So the real reason I opened this is because our youngest was born in 2008, and he's having a little Super Bowl birthday party, and I'm feeding the boys homemade brick oven pizzas, and it just felt like I should be in for something from 2008 whilst cooking. So in that regard, this bottle is a success.
But if it weren't for the sentimentality, I'd probably be mixed. I was expecting to decant this for awhile based on previous reviews, but of course, I snuck a small pour while firing up the brick oven. That initial dose was excellent. At that point, I'd have given points out in the low-to-mid-90s. I got the dark racy fruit, a solid finish - it was all working, and it was delicious. But over the course of the next few hours the fruit seemed to fade, the alcohol seemed to emerge, and the deliciousness tapered off. By the end of the evening, it was still solid, but as a previous reviewer noted (I'm paraphrasing), just not remarkable. I'm fine with solid, every wine doesn't have to be remarkable. For the price, I'm feeling this was a fine purchase. To my taste, it's not less than solid. But I just seem to have a different palate than the professionals who gave this scores in the mid-90s.
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Was much better with a long decant. Not spectacular but certainly a solid showing that had a wonderful floral upon opening. Improved with time in the decanter.
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Dark? Racy? yeah this vino does not wow me in any way whatsoever. Rather unfortunate. 2008 was not a great year for Brunello. Has some floral upon opening and decant but does not hold for long. I found it to still be a bit tannic with acidic tar leather tones. I absolutely love Brunello but never got the chalky Earth taste toward which I am biased. Maybe time will help here, but I'm not optimistic.
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96 POINTS Ian D'Agata, Vinous Media! 3 Bottles Ship Free! "Deep red-ruby. Highly perfumed, mineral aromas of raspberry, red cherry, violet and iron. Wonderfully sappy but youthfully imploded in the mouth, this remarkably precise and well-delineated Brunello offers an extremely refined set of flinty red and black fruit herbal flavors. Finishes with a firm edge of tannins and very good floral and spicy lift. An outstanding, very pure and deep wine that really needs about a decade of patience. One of the Brunellos of the vintage."
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Drank before and with a dinner of roast beef, gravy, baked potatoes, broccoli. Very nice. Red fruit, bright acidity, well-integrated tannin, somewhat mouth-drying finish.
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Drinking very well now. Birthday dinner with veal piccata and risotto Milanese. I wondered if this would be too tanic or just big. This went great with the meal. And the La Tur cheese after. Dark ruby with a little fading at the rim. Nose was flowers, leather (how do you combine that) oak and even a hint of eucalyptus. Complex taste adds darker fruit and a long finish. Mouthfeel is lively but not edgy. Really nice and enjoyed by all.
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Two and half hour decant, the dominant themes in both the nose and the palate are leather, plums and earth. This is a complex wine on the tongue, with the leather notes working with some toasty oak. Firm tannins carry through the firm mouthfeel, with a longer finish that adds additional flavors to eperience. An excellent bottle bottle.
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A lively wine right out of the bottle. Tannins resolved. Delicious. Tannin backbone emerges after an hour or so, along with the acids. With Italian food at RPM Italian. Lovely with butternut squash tortelli and roasted berkshire pork. Perfect combination.
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Drank with beef stew. Initial aroma of bright cherry and volatiles yielded after a few minutes to more sour cherry, leather and tobacco notes. Acid and tart fruit give way to tannin on the palate. Some heat indicating higher alcohol. Color is fairly deep with some brick translucency at the edge. Brighter aromas and tastes are yielding to darker fruit like cranberry, marionberry and plum with some herbal notes and more complexity. Palate has some dirt. This is quite good with food.
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This wine was very upfront with this complex taste, and satan feel and a very good finish to Hang on to. just just right to be mixed with the tightest was excellent with chili.
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Aromas of spicy dark fruit, cherry and after a while I found licorice and roasted wood or nuts. It's very complex but the tannins bring about a strong balance. It's verse, very good.
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The wine looks crimson colored. There is light sediment in the bottle. It smells like raspberry. It tastes like black pepper. The body is medium. The wine has silky texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has low acidity.
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Medium-deep to dark reddish-purple in color. Fragrant, attractive, aromatic & youthful nose of fresh, ripe fruit aromas of dark cherries, blackberries & plums with floral notes, spices, tobacco, leather, some cocoa, earthy, minerals, cedar, toasted oak & a touch of vanilla in the background. Medium-full bodied with a good concentration of well balanced ripe fruit flavors of dark cherries, sweet boysenberries & tart mulberries with spices & herbs, some cocoa, minerals, earthy, toasty oak and a deft touch of vanilla. Drinks quite well at present but has the potential for further development with additional aging.
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12/14/2021 - anderegg wrote: flawed
Vegetal and sour...
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2/7/2021 - Adventr.us Likes this wine: 89 Points
So the real reason I opened this is because our youngest was born in 2008, and he's having a little Super Bowl birthday party, and I'm feeding the boys homemade brick oven pizzas, and it just felt like I should be in for something from 2008 whilst cooking. So in that regard, this bottle is a success.
But if it weren't for the sentimentality, I'd probably be mixed. I was expecting to decant this for awhile based on previous reviews, but of course, I snuck a small pour while firing up the brick oven. That initial dose was excellent. At that point, I'd have given points out in the low-to-mid-90s. I got the dark racy fruit, a solid finish - it was all working, and it was delicious. But over the course of the next few hours the fruit seemed to fade, the alcohol seemed to emerge, and the deliciousness tapered off. By the end of the evening, it was still solid, but as a previous reviewer noted (I'm paraphrasing), just not remarkable. I'm fine with solid, every wine doesn't have to be remarkable. For the price, I'm feeling this was a fine purchase. To my taste, it's not less than solid. But I just seem to have a different palate than the professionals who gave this scores in the mid-90s.
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9/28/2020 - Nerdy Earth Boy Likes this wine: 91 Points
Was much better with a long decant. Not spectacular but certainly a solid showing that had a wonderful floral upon opening. Improved with time in the decanter.
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6/13/2020 - Nerdy Earth Boy Likes this wine: 90 Points
Dark? Racy? yeah this vino does not wow me in any way whatsoever. Rather unfortunate. 2008 was not a great year for Brunello. Has some floral upon opening and decant but does not hold for long. I found it to still be a bit tannic with acidic tar leather tones. I absolutely love Brunello but never got the chalky Earth taste toward which I am biased. Maybe time will help here, but I'm not optimistic.
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8/28/2019 - bin905 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Racy, dark fruit, tar, coffee and mint flavor with zippy tannins and a long finish.
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2/24/2019 - Scott Shapiro wrote:
96 POINTS Ian D'Agata, Vinous Media! 3 Bottles Ship Free!
"Deep red-ruby. Highly perfumed, mineral aromas of raspberry, red cherry, violet and iron. Wonderfully sappy but youthfully imploded in the mouth, this remarkably precise and well-delineated Brunello offers an extremely refined set of flinty red and black fruit herbal flavors. Finishes with a firm edge of tannins and very good floral and spicy lift. An outstanding, very pure and deep wine that really needs about a decade of patience. One of the Brunellos of the vintage."
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12/28/2018 - anderegg Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drank before and with a dinner of roast beef, gravy, baked potatoes, broccoli. Very nice. Red fruit, bright acidity, well-integrated tannin, somewhat mouth-drying finish.
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4/4/2018 - drinkinsailor wrote: 93 Points
Drinking very well now. Birthday dinner with veal piccata and risotto Milanese. I wondered if this would be too tanic or just big. This went great with the meal. And the La Tur cheese after. Dark ruby with a little fading at the rim. Nose was flowers, leather (how do you combine that) oak and even a hint of eucalyptus. Complex taste adds darker fruit and a long finish. Mouthfeel is lively but not edgy. Really nice and enjoyed by all.
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1/27/2018 - quaffnov Likes this wine: 93 Points
Two and half hour decant, the dominant themes in both the nose and the palate are leather, plums and earth. This is a complex wine on the tongue, with the leather notes working with some toasty oak. Firm tannins carry through the firm mouthfeel, with a longer finish that adds additional flavors to eperience. An excellent bottle bottle.
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1/21/2018 - rojoloco Likes this wine: 92 Points
A lively wine right out of the bottle. Tannins resolved. Delicious. Tannin backbone emerges after an hour or so, along with the acids. With Italian food at RPM Italian. Lovely with butternut squash tortelli and roasted berkshire pork. Perfect combination.
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2/10/2015 - anderegg Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drank with beef stew. Initial aroma of bright cherry and volatiles yielded after a few minutes to more sour cherry, leather and tobacco notes. Acid and tart fruit give way to tannin on the palate. Some heat indicating higher alcohol. Color is fairly deep with some brick translucency at the edge. Brighter aromas and tastes are yielding to darker fruit like cranberry, marionberry and plum with some herbal notes and more complexity. Palate has some dirt. This is quite good with food.
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11/28/2014 - lesliefrank wrote: 90 Points
This wine was very upfront with this complex taste, and satan feel and a very good finish to Hang on to.
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11/28/2014 - lesliefrank wrote: 90 Points
This wine was very upfront with this complex taste, and satan feel and a very good finish to Hang on to. just just right.
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11/28/2014 - lesliefrank wrote: 90 Points
This wine was very upfront with this complex taste, and satan feel and a very good finish to Hang on to. just just right to be mixed with the tightest was excellent with chili.
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9/11/2014 - auhead wrote: flawed
PnP- dirt & barnyard dominates, little to no fruit- flawed bottle.
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5/5/2014 - canefan Does not like this wine:
Bottle may have been bad.
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3/15/2014 - lesliefrank wrote: 92 Points
Peppery, with dark cherries and ripe plums with a lasting finish. I love it.
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3/9/2014 - Pattirichard wrote: 90 Points
This is a grown up wine. Complex, full of flavor, but not jammy or fruit forward. Just gets better as you sip and savor.
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2/12/2014 - lesliefrank wrote: 95 Points
Aromas of spicy dark fruit, cherry and after a while I found licorice and roasted wood or nuts. It's very complex but the tannins bring about a strong balance. It's verse, very good.
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2/8/2014 - Lou M. Likes this wine: 92 Points
The wine looks crimson colored. There is light sediment in the bottle. It smells like raspberry. It tastes like black pepper. The body is medium. The wine has silky texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has low acidity.
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1/7/2014 - Vinnut Likes this wine: 91 Points
Medium-deep to dark reddish-purple in color. Fragrant, attractive, aromatic & youthful nose of fresh, ripe fruit aromas of dark cherries, blackberries & plums with floral notes, spices, tobacco, leather, some cocoa, earthy, minerals, cedar, toasted oak & a touch of vanilla in the background. Medium-full bodied with a good concentration of well balanced ripe fruit flavors of dark cherries, sweet boysenberries & tart mulberries with spices & herbs, some cocoa, minerals, earthy, toasty oak and a deft touch of vanilla. Drinks quite well at present but has the potential for further development with additional aging.
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