Despite its age, we kick things off with a medium-plus intense garnet core donning a healthily bright red highlight, while fading towards the bricking rim. The medium-plus intense nose shows a dried trifecta of red fruits, flowers & Italian herbs over a roasted meaty base; all framed by an iodine infusion of minerals.The medium-plus body receives considerable lift from pronounced acidity, which effect is enhanced on the mid-palate by the fact that the just about medium-plus intense red cherry flavours can’t quite provide an adequate buffer. This increases the grippiness of otherwise medium tannins somewhat, but sandalwood, dried thyme, bay leaf and peat flavours do add complexity. Balance is maintained for 15-20 seconds on the finish, so my final verdict is that this is a nicely aged, if nervously styled drink which is typical for the lighter vintage; as is witnessed by the slightly porous mid-palate and lighter overall character. It would be a good dinner companion and while I personally wouldn’t mind sipping it on its own, those less tolerant of acidity may disagree. 90 points and drink over the next two years if you happen to have any left............TN Mike de Lange.

Medium-plus intense, sombre garnet at the core, with only a slightly bricking rim. Straight after opening, the immediately pronounced nose is distinctly feral with notes of gamey animal fur, dried porcini, undergrowth and peat. Half an hour of slow oxygenation reveals dried dark fruits, a dollop of dried herbs and peaty/iodine minerality, while the animal notes settle on beef stock and old leather.Medium-plus bodied on the attack, this northerly ringer offers some serious structural integrity in the form of firmly medium-plus acidity and tannins. The former keeps proceedings fresh –thereby offsetting the hot-vintage character– while the latter are nicely ripe and very well-buffered by excellent sève. Quite unlike the nose, pronounced flavours of fresh plums and ripe cherries receive added interest from cocoa, savoury old leather and beef broth, infused with a serious dried herbal streak. Balance is maintained for 25-30 seconds on the finish, which prompts me to award 92 points and on the basis of this showing I suspect further aging might just add another point. It has to be noted however, that this bottle was the least advanced of a handful drunk over the past months. In general however, I suspect bottles from this vintage won’t improve further but your mileage –and storage conditions– may vary........................TN Mike de Lange.

Popped, sampled and aerated for about 90 minutes. A translucent, medium intense garnet core with some red brightness remaining fades to a brown edge. While never above medium intensity on the nose, the leap in finesse from the previous wines is no less than staggering. Precise notes of roses, oxtail broth, a chlorine mineral infusion & hints of iron, mace, fresh morels and with more time red cherry tickle the nose. An hour later, the slightest hint of VA enhances an impression of depth and richness, taking on the form of sweet brioche or Danish pastry.While medium bodied on the attack, this 41-year-old seems to barely have any weight at all. High-quality medium tannins have some grip left and pronounced acidity invokes visions of Chambolle, while enhancing its nervosité. The medium-plus intense red fruits –cherry; indeed almost raspberry– have a distinct airiness on the mid-palate, where elegance is enhanced further by a cretaceous streak of minerals and wonderfully smooth texture. This makes for an almost Burgundian drinking experience and it is not until the 35-40 second finish that a meaty/brothy undercurrent makes itself known, while the minerality gains in expression and seems Puligny-like during the encore.This was a stellar bottle of wine, which –aside from confirming its structural integrity and showing relatively more dried herbs and animal notes– continued to gain in intensity, precision and expression over the next three hours. It is a testament to the ability of the Biondi-Santi family to make great wines in lighter vintages and wholly deserves 95 points, which may seem stingy to the majority of EPCS-sufferers out there. Additionally, I believe well-kept bottles may actually improve another point when aerated sufficiently........................................TN Mike de Lange.

As is common for this producer, it has a medium intense translucent ruby core and only the very edge shows some bricking. The tiniest perceptible hint of VA can be detected on the medium intense nose, which otherwise shows airy red fruits, a chlorine infusion of minerals, some beef stock and a touch of dried herbs.Despite its 14% alcohol, this is a medium-plus bodied Brunello due to its pronounced acidity, which lends an airy touch to the firmly medium-plus intense mid-palate flavours of red fruits, liquorice and exotic spices like cardamom and cinnamon. The tannins are pronounced and plushy rather than silken, but the mid-palate stuffing is of sufficiently high standard to make them blend in completely which –combined with suave texture– results in considerable finesse. For a lighter vintage like 2000, that is quite an achievement and if not for the fact that the finish tapers off after 20-25 seconds worth of sexy balance, this wine would approach the upper half of the nineties. For now, I’ll give 92 points and wish to add that even beyond the half minute mark, the structure never grates and the cretaceous minerality fully expresses itself. In a word: impressive...........TN Mike de Lange.

Curiously enough, this hot-vintage Brunello has but a medium-minus intense ruby core and a distinctly watery rim with just a smidge of garnet.It does however, show a bit more VA on the medium-minus intense nose, which nonetheless offers up reasonably precise gamey notes, some iron and chlorine minerality. Additional oxygenation unveils red (!) fruits and a flowery component, which lend lift and impart a modicum of elegance.Fullbodied on the attack, the mid-palate is more typically black-fruited and said blueberies and plums are kept fresh by medium-plus acidity while being supprted by supple medium tannins. Added complexity comes from hints of liquorice, beef stock and some dried herbs, which add up to medium-plus flavour intensity and quite good overall balance for a 2003 sporting 14%. It is not until halfway through the 20-25 second finish that a similarly cretaceous touch of minerals starts to surface and while I suspect an early harvest and/or very light extraction, I still consider this wine worthy of 92 points because of its pleasant texture and overall potability. If I had any in the cellar, I would drink my bottles soon...........TN Mike de Lange.

This new star on the Montalcino galaxy has a medium intense translucent ruby core and a pinkish clearing rim. The ripe nose sports medium-plus intense notes of plummy black cherry, grenadine and some wood spice, all on a darker feral foundation. A dollop of VA enhances the sweet elements while time in the glass adds a hint of chocolate.Definitely fullbodied at 14,5% alcohol, its pronounced but ripe tannins further increase intensity of liquorice-laced black cherry and blueberry flavours, while the VA lends an impression of freshly chopped thyme leaves. The firmly medium-plus acidity does a good job of keeping proceedings fresh on the seriously extracted mid-palate, but doesn’t quite have the kick of the previously tastes wines. Otherwise, the mid-palate is positively stuffed and the overall racy character enhances its overall enjoyability. I’ll give 91 points with a two to three point upside to cellaring it for the mid-term.........TN Mike de Lange.

Medium intense ruby at the fully translucent core, with a watery rim lacking all brick. Upon first sniff, a sensation of tension is created by the nose, which somehow manages to be expansive at medium-MINUS intensity. An uniquely elegant concoction of cherry stones and rose water receives a precise infusion of almost smoky chlorine minerals.Despite its medium-plus body and impressive extraction levels, this wine is deceptively light on the mid-palate, where pronounced-but-silky DRC/Giacosa-quality tannins and equally forceful & refined acidity are superbly balanced by red fruits with just an edge of sweet blueberry. Moreover, the structure seems coated by a glycerine-like sensation and with the added hints of mace and roasted game bird this wine manages to be both refined & forceful, light & mouth-filling.While not yet very expressive nor complex, everything seems to be in its rightful place and the finish manages to add yet another level of intensity and mineral expression for a full 40-50 seconds, after which the latter takes at least that long to finally fade.Like all truly great wines, this bottle transcended both its origins and vintage. I can spare 96 points for this bottle and would cellar it for about a decade, at which point I'ld be amazed if it hadn’t improved by another two............. TN Mike de Lange