2012 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano

Community Tasting Notes (13) Avg Score: 93.8 points

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  2/10/2024 - Sugarb Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Gave it 2 hours of air, which was perhaps a little light for the first glass but the wine did not change appreciably over the next 3 hours. Consistent with other reviews, this is very nice, I may have expected too much. Consider this within easy drinking window right now.

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  12/24/2023 - boegemann Likes this wine: 95 Points

  A lovely deep magenta color that displayed copper notes if the light was right. After a 3-hour decant there were aromas of black cherries and rose, and flavors of cherries and violets. The wine developed further over the next three hours with sun-dried tomatoes, salami, and an elusive graphite. Paired with our traditional cannelloni it became less impressive... better to have enjoyed this on its own and pair the meal with something less complex.

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  7/10/2023 - sfwinelover1 Likes this wine: 96 Points

  First of 2, one from auction, the other Costco, both about a year and a half ago, both about $135. On the initial nose and palate, gobs of unmitigated oak, which gave way after about an hour and a half to the tannins and acidity playing bumper cars, then finally calming down after about 2.5, with red and black cherries, black currants, cassis, black plums, rose petals, dark florals, truffles, earthy herbaility, vanilla, dark chocolate, espresso—this is Italy, after all—smokiness, tobacco, earthy herbality, balsamic and tar. Deep magenta, full bodied, thick legs. Medium+ tannins and acidity, at first subdued by the oak, then prominent, then integrating well, no heat. Great complexity, VG++ persistence, VG intensity. For those not in the know about the ridiculously complex designation system of Italian wines who may actually be interested, and haven’t moved on to the next TN, “Riserva” actually has a meaning, which is that the wine spends more time on the barriques than the corresponding normale (word to the wise: when rubbing shoulders with Italian producers, don’t use this term, as they will tell you that their wines, like everything in the Land of the Boot, is not normale!). The amount of additional time may vary by varietal, the grapes may be better quality (which, to the extent the term “Reserve” has any meaning in the US, this is likely to be it), and it may or may not be a SVD, but the additional time is sacrosanct. With BdMs in particular, and very much so with this cuvee, that imparts the profound initial oakiness, and ultimately and more flatteringly, richness, creaminess and power often not found in the base bottlings. On the other hand, again, like many things Italian, it often takes a good bit more time to work itself out, and even when it does so, in my experience, it loses some of the tautness and litheness of the base bottlings, so some people whom I respect actually prefer the non-riservas, even without taking price into consideration. Anyway, back to the quaff at hand. The combination of the Riserva qualities, along with the fact that I find this producer to be one of the more modern in Montalcino (not an insult in my book, and still not quite Kirk Venge) makes this, like my favorite BdM bottling, the CdN Tenuta Nuova, an unusually good sipping wine, while still having the chops to hang, in this instance, with a spicy chicken basil orzo, although if someone in driving distance has a really good bisteca fiorentina, I do have another bottle left, and I don’t think that pairing would disappoint. This balled back up on night 2 and took another hour to unwind, but if you have the time, I think that this drinks fine now, although a few more years of gathering dust in the cool shade, far from your hot water heater, is far more likely to help than hurt. Since I’m unlikely to be drinking any Soldera anytime soon—unless my CT pals’ pals are pouring, and I was in a room with an open one at a VV party last October without knowing it—this is likely to be pretty close to the high water mark of what I’m paying for sangios, and in fact, prices seem to have jumped pretty considerably since my buys. With a crooked number in front, at least at this point, with the thought that most of our wine spends aren’t infinite, I’d be more likely to go with a CdN TN, or perhaps even better, a Flac or 2, and spend the overage on some fresh pasta, summer tomatoes and a heap of porcinis, but I sure liked this and look forward to that next bottle in a couple-few years. 95-96++

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  2/13/2023 - MaxRad Likes this wine: 92 Points

  developing but still could use several more years. 5 hour decant. wood/oak still strong. a lot of structure.

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  1/27/2023 - Ktstefanopoulos Likes this wine: 89 Points

  Good but needs more time

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