Brunello Blind night at ES BK. Tasted blind over 3 hours. Appearance is clear, pale intensity, ruby colour. Legs. Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of toasty wood, earth, red cherries, spices, sage and thyme. Developing. On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium+ alcohol (14.5%), fine high tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of sweet red cherries, sour red cherries, earth, toasty spices. Long finish. Very good quality. Understated elegance, despite the sweetish red fruits getting dangerously close to being confected. Didn't really improve with air, so improvement with further ageing could be a question mark. Enjoyable drink now. Spends 38 months in large French oak barrels. Across the road from Caprili and Soldera in the unofficial subzone of Tavernelle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
My first bottle in almost two years and this time, fully recalled the outstanding experience I had with my first bottle way back in 2013. Accessible upon opening, but got better and better over the course of four total hours. Bright red cherry, leather and forest floor notes on the nose. Close to full bodied (14.5% ABV) with bright red cherry notes upfront, mixing and deepening with some black cherry qualities, plum and nicely contrasting acidity. Finishes with integrated spices, mineral notes and just enough tannin to provide structure and length. The mid-body of this wine is silky and elegant with a good mix of fruit, balanced with acidity and structural qualities. Integration has improved markedly from my prior bottle. Unfortunate that I caught my second bottle in closed phase, but this one makes up for it. Based on where the fruit and structural notes are, I suspect it's within a year or so of peak but should be able to maintain this level for a way beyond that. I will certainly be looking for some more.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This wine was much tighter than I anticipated. Between medium and full bodied, but took over two hours in a decanter to open up and four hours total to show its best. Once open, it became a very smooth, very pretty redfruit dominant brunello with flavors of mixed red cherry, some plum in the background providing smoothness and tea, floral, leather and cedar notes on the finish. The wine wasn't overly tannic, in fact it was quite well integrated, it was just really tight. This wine still has some time to go before it reaches peak and based on how it showed at the four hour mark, should be worth the weight.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Big, rich, silky, with great fruit, and firm acid; very good. ... After a couple of hours the nose really opened up, with lots of fresh mint and cotton candy.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
8/12/2022 - nickorum wrote: flawed
Tasted oxidized
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/6/2021 - boegemann Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lovely cherry pie nose for days! Flavors of cherry and wet leather with perfectly balanced acidity to pair with food.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/4/2019 - SteveVermeer Likes this wine: 89 Points
Needs a couple of more years
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/25/2018 - Derek Darth Taster wrote: 92 Points
Brunello Blind night at ES BK. Tasted blind over 3 hours.
Appearance is clear, pale intensity, ruby colour. Legs.
Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of toasty wood, earth, red cherries, spices, sage and thyme. Developing.
On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium+ alcohol (14.5%), fine high tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of sweet red cherries, sour red cherries, earth, toasty spices. Long finish.
Very good quality. Understated elegance, despite the sweetish red fruits getting dangerously close to being confected. Didn't really improve with air, so improvement with further ageing could be a question mark. Enjoyable drink now.
Spends 38 months in large French oak barrels.
Across the road from Caprili and Soldera in the unofficial subzone of Tavernelle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/21/2017 - RGCM Gananda Likes this wine: 93 Points
My first bottle in almost two years and this time, fully recalled the outstanding experience I had with my first bottle way back in 2013. Accessible upon opening, but got better and better over the course of four total hours. Bright red cherry, leather and forest floor notes on the nose. Close to full bodied (14.5% ABV) with bright red cherry notes upfront, mixing and deepening with some black cherry qualities, plum and nicely contrasting acidity. Finishes with integrated spices, mineral notes and just enough tannin to provide structure and length. The mid-body of this wine is silky and elegant with a good mix of fruit, balanced with acidity and structural qualities. Integration has improved markedly from my prior bottle. Unfortunate that I caught my second bottle in closed phase, but this one makes up for it. Based on where the fruit and structural notes are, I suspect it's within a year or so of peak but should be able to maintain this level for a way beyond that. I will certainly be looking for some more.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/24/2016 - BSZach1 wrote: 90 Points
Need about 20 minutes to open up and then was quite awesome.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/5/2015 - LEEJV123 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Full, round, big
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/8/2015 - RGCM Gananda Likes this wine: 93 Points
This wine was much tighter than I anticipated. Between medium and full bodied, but took over two hours in a decanter to open up and four hours total to show its best. Once open, it became a very smooth, very pretty redfruit dominant brunello with flavors of mixed red cherry, some plum in the background providing smoothness and tea, floral, leather and cedar notes on the finish. The wine wasn't overly tannic, in fact it was quite well integrated, it was just really tight. This wine still has some time to go before it reaches peak and based on how it showed at the four hour mark, should be worth the weight.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/9/2013 - Rezy13 wrote:
More cedar, leather, red fruit; earlier drinking; good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/10/2012 - natecg wrote: 93 Points
Big, rich, silky, with great fruit, and firm acid; very good. ... After a couple of hours the nose really opened up, with lots of fresh mint and cotton candy.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment