Important Update From the Founder
Read message >
Tasting Dinner Series (6 of 6); Greg does Montalcino
Greg's House
Tasted November 9, 2013 by alittle with 470 views
Introduction
To close out the first year of our dinner tasting series, Greg chose Montalcino, featuring mostly Brunello, and also a smattering of Rosso. In advance, Greg provided us with some light reading about the different sub-regions of Montalcino, and their distinctive characteristics.
Flight 1 - Antipasti (1 note)
Accompaniment: Crostini con i funghi
White - Sparkling
N.V. Tarlant Champagne Cuvée Louis
92 points
50% Pinot Noir/50% Chardonnay, disgorged December 2011. Golden colour in the glass, with a fine bead. The nose follows the appearance, showing fairly advanced notes of baked apple, heavy yeast/biscuit, touch of lime zest, crushed rocks, toffee, and toasted hazelnut. On the palate, quite rich, but with crisp acidity that serves as a nice counterbalance. Finish is moderate, tinged with notes of lightly browned apple, spice, mineral, citrus, and a touch of grated ginger. No reason to hold this any longer. Drink now.
1 person found this helpful
Comment
Flight 2 - Flight #1; Double Blind (2 notes)
Accompaniment: None
Red
2006 Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona Rosso di Montalcino
86 points
Tasted blind. Garnet in the glass with a light brick. On the nose, the fruit leans a bit dark with black cherry and plum notes, accented by some dried herbs, blood, light florals, earth and spice. On the palate, like notes, with medium acidity and quite a bit of unresolved tannin. Finish is a touch short and bitter, with some astringency and heat noted on the back end.
Red
2001 Tenuta Greppo (Biondi-Santi) Brunello di Montalcino
93 points
Tasted blind. Light garnet in the glass, fading to a slight brick at the rim. On the nose, showing more advanced than its counterpart, with notes of black cherry, red berry, baking spice, florals, slight undergrowth, leather, dried herbs, and a lovely overlay of brown sugar. On the palate, medium plus acidity, somewhat resolved tannic structure. Finish is long, characterized by tart black cherry, spice, earth, light herbs and balsamic glaze. In a nice place right now, but lots of life left.
Flight 3 - Flight #2; Double Blind (2 notes)
Accompaniment: None
Red
2005 Fuligni Brunello di Montalcino
91 points
Tasted blind. Garnet in the glass, with a light brick. Showing to be lighter than its counterpart. On the nose, licorice, florals, powdered sugar, baking spice, black cherry, and a touch of caramel. Some lactic notes present. On the palate, well polished, with good concentration of fruit, with moderate structure. Showing a touch extracted, with some dusty tannin on the finish.
Red
2005 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino
flawed
Tasted blind. Deep garnet in the glass with not perceptible brick. On the nose, heavy reduction, with notes of burnt rubber, and quite a bit of brettanomyces imparting animal fur, sewage and leather on the bouquet of this wine. In the background, some black fruit notes, spice and oak. On the palate, moderate acidity and high extraction, which lead to a short, drying finish. Burnt rubber notes are most prominent on the finish. While I have a history of not liking these wines, this example was so heavily reduced that it did not merit a score.
Flight 4 - Intermezzo (1 note)
Accompaniment: None
Rosé - Sparkling
N.V. Tarlant Champagne Brut Rosé
90 points
Popped and poured, rose gold colour in the glass, with a vigorous fine bead. On the nose, much fresher than the earlier Tarlant, with notes of red fruit; strawberry, a touch of cranberry, raspberry; crushed rocks, spice, fresh cut red apple and rosewater. On the palate, nice crisp acids, with a moderate finish.
Flight 5 - Flight #3; Double Blind (2 notes)
Accompaniment: Pappardelle al sugo di cinghiale
Red
2011 Argiano Non Confunditur Toscana IGT
87 points
Tasted blind. Deep purple in the glass, lightening just a touch at the rim. On the nose, deep dark fruit, leaning a touch blue, plums, oak, vanilla, spice, herbs, light florals, leather and seemingly a touch reduced again with some rubber notes present. On the palate, medium acidity, with quite a bit of tannin gripping on the moderate length, bitter finish.
Red
2008 Casanova di Neri Rosso di Montalcino
88 points
Tasted blind. Garnet in the glass, with a light brick. On the nose, black cherry, spice, light herbs, earth, a touch of balsamic glaze and subtle mint notes. On the palate, medium acidity and quite resolved, with very fine grained tannin that grip on the moderate length finish. Not a particularly exciting wine, but well crafted, and showing a bit of character.
Flight 6 - Flight #4; 1995 Brunello, Single Blind (3 notes)
Accompaniment: Formaggi e salumi
Red
1995 Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona Brunello di Montalcino Vigna di Pianrosso
93 points
Tasted blind. Garnet in the glass, with a light brick. On the nose, strong cedar aromatics, accented by black cherry, florals, brown sugar, leather, baking spice, earth, a touch of mushroom, crushed rocks, balsamic glaze and smoked meats. On the palate, exhibiting a great richness still, moderate acidity, and touch of grip from unresolved tannin on the long finish. Very nice wine, with tremendous complexity.
Red
1995 Conti Costanti Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
flawed
Tasted blind. Garnet in the glass, with moderate brick. On the nose, very oxidative; bruised apple, prunes; also showing some signs of what could of been with black cherry, leather, earth, decaying leaves, and mint. On the palate, tannin mostly resolved with the acidity really taking over. Finish is short and astringent. Revisited the bottle several hours later, with no improvement. A shame.
Red
1995 Pertimali (Livio Sassetti) Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
flawed
Tasted blind. Garnet in the glass, with a light brick. On the nose, a touch metallic, burnt rubber, brettanomyces; sewage, leather; earth and spice. On the palate, medium acidity, showing a touch lean. Finishes moderate, but dominated by metallic and reductive notes. Revisited this bottle later in the evening, and unfortunately it did not improve.
1 person found this helpful
Comment
Flight 7 - Flight #5; 1997 Brunello, Single Blind (3 notes)
Accompaniment: Formaggi e salumi
Red
1997 Fuligni Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
91 points
Tasted blind. Deep garnet in the glass, with no brick. On the nose, black cherry liqueur, prunes, earth, spice, herbs, and cedar. On the palate, medium acids, but feeling quite fresh. Moderate tannic structure, finishes long, albeit a touch hot. On reveal, this was quite a disappointment. This was pegged to be one of the top wines of the night. No perceptible flaws, just a poor showing.
Red
1997 Conti Costanti Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
93 points
Tasted blind. Garnet in the glass, no brick. On the nose, this was quite savoury; blood, herbs, cured meat, baking spice, graphite, crushed rocks, and also showing some brettanomyces with some horse stable and leather notes. There is a slightly metallic overlay on the nose, but not enough to detract from the positive qualities. On the palate, really well rounded, silky tannins, moderate acidity, exhibiting great balance. Finishes long.
Red
1997 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino Poggio alle Mura
92 points
Tasted blind. Garnet in the glass, no brick. On the nose, black cherry,dried berries, balsamic glaze, brown sugar, baking spice, earth, dried herbs, and a touch of bloody/meaty notes. On the palate, medium acidity, moderate tannic structure. Perhaps a touch nondescript on the palate, but well crafted. On reveal, this was probably the most shocking of the night. We fully expected this to show very modern, and no one pegged this for what it was.
Flight 8 - Dolci (1 note)
Accompaniment: Biscotti all’arancia e mandorle
White - Sweet/Dessert
2000 Tenuta Col d'Orcia Moscadello di Montalcino Pascena
91 points
From 375mL, deep golden colour. Nose has some oxidative qualities, showing a touch of bruised apple, orange peel, marzipan, a touch herbal, crushed rocks and spice. On the palate, slightly deficient in acidity for the level of sweetness. Finishes long, and paired exceptionally well with the homemade biscotti.
Closing
Overall, this served to be a very educational tasting. Brunello seems to be more fickle than I expected, with a number of bottles showing reductive notes. Approximately 50% of the bottles were popped and poured, with the remainder left in the bottle. The samples in the bottle were revisited multiple times over the course of the evening (5 hour time span, approximately), with no material improvement in any case. Regardless of the few disappointments, the tasting was stellar. Food was wonderful, and the company is always a blast.