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Great Wines of Italy Tasting 2015 -- Tuscany
NYC
Tasted January 25, 2015 by swapdoc with 974 views
Introduction
Another terrific tasting of some of the best Italian wines. Top producers, top wines, top venue -- thanks to James Suckling and Andrew McMurray for putting together this amazing event. The notes are sparse -- enjoyed talking to the producers at the expense of copious writing. It was simply impossible not to get wrapped up in the passion of the people who made or produced these gems. Most of these wines were simply excellent, and the ratings reflect this fact. I've noticed also that the top rated wines often shared some similar traits: they were mostly elegant, smooth, complex, and multilayered. Yet, often I found pleasure in many unique expressions of this wonderful grape and in the unique vision of people who crafted these wines -- just loved some wines for being oddly aromatic, or spicy, or smoky, or feral, or all of the above. For me this was more of a celebration of many incredible expressions of the grape and soil (this applies to both Piedmont and Tuscany wines). Chalk it up to a difference in perspective.
Flight 1 - Outstanding (10 notes)
Red
2010 Castello Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino Filo di Seta
An amazingly aromatic wine. Swirls of fruit, tar, jam and more. Soft, voluptuous wine, sour ripe red fruit, earth, chestnuts. Outstanding.
Red
2010 Tenuta Friggiali Brunello di Montalcino
What a perfumed nose! Flowers, fruit, some sulphury aromatics (all good). Feminine wine, subtle, graceful, yet with plenty of sparkle -- olive tapenade, blackberry jam, sandal wood. Excellent.
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Red
2010 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova
Smooth, well knit wine. Dark cherry on the palate, chewy, balanced. Red fruits, power but restraint. More feminine style Tenuta Nuova. Excellent.
Red
2010 Siro Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino Vecchie Vigne
Dark cherry, round edges, long and layered. Wood frames the fruit. Cab-like wine, but more smooth. Quite different from the smoky/sandalwood aromatic wines. Very good.
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Red
2010 Poggio Antico Brunello di Montalcino Altero
Smoky, jammy dark fruit. Hint of shaved wood. Sense of place. Very smooth, mineral. Aged for 2y in French barriques and 1y in the bottle. Very good.
Red
2010 Il Poggione (Proprietá Franceschi) Brunello di Montalcino
Long and mineral wine. Red fruit, ripe and succulent. Bold, but quite mineral. Hint of raisiny aromatics. More limber and interesting than '09.
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Red
2010 Poggio Antico Brunello di Montalcino
Taste of strawberry and sage. Aroma of fruit with a hint of freshly struck match. Smooth and long. Aged for 3y in Slavonian oak. Very good.
Red
2010 Uccelliera Brunello di Montalcino
Rich, sweet but mineral and balanced wine. Fragrant aromatics of sandal wood, clay, dark olives. Long, substantial. Very good.
Red
2010 Argiano Brunello di Montalcino
Aromatic, volatile nose. Flowers, smoke. Gentle palate, delicate now, has potential.
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Red
2010 Castello Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino
Fragrant nose of macerated fruit, sandal wood, volcanic soil. Graceful, balanced. Very good.
Flight 2 - Very Good (13 notes)
Red
2010 Fuligni Brunello di Montalcino
Long, tannic and homogeneous. Red fruit, grilled bread. Beautiful modern red that didn't scream Brunello. Missed the smoky, volcanic, sage flavors. Time will tell.
Red
2008 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto
More fragrant and complex than Tenuta Nuova '10. Nutty, more open, sexy, some wild grasses aromatics. Hint of raisiny, reductive flavor -- recall noticing the same in prior tastings of Cerrelalto as well ('06).
Red
2010 Pietranera Brunello di Montalcino
Very aromatic wine -- sandalwood, berries, sage, smoky hills. Taste of strawberry, olives; mineral and playful. Distinct aromatics; very good effort.
Red
2010 Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona Brunello di Montalcino
More approachable than Pianrosso, more feminine. Still, did not capture the ripeness of the vintage, at least not at this moment.
Red
Red
2011 Argiano Solengo Toscana IGT
Cab, sour berries, woody aromas. Less playful than the '10 Brunello, but quite good.
Red
2009 Il Poggione (Proprietá Franceschi) Brunello di Montalcino
Chewy, sweet fruit. Rich and fleshy. Some heat in the finish.
Red
2011 Luce della Vite Lucé
More extracted, vibrant than Lucente. Chewy. Candied nose and some cough syrup. Came off as manufactured.
Red
2011 Bibi Graetz Testamatta Toscana IGT
Dark cherry, blossoms. Balanced, good presence. Liked it, but just that.
Red
2010 San Filippo Brunello di Montalcino
Tasted very extracted, with some bitterness in the finish. Woody aromatics. Closed now.
Red
2010 Pertimali (Livio Sassetti) Brunello di Montalcino
Long, somewhat monolithic now. Dark fruit, some strawberry. Tasted a bit candied in the finish. Need to re-taste.
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Red
2011 Castello di Volpaia Chianti Classico Riserva
Lovely aromatics of blackberries, dried berries. Good texture, silkier than '09. Needs time.
Red
2011 Fattoria Casa di Terra Bolgheri Mosaico
Very pretty cab franc aromatics. Plums, red berries taste; soft, polished palate with good supporting structure. Appealing now.
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Flight 3 - Other (6 notes)
Red
2010 Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona Brunello di Montalcino Pianrosso
Muted and closed aromatically. Earthy, nutty, with some dark fruit; did not dazzle, showing very little now. Had decanted Pianrosso overnight in the past.
Red
2010 San Filippo Brunello di Montalcino Le Lucere
Came off as even darker and more wooded over than the basic Brunello. Mushrooms, forest floor, dark fruit. Tannic, with some bitterness in the end.
Red
2007 Uccelliera Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
Stewed fruit; fully showing the impact of the hot '07 season. Candied and reduced fruit jam taste. Lacking the minerality and playfulness.
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Red
2012 Tenuta Sette Ponti Oreno Toscana IGT
Strawberry compote; lacking focus and extraction. Baby fat feel for now. Needs time.
Red
2011 Collazzi Toscana IGT
Soft, bordeaux-like blend. Aromas of plums, coffee grinds; not very structured.
Red
2009 Pertimali (Livio Sassetti) Brunello di Montalcino
Taste more 'traditional' to me than '10. Smoky, aromatic nose; ripe and forward.