2012 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino Our 40th Harvest

Community Tasting Note

Canoehead wrote:

89 Points

Saturday, December 23, 2017 - This bottle didn't wow anyone, including moi! Not what we were expecting. Pale ruby colour. It looked like a Pinot Noir with some age. There was already a slight tawny rim to the wine and the aroma was moving from secondaries into tertiaries. Savoury cherry and dried herbs. There is some persistent alcohol and the acidity was struggling to stay in balance. I would have sworn that this was a Barolo not a Brunello. We'll try another bottle in a few months and decant for an hour. Probably serve with a duck dish.

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7 comments have been posted

Comment posted by WineGuyDelMar:

12/27/2017 11:43:00 AM - IMHO this wine is far too young to drink. I would guess most of the 2012 vintage Brunello are closed at this point which might have accounted for the lack of wow. I just started drinking my 2010's and they are just entering the window. Give it more time.
Comment posted by darrenv:

12/27/2017 6:14:00 PM - You bought this because of Wine Spectator! ;)
As the other guy said, too young, too much expectation. This probably needed hours to open up, like six or more.
Comment posted by Canoehead:

12/28/2017 1:13:00 PM - I take all your points around giving this wine more time but at the core of my comments is this Brunello is atypical for what we've come to enjoy from Montalcino. There should be a depth of colour here not a paleness. The alcohol is providing most of the body. Its almost as if the oak program stripped any fruit complexity. I was given two bottles as a gift so we'll try the second in maybe a year or so. For this price point I'd personally chase down Gran Seleziones.
Comment posted by darrenv:

12/28/2017 1:37:00 PM - You know what we should do, is open a CastelGiocondo next to this, blind. Heck, I have a 2007 something I think. We could make it a threesome!
Comment posted by rseegull:

1/28/2018 2:28:00 PM - Yes. Give this time to open up. I decantered for two - three hours and it was great and just got better. But yes, very Young now.
Comment posted by saprebleu:

9/17/2020 2:53:00 PM - I only have one bottle so I guess I'll take a chance and wait for a few more years. Fingers crossed.
Comment posted by srh:

12/17/2021 1:45:00 PM - I'm SO *sorry* this bottle was a disappointment for you, Canoehead! 😕 Since both you & saprebleu look like you still have bottles, should either of you be interested, I’ve uploaded info for this vintage which you can peruse at your leisure. 😉