for another year. Drink now in 750!
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What a magnificent nose. It was just like perfume. A very nicely aged Brunello with notes of mushroom and leather. The wine is quite acidic so it must be consumed with food. Decanted for 1 hour before drinking. The tannins are still there and there is a least a couple of years on its life, yet I doubt that it will improve. Tremendous length but a bit soft on concentration and power. More like a Burgundy than a Bordeaux.
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Decanted for an hour and drank as part of a multiple bottle night @ Schwa. A dark ruby elegant wine that is by no means past its prime. Drank after a bottle of 85 Shafer Hillside Select Cab and before a bottle of of 2004 Sine Qua Non Grenache. Held its own against the Shafer and was definitely not up to the class of the Sine Qua Non.
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Dark ruby, with barely perceptible bricking. But the nose! Wow, It has the characteristic aromas of a wine with over a decade of bottle age: earth, leather, dried leaves. PLUS, it also had deep cherry and licorice. Beautiful balance of oak (almost imperceptible), acidity, and fruit. There are still some tannins, enough to make this a perfect food wine, as well as a wine to be enjoyed on its own. Lengthy finish. I think this wine has enough acidity, fruit, and tannis to go several more years.
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Popped and poured. A dynamite brunello that is right at its peak. Dripping with silky elegance and feminine charm. The fruit purity is remarkable for a sangiovese and the mouthfeel is ethereal. Lots of wonderful floral characteristics on the nose. A wine to linger over...if you can! Drink now.
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3rd Annual Philly Brunello Offline (Pumpkin Restaurant, Philadelphia, PA): Not decanted. Tasted from the better of the two bottles. Dark ruby colour. Brooding nose of black licorice, black plums, black cherry, and animal fur. Medium-full bodied, with dark fruit and sottobosco notes. Moderate-long finish, 35-40s, with dark fruit notes. Brunello of the night.
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Tasted April 14, 2007 at an offline. This was from the better of the two bottles provided (bottle one had a little too much funkiness to it). Dark garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Just a bit of “funk” on the nose that blew away revealing some notes of saddle leather, spice, plums and other dark fruits. Big chewy black currants on the palate with some notes of anise and dark plums. Medium acidity and tannins, full bodied. Can be drank now but I’d recommend holding another year or so just to see how it develops with more bottle age. We’ll call this one my Brunello of the evening.
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Red fruit and Montosoli mint notes. Very refined mouthfeel with fine tannins. Streamlined. Some heat on the finish. Enjoyable wine, but while not fruit-forward, definitely has a more modern feel.
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A dark, thick, and brooding Brunello, which has finally begun to soften slightly with age. The primary fruit has started to recede, exposing a more mature and subtle profile. Nevertheless, the wine is thick and powerful in the mouth, showing intricately constructed notes of tar, black fruit, and dried pine needles. While this isn’t traditionally made Brunello, the wine has retained good acidity and structure, and perhaps most importantly, it isn’t marred by heavy-handed use of French oak. A wonderful wine that will continue to evolve and mature.
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Spectacular wine. Very powerful nose that almost jumps out of the glass. Great concentration on the palate without being heavy at all. This wine has both the power and the grace you expect in a great Brunello. I think it’s ready to drink now; however, it would be wonderful to follow the wine as it continues to evolve with age.
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Dark ruby colour; almost opaque. Aromas of barnyard/funk/animal, cranberry, black plums, spice, vanilla. Medium-full bodied, with notes of vanilla, black plums, and cherry. Moderate finish, 25-30s, with black fruit. Revisit in 3+ years.
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12/5/2020 - Beachfan Likes this wine: 93 Points
Super Brunello, a little more creosote than last time so although still vibrant maybe it’s time.
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11/6/2020 - Vascular46 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Soft tannins and black cherry fruit. Probably slightly past peak but still very pleasurable.
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3/8/2020 - Justinneal654 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Exceptionally delicious Brunello. Alive with the mushroom and dank qualities of a well aged, well constructed wine.
It was stunning with the ribeyes. An absolutely stunning pairing with perfectly integrated tannins, earthy layers, and Herbal qualities that served up a symphony of flavors.
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6/27/2019 - europat55 wrote: 90 Points
Nose: A- Palate: B+
My #6, Group's #4 (83 pts). Tasted blind in a flight of Altesino Brunellos from 1988-2001
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12/21/2018 - srh Likes this wine:
Friday Tasting Group: My 1st "Killer Bar" (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): 5,000 cases made
N: Slight earthiness, then vanilla, with cherries underneath?
P: LM body; LOVELY, almost swtish frt BEAUTIFULLY counterbalanced by an acidity which seamlessly transitions into a LONG, balanced finish with a tangy/swtness to the very, VERY fine tannins. For now & probably making its 30th. 13.5% ABV; My EXC+/Exceptional-. 96 pts WS (Suckling), 93 WA, & 14/20 Vinum. [*Thank* you for this selection, José!]
Interestingly, most of the comments I heard felt this was a Burgundy.
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12/20/2018 - Beachfan Likes this wine: 95 Points
At casa nostra with the Shulman
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10/27/2018 - JuliannaDHS Likes this wine: 90 Points
From a vertical tasting, '95, '97, '99, '01, '07.
Prominent and familiar acidity across all vintages. Faded color; subtle fruit flavors and some earth/forest aromas. Nice but seems to be getting long in the tooth.
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7/2/2018 - pryby wrote: 88 Points
(At The Grill NYC)
Tart cherry, some sous-bois. Tannins fully integrated. Not much nose, not much finish. Nice, but not memorable.
Feels like this is on the downhill run...
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11/3/2017 - Nanda wrote: 83 Points
Gary's Intro Retro -- Italia!: Served double blind. I found the nose here tired with older fruit and rust notes. The palate is tighter with loads of acidity. Can't much depth out of it outside of mature sour cherry. Meh. My #5, group's #5.
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11/3/2017 - Burgundy Al wrote: 91 Points
Chicago Wine Flock...Gary Goes Italian (Chez Weber - Chicago IL): Double blind in Altesino flight. Black cherry with floral elements and charming earthy notes and subtle savory spice. Harmonious and elegant with moderate power. I liked this more than most of the others in the group tonight.
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3/4/2017 - Oskiwawa wrote: 91 Points
Opened and let breathe in the bottle for 2 hours. Drank over the next 90 minutes
Ruby red color with a slight brown tinge. This bottle was drinking really nice now. Tannins fully integrated. Soft mouth feel. Typical BdM profile with predominat cherry. The finish was a bit weak coming across as slightly watery. If this bottle it typical, I would drink them up over the next 2-3 years.
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12/17/2016 - clairenclarence wrote: 93 Points
nose:cherry.plum,meat,stemmy,floral,leather
palate:leather,plum,savoury,floral,seems to have a thin line of mineral,,slight puckering tannins,dried prunes,hint of mushroom.
conclusion:should improve with more aging
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12/13/2016 - ozyloy wrote: 94 Points
Splash decanted.
Clear, medium ruby with a garnet rim. Legs.
An expressive nose of aged meat, wild flowers, sweet red cherries, earth and leather. Oddly enough, after some air, the nose developed very pronounced notes of fresh barnyard and arterial blood.
Medium(+) acidity, full body. Medium(+) flavour intensity with red cherries, iron minerality, leather and meaty notes. Medium integrated tannins, and a long finish.
A beautiful wine with great balance. Drinking very well now. The evolving nose was a little odd though, especially given its age - usually the barnyard notes on the nose would recede with air, not the other way round..?
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12/13/2016 - Derek Darth Taster wrote: 95 Points
Mini Brunello Night (Extra Space): Year after year of this same bottle. Another solid showing.
Poured into decanter and drank over 2.5 hours.
Appearance is clear, medium intensity, ruby colour with garnet rim. Legs.
Nose pronounced intensity, with aromas of funky earth, leather, meat, red cherries, some sweet tea leaves. Developed. With more air, the nose became somewhat explosively barnyardy with dirty horse stable - in a good way - enjoyable to me.
On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium+ alcohol, firm medium+ tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of savoury earth, meat, leather, sweet red cherries, red plums. Long finish.
Very good quality.
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1/19/2016 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 93 Points
A wonderful example from this producer. At its peak and showing wonderfully. Rich red fruits, forest floor, nice acidity but also very smooth.
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1/19/2016 - AtoZ wrote:
I liked this a lot. Classic. Reminded me of old chianti.
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7/9/2015 - M DU VIN wrote: 90 Points
Seems to be drying out. Time to drink up?
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5/31/2015 - D. Fulton wrote: 93 Points
Fill vts. Lots of dark, dark fruit on the palate and really quite Bordelais in character with good, multilayered complexity. Although lacking any sense of terroir or even varietal expression, this isn't a wholly unsuccessful presentation of what for most estates was a typical and classic vintage. Drink over the next few years.
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5/6/2015 - Derek Darth Taster Likes this wine: 95 Points
Back Vintage Wine Night (Extra Space): Poured into decanter and drank over 2 hours.
This was really very tight initially and needed almost the full 2 hours before it began to show itself.
Appearance is clear, medium intensity, garnet colour. Legs.
Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of earth, soy sauce, slight mushroom, horse saddle, used leather. Developing.
On the palate, dry, medium+ acidity, medium+ alcohol, firm medium+ tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of savoury earth and meat, worn leather, sweet ripe red cherries, red plums. Long finish.
Very good quality. Nice Brunello, drink now with long aeration time in decanter. Otherwise, keep for another 5 years before re-exploring. No hurry to drink this up at all.
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8/21/2014 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 92 Points
this wine was fine but not great on opening (noon'ish), reticent nose and palate was a bit tight and sharp, dbl decant and then had around 7pm and it was really good, big amounts of spice and acid and grippy tannin but enough fruit had come forward to create some nice balance, definitely med- to full-bodied and while definitively old world in style it was big, perhaps this wine has another 10-15 years of positive development… almost tasted more '97 than '95 due to its "size"
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3/19/2014 - Derek Darth Taster Likes this wine: 94 Points
Italian Wines < 2000 vintage (Extra Space): Tasted blind. Apparently opened and slow-oxed in bottle for 3 hours before drinking.
Appearance is medium intensity, light brown colour. Lots of fine sediments.
Nose is clean, pronounced intensity, with aromas of red fruits and floral ?rosebush scents.
On the palate, high acidity, nice firm tannins, full body and long finish. Flavours of spice on the entry, earthy minerality, cherries and plums. Fruits increased on both the nose and palate with more air over the course of the night.
I guessed a late 80s to early 90s traditional-styled Brunello. Spot on except for the vintage. This feels a little older than it is. Drinking nicely now, no need to keep for much longer.
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2/15/2014 - johnbhamrick wrote: 94 Points
A wonderful, wonderful Brunello. Perfectly formed and well developed tannins and fruits. I bought 2 bottles in 2010. Drank one is 2012. This was the final one. The wine has lots of earthliness taste. Definitely an Old World style wine. I wish I could find more of these. I paid $96 per for the 2 bottles I bought. What a bargain!!!
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1/15/2014 - cooberp wrote: 90 Points
This wine is an archetypal example of the secondary character of aged Sangiovese. The nose is full of old-wine complexity--it's as earthy-smelling as anything I've come across, and at various points I picked up licorice, leather, smoke, paprika, and herbs, though obviously there's some overlap between those scents. There's only the slightest hint of bitter fruit left. It's extremely advanced for a wine of this pedigree still short of its 20th birthday--I'd suspect poor storage, except that the cork was clean, the fill was good, there were no roasted or stewed or oxidized notes whatsoever, and it was very consistent with a 1990 tasted earlier this year. (That wine came from a somewhat riper, superior vintage that provided a bit more stuffing, but provided a similarly cerebral experience.) There's decent acid and an occasional touch of tannin, but I think this is already on its downslope. I'd be interested to try a younger Montosoli to see if I can find my sweet spot on the aging curve of this prestigious single vineyard.
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11/16/2013 - Rani wrote: 92 Points
Tasted blind. Lots of black fruit, mushrooms and earth. Tight, lots of acidity and tannins, sinewy.
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10/3/2013 - Yagil wrote: 93 Points
Sextet, that became a Septet, 4th meeting: Super Tuscan evening (at Yoram's): A wonderful and enjoyable BDM
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6/29/2013 - Ron Slye Likes this wine: 94 Points
Wonderful earthy rustic Italian notes. Lasted well into the evening. Nice red fruit on the palate, with that musty earthy raisiny mid palate that is so common with Brunello and other Italian wines. Quite enjoyable.
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8/19/2012 - MC wrote:
With an hour of air this was drinking very well. Good fruit, earth and structure. Nice finish. Not great, but a very good wine with food and seems to be holding. A-
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3/16/2012 - Oskiwawa wrote: flawed
bottle had a slightly protruding cork. Winewas cloudy and flat. Suspect this might have been improperly stored or shipped at some point -NR
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2/13/2012 - vinoballo wrote: 97 Points
This wine was incredibly smooth from the moment we opened it (decanted it for about an hour) and drank perfectly. Nose had tobacco, leather and licorice. Finish lasted for over thirty seconds. Acids and tanins were there but not overpowering. Beautiful way to start the evening.
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12/16/2011 - winemaker wrote: 93 Points
I opened this wine at 8 am smelled the cork and put it back in the bottle (smelled great) to slow O till dinner at 7:30 pm tonight. We had this with bistecca fiorentina using the Mario Batali recipe, grilled polenta with robiola cheese and grilled scallions. The wine is dark red showing some orangey tints. Smells principally of earth with some hints of cherry fruit. This wine tastes tight even after all the slow O'ing. Tannins are firm, acidity is bright. Tastes of earth and cherries with some barnyard and leather. This wine has power. This is my last bottle and I think I drank it too young. A few years ago, I popped and poured one of these and it was terrific. I probably caught it before it shut down. I think this wine has upside if it is aged further.
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12/3/2011 - M DU VIN wrote: 90 Points
Somewhat light and not terribly interesting.
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10/21/2011 - cmclean wrote: 93 Points
very poopy
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5/23/2011 - dino_mike wrote: 93 Points
Wonderful chocolate and pie cherry nose with pronounced barnyard and forest floor too. It's slightly dry at mid pallet but then the finish turns so mild and balanced and it keeps pumping out those same cherry-chocolate notes that you find it a very pleasant experience thru the 3 hours. There's a fine suppleness to the wine and the fruit is aged but certainly not long-in-the-tooth. Not sure if a couple years earlier might have been wiser or it's about perfect now. Forget the hair-spliting. It should hold like this for a year but enjoy it now. Drank with lamb shanks slow roasted in the wood-fired pizza oven.
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10/23/2010 - brigcampbell wrote: 91 Points
East Coast Road Trip; 10/19/2010-10/26/2010 (Jersey Shore and NYC): Tawny brick color. Stewed plum and cherry with hints of straw and barnyard.
Tannins are smooth and the body is light. Acidity shows through via a tart mildly sour initial palate. Medium short well integrated finish.
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9/8/2010 - otisabdul wrote: 96 Points
Tremendous depth, with multiple layers of flavor. Pretty violet aromas on the nose. Meaty, spicy, plummy, supple and very long. One of the best glasses of Montosoli (of any vintage) I have ever had. Had it with a grilled leg of lamb that had been marinated overnight in yogurt, bay, thyme and garlic. Great pairing.
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8/7/2010 - CMz wrote: 94 Points
Opened and poured. Dark ruby to the edge w bricking very evident but the nose - Wow! strawberry & vanilla nose that is simply amazing, almost like a perfume.. Strawberries, vanilla, cherry, spice and a hint of wood, maybe cedar, maybe cypress...Rich, smooth and almost silky now compared to my last tasting in 2008; this wine has really matured and developed into a wonderful Brunello. It is drinking so well now that i am not sure it gets better from here - i am going to finish my 750ml's now and hold the Mags for another year. Drink now in 750!
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8/7/2009 - cvvhrn wrote: 91 Points
Hints of dust and spice on the nose with a palate of minerals, sour cherries and cocco. Nice finish.
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1/1/2009 - djdaqm wrote: 94 Points
What a magnificent nose. It was just like perfume. A very nicely aged Brunello with notes of mushroom and leather. The wine is quite acidic so it must be consumed with food. Decanted for 1 hour before drinking. The tannins are still there and there is a least a couple of years on its life, yet I doubt that it will improve. Tremendous length but a bit soft on concentration and power. More like a Burgundy than a Bordeaux.
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5/10/2008 - jsebiri wrote:
happy i found this in the cellar tonight....fine bottle of BDM......cedar leather and the like......bute nose.......92?
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4/26/2008 - plhew wrote: 94 Points
So smooth and balanced. Just a delicious, well aged brunello. Don't see this getting any better so drink now and enjoy.
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4/17/2008 - sofro wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for an hour and drank as part of a multiple bottle night @ Schwa. A dark ruby elegant wine that is by no means past its prime. Drank after a bottle of 85 Shafer Hillside Select Cab and before a bottle of of 2004 Sine Qua Non Grenache. Held its own against the Shafer and was definitely not up to the class of the Sine Qua Non.
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8/26/2007 - terroirgeek wrote:
Dark ruby, with barely perceptible bricking. But the nose! Wow, It has the characteristic aromas of a wine with over a decade of bottle age: earth, leather, dried leaves. PLUS, it also had deep cherry and licorice. Beautiful balance of oak (almost imperceptible), acidity, and fruit. There are still some tannins, enough to make this a perfect food wine, as well as a wine to be enjoyed on its own. Lengthy finish. I think this wine has enough acidity, fruit, and tannis to go several more years.
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5/19/2007 - otisabdul wrote: 96 Points
Popped and poured. A dynamite brunello that is right at its peak. Dripping with silky elegance and feminine charm. The fruit purity is remarkable for a sangiovese and the mouthfeel is ethereal. Lots of wonderful floral characteristics on the nose. A wine to linger over...if you can! Drink now.
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5/14/2007 - Ibetian wrote: 92 Points
Elegant and smoothe. Ready to drink, I wouldn"t expect it to improve with more time.
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4/14/2007 - futronic wrote: 93 Points
3rd Annual Philly Brunello Offline (Pumpkin Restaurant, Philadelphia, PA): Not decanted. Tasted from the better of the two bottles. Dark ruby colour. Brooding nose of black licorice, black plums, black cherry, and animal fur. Medium-full bodied, with dark fruit and sottobosco notes. Moderate-long finish, 35-40s, with dark fruit notes. Brunello of the night.
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4/14/2007 - wineismylife wrote: 92 Points
1995 Brunello Offline (Pumpkin in Philadelphia, PA): WIML92?,WA93,WS96
Tasted April 14, 2007 at an offline. This was from the better of the two bottles provided (bottle one had a little too much funkiness to it). Dark garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Just a bit of “funk” on the nose that blew away revealing some notes of saddle leather, spice, plums and other dark fruits. Big chewy black currants on the palate with some notes of anise and dark plums. Medium acidity and tannins, full bodied. Can be drank now but I’d recommend holding another year or so just to see how it develops with more bottle age. We’ll call this one my Brunello of the evening.
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4/14/2007 - psmith wrote:
Red fruit and Montosoli mint notes. Very refined mouthfeel with fine tannins. Streamlined. Some heat on the finish. Enjoyable wine, but while not fruit-forward, definitely has a more modern feel.
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2/1/2007 - D. Fulton wrote: 95 Points
A dark, thick, and brooding Brunello, which has finally begun to soften slightly with age. The primary fruit has started to recede, exposing a more mature and subtle profile. Nevertheless, the wine is thick and powerful in the mouth, showing intricately constructed notes of tar, black fruit, and dried pine needles. While this isn’t traditionally made Brunello, the wine has retained good acidity and structure, and perhaps most importantly, it isn’t marred by heavy-handed use of French oak. A wonderful wine that will continue to evolve and mature.
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3/21/2005 - D. Fulton wrote: 94 Points
Spectacular wine. Very powerful nose that almost jumps out of the glass. Great concentration on the palate without being heavy at all. This wine has both the power and the grace you expect in a great Brunello. I think it’s ready to drink now; however, it would be wonderful to follow the wine as it continues to evolve with age.
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3/5/2005 - futronic wrote: 91 Points
Dark ruby colour; almost opaque. Aromas of barnyard/funk/animal, cranberry, black plums, spice, vanilla. Medium-full bodied, with notes of vanilla, black plums, and cherry. Moderate finish, 25-30s, with black fruit. Revisit in 3+ years.
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