Gordon's Brunello Vertical

Hosted by Dominic of Vinifera Imports. Featured primarily wines of Canalicchio di Sopra with a few Valdicava and a special mystery wine. 13 wines total over 2 hours covering vintages from 2004-1994. Wines opened about 3 hours before event but not decanted. The younger wines would have certainly benefitted. About 30 people in attendance - 2 couples in our party.

Rosso's and Non-Riservas

• 2008 Canalicchio di Sopra Rosso di Montalcino 85 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino

  Fairly decent Rosso. Bit rough around the edges and rustic and suffered in comparison to the smoothness of the Valdicava Rosso.

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• 2008 Valdicava Rosso di Montalcino 88 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino

  Cherry dominates on nose and palate. Nice smoothness. Not too complex but quite nice overall.

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• 2004 Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino 90 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Dark red fruits on nose and palate. Tannins relatively subdued for 2004. Bit of oak. Solid brunello.

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• 2001 Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino 90 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Similar overall to 2004 Canalicchio. Starting to see bit of browning on the edges. Probably preferred the 2004 slightly but sticking with same score.

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• 2000 Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino 88 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Think the was considered a bit of an off year but winemaker did a reasonable job maintaining a bit of consistency to other vintages. Red fruits more subdued but not bad.

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• 1999 Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino 86 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  First wine of vertical where the "funk" starts to arrive. Gamey, earthy aromas here are very distinguishing to the point I was asking what happened relative to previous wines. Didn't seem to blow-off as often described. Didn't directly affect the palate and the dark red fruits holding up and nicely integrated with oak. Tannins still there but not intrusive. Still nose causes me to downgrade as it took away from my enjoyment.

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Riservas, Older Brunello's, and the Mystery Wine

• 2004 Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 91 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Compared to non-riserva has a bit of an herbal component to the nose. Oak and tannins a bit stronger making this a bit rougher at this point - not exactly surprising. Scoring a bit higher at 91+ as this likely has a bit of room to improve as it integrates and is a bit more complex.

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• 2004 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano 93 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Noticably darker than other wines of the flight with the exception of the "mystery" wine. More new world. Powerful but still very smooth. The cherry and red fruit are really highlighted here on nose and palate. I was expecting tannins to be too strong at this stage but while certainly there they were not rough. Very enjoyable brunello. Best Brunello (but not sangiovese) of the tasting.

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• 2004 Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT 95 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT

  Wow. The "mystery wine" steals the show from the brunello's. Darkest and opaquest of the wines. Nose of dark red fruits. The fruit just sings on the palate. Dark cherry with a bit of black fruit mixed in. Tannic but fruit so strong it more than holds its own at this stage. At half the cost of the Valdicava Riserva I'll try to track some of this down.

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• 2001 Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 91 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Bit smoother the 2004 Riserva. Nose has bit of caramel as well. Slight browning around the edges. Bit better integrated at this point than the 04 Riserva but still has long life ahead.

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• 1998 Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino 90 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  My favorite of the older vintages tasted. Nose primarily black cherry with just a touch of herbal quality. Red fruits still holding well on the palate. Nice smooth finish.

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• 1995 Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino 82 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Sort of hesitant to score this since its just not my cup of tea. Most gamey, earthy, funky nose of the Canalicchio's. Color brickish. OK on the palate but too hard to get past the nose. Some might call it complex and enjoy so take my score for what it is. Interesting that other notes didn't seem to pick this up so might be unique to these bottles and/or tasting conditions.

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• 1994 Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino 86 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Last wine of tasting and the earthiness is back but not as strong. Many tasters thought this the most interesting nose. Fruit a bit drier here but overall smooth and still with life left. Style just not too appealing to me.

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Star of the show for me was the mystery wine - the 2004 Flaccianello, followed by the 2004 Valdicava Riserva. Most of the younger wines were better to my palate with the exception of the 1998. This tasting was also noteworthy (although not really in a good way) in that it included my first experience wines (1999, 1995, and 1994)that were really showing some serious earthy, gamey aromas although I hesitate to call barnyard. I did not find this appealing at all and it did take away from the enjoyment of these wines. Some of the more experienced tasters found the complexity interesting but I thought it was too intense and overwhelmed everything else. In general a good and quite educational time.