After a few lackluster encounters with the reds of the estate lately, I decided to open the legendary 2000.
Intense nose of tar, plum, undergrowth and truffle.
The fullness of the wine is impressive, it is intense and bloody, feeling of having a mixture of meat juice and olive oil in the mouth. It is totally slender and satiny, each sip brings a new aroma, sometimes earthy and truffled, sometimes strawberry and smoke. Structured wine where the fine acidity plays the role of backbone which brings tension and freshness on a whole which is almost airy with aeration. Great finish on aromas of undergrowth with a monumental sanguine length.
A great Valentini, kaleidoscopic and serene.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
One of those very rare perfect bottles… And this was no question, not for me, not for the others at the table. I didn’t need to follow the wine over hours and become enchanted by all the evolution and ever changing aromas, it was clear right away or at least after the third sniff and sip which again gave me goosebumps and made my heart beat faster. Wow. Incredibly complex, ever changing, perfect aromatic purity, intense and expressive from the nose to the finish, so light and airy, no weight yet loads of aromas and above everything: an absolute harmony, a perfect balance.
TN: Intense, expressive nose and palate with a cornucopia of aromas including smoke, earthy, forest floor, lots of truffles, dark to red berries in all shapes and forms, even floral notes, then meaty notes and olives and with time Mouton-like burnt sugar notes and an ever-increasing sweetness that goes well with all the earthy notes. With every sip and breath a new aroma. The perfect structural frame with a light and airy, satin-like texture, fine tannins but excellent tension, great freshness. Perfect harmony and balance. Elegance and purity.
Decant: Opened a couple of hours before dinner. Good from the start. Only got 30 minutes of slow-ox in total, then we followed the wine for a few hours. This bottle didn't need any decanting at all, and one of the highlights was following the wine for some time. If you don't have the time, give it a decant (1-2 hours?).
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tasted blind. Slow-oxed for several hours, but not decanted – and one needed. Cherry fruit along with sour cherry, brighter raspberry accents and herbal spice. The foundation, however, consists of horse saddle, earth, black truffles and leather. A mineral dimension links the two worlds together. Extremely versatile with every nose presenting different facets. Adding sous-bois, more herbs and pipe tobacco. Fresh acidity in an amazingly lightly built structure. Tannins are soft and on point. The palate further elevates the mineral and meaty features with smoke and smoked bacon. But the palate is also abundantly juicy, showing brighter red berries. Perfect balance. Perfect wine.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Stunning bottle! Far less dark and brooding than 2006, the uber rare 2000 Montepulciano is elegant, seamless and impeccably detailed. It’s layered with crazy depth of aromatics that soar flaunting BBQ spice, espresso, dried flowers and red fruit. It has off the charts complexity and a wild untamed nature to its expression that is as intriguing as it comes. The palate is precise, pure and balanced with a stunningly elegant texture and incredible length. Masterful wine.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Un vino straordinariamente elegante. Di colore rosso rubino è ricco fino all'opulenza. I profumi sono molto coinvolgenti e vanno dalla confettura di ribes al tabacco passando per diverse spezie fino al cacao. È un vino estremamente morbido con tannino vellutato. Dotato di intensità e persistenza straordinaria è è pronto per essere bevuto in tutta la Sua pienezza.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Valentini and Pepe Dinner Brazilian coffee, smoked meat, and BBQ. By the end of the evening the oak felt a bit more integrated and you could sense the underlying acidity in the wine. On day 2 it really showed a lot better but still I think this could do with another 5-10 years in bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
2000 - slowed for 3-4 hours. Compare to 2001, it was also as delicious (my top 2 wines of the night), but I like the 2001 slightly more for being a bit more spicy and chewy. 2000 to me is the most elegant among the three reds, generous amount of red and purple fruits on both nose and palate, dark roses, purple violet, a touch of mineral sensation, modest spices, and the tannin was silky and smooth.
The list we had: 1995 Valentini Montepulciano 2001 Valentini Montepulciano 2000 Valentini Montepulciano 2010 Valentini Trebbiano 2012 Valentini Trebbiano 2013 Valentini Trebbiano
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Quite opaque, but more like very dark and deep than dense and concentrated blackish red than red with a developed figgy mahogany hue. The nose feels complex, characterful and moderately developed with aromas of wizened black cherries, graphite, some rustic animal tones, a little bit of inky character, light aromatic tones of dried flowers and a hint of new leather. The wine is rich, full-bodied and spicy on the palate with juicy flavors of ripe dark berries, peppery spice, some wizened black cherries, a little bit of roasted exotic spices, light woody tones of pencil shavings and tree bark, a hint of stony minerality and a touch of pleasant farmhouse funk. The wine is moderately weighty, but still feels more airy and delicate than robust and concentrated. The structure is nicely resolved with its smooth, moderately high acidity and quite gentle, textural medium-plus tannins that slowly grow in grip. The finish is rich, long and complex with a little bit of tannic grip and intense flavors of exotic spices, stony minerality, brambly wild fruits, some juicy red berries, a little bit of developed smoky character, a hint of leathery funk and a touch of plummy dark fruit.
A beautiful, savory and dead serious Montepulciano that shows such complexity very few Montepulcianos - if any producer besides Valentini (and maybe Emidio Pepe) - can attain. Normally Montepulciano produces soft, fruity and gentle reds that are fit for simple everyday wines for a few years after the vintage. This wine, on the other hand, feels quite developed at 16 years of age, yet still not at its peak and with depth of flavor that feels unheard of in the realm of Montepulciano. Not the greatest Italian red wine I've had, but the greatest red Montepulciano I've had by a large margin. Outstanding stuff.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Truly a memorable wine. Decanted 3+ hours and the wine absolutely soared from the glass. The only words to describe this wine are round and delicious. This is what wine is all about. A wine with tons of soul that will last for decades to come.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Had this one two years ago and it was great then and its great now. truly an Extraordinary wine that is just starting to show its true colors. An incredible level of personality. Big WOW.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark fruit and tarry earth notes - lots of personality and class. Slight spritz on the palate. Good body but rather hard-structured at this point. Really enjoyable with a great future.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
9/2/2023 - Benoit Hardy Likes this wine: 98 Points
After a few lackluster encounters with the reds of the estate lately, I decided to open the legendary 2000.
Intense nose of tar, plum, undergrowth and truffle.
The fullness of the wine is impressive, it is intense and bloody, feeling of having a mixture of meat juice and olive oil in the mouth. It is totally slender and satiny, each sip brings a new aroma, sometimes earthy and truffled, sometimes strawberry and smoke. Structured wine where the fine acidity plays the role of backbone which brings tension and freshness on a whole which is almost airy with aeration. Great finish on aromas of undergrowth with a monumental sanguine length.
A great Valentini, kaleidoscopic and serene.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/22/2023 - Cailles wrote: 100 Points
One of those very rare perfect bottles… And this was no question, not for me, not for the others at the table. I didn’t need to follow the wine over hours and become enchanted by all the evolution and ever changing aromas, it was clear right away or at least after the third sniff and sip which again gave me goosebumps and made my heart beat faster. Wow. Incredibly complex, ever changing, perfect aromatic purity, intense and expressive from the nose to the finish, so light and airy, no weight yet loads of aromas and above everything: an absolute harmony, a perfect balance.
TN: Intense, expressive nose and palate with a cornucopia of aromas including smoke, earthy, forest floor, lots of truffles, dark to red berries in all shapes and forms, even floral notes, then meaty notes and olives and with time Mouton-like burnt sugar notes and an ever-increasing sweetness that goes well with all the earthy notes. With every sip and breath a new aroma. The perfect structural frame with a light and airy, satin-like texture, fine tannins but excellent tension, great freshness. Perfect harmony and balance. Elegance and purity.
Decant: Opened a couple of hours before dinner. Good from the start. Only got 30 minutes of slow-ox in total, then we followed the wine for a few hours. This bottle didn't need any decanting at all, and one of the highlights was following the wine for some time. If you don't have the time, give it a decant (1-2 hours?).
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/15/2023 - sirpat00 Likes this wine: 100 Points
Tasted blind. Slow-oxed for several hours, but not decanted – and one needed. Cherry fruit along with sour cherry, brighter raspberry accents and herbal spice. The foundation, however, consists of horse saddle, earth, black truffles and leather. A mineral dimension links the two worlds together. Extremely versatile with every nose presenting different facets. Adding sous-bois, more herbs and pipe tobacco. Fresh acidity in an amazingly lightly built structure. Tannins are soft and on point. The palate further elevates the mineral and meaty features with smoke and smoked bacon. But the palate is also abundantly juicy, showing brighter red berries. Perfect balance. Perfect wine.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/17/2022 - finediningnyc Likes this wine: 98 Points
Stunning bottle! Far less dark and brooding than 2006, the uber rare 2000 Montepulciano is elegant, seamless and impeccably detailed. It’s layered with crazy depth of aromatics that soar flaunting BBQ spice, espresso, dried flowers and red fruit. It has off the charts complexity and a wild untamed nature to its expression that is as intriguing as it comes. The palate is precise, pure and balanced with a stunningly elegant texture and incredible length. Masterful wine.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/21/2019 - bartgab Likes this wine: 99 Points
Un vino straordinariamente elegante. Di colore rosso rubino è ricco fino all'opulenza. I profumi sono molto coinvolgenti e vanno dalla confettura di ribes al tabacco passando per diverse spezie fino al cacao.
È un vino estremamente morbido con tannino vellutato. Dotato di intensità e persistenza straordinaria è è pronto per essere bevuto in tutta la Sua pienezza.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/27/2019 - Ms. Bubblehead Likes this wine:
Valentini and Pepe Dinner
Brazilian coffee, smoked meat, and BBQ. By the end of the evening the oak felt a bit more integrated and you could sense the underlying acidity in the wine. On day 2 it really showed a lot better but still I think this could do with another 5-10 years in bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/5/2018 - Ms. Bubblehead Likes this wine:
2000 - slowed for 3-4 hours. Compare to 2001, it was also as delicious (my top 2 wines of the night), but I like the 2001 slightly more for being a bit more spicy and chewy. 2000 to me is the most elegant among the three reds, generous amount of red and purple fruits on both nose and palate, dark roses, purple violet, a touch of mineral sensation, modest spices, and the tannin was silky and smooth.
The list we had:
1995 Valentini Montepulciano
2001 Valentini Montepulciano
2000 Valentini Montepulciano
2010 Valentini Trebbiano
2012 Valentini Trebbiano
2013 Valentini Trebbiano
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/18/2017 - forceberry wrote: 95 Points
Quite opaque, but more like very dark and deep than dense and concentrated blackish red than red with a developed figgy mahogany hue. The nose feels complex, characterful and moderately developed with aromas of wizened black cherries, graphite, some rustic animal tones, a little bit of inky character, light aromatic tones of dried flowers and a hint of new leather. The wine is rich, full-bodied and spicy on the palate with juicy flavors of ripe dark berries, peppery spice, some wizened black cherries, a little bit of roasted exotic spices, light woody tones of pencil shavings and tree bark, a hint of stony minerality and a touch of pleasant farmhouse funk. The wine is moderately weighty, but still feels more airy and delicate than robust and concentrated. The structure is nicely resolved with its smooth, moderately high acidity and quite gentle, textural medium-plus tannins that slowly grow in grip. The finish is rich, long and complex with a little bit of tannic grip and intense flavors of exotic spices, stony minerality, brambly wild fruits, some juicy red berries, a little bit of developed smoky character, a hint of leathery funk and a touch of plummy dark fruit.
A beautiful, savory and dead serious Montepulciano that shows such complexity very few Montepulcianos - if any producer besides Valentini (and maybe Emidio Pepe) - can attain. Normally Montepulciano produces soft, fruity and gentle reds that are fit for simple everyday wines for a few years after the vintage. This wine, on the other hand, feels quite developed at 16 years of age, yet still not at its peak and with depth of flavor that feels unheard of in the realm of Montepulciano. Not the greatest Italian red wine I've had, but the greatest red Montepulciano I've had by a large margin. Outstanding stuff.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/17/2013 - cardsandwine Likes this wine:
Truly a memorable wine. Decanted 3+ hours and the wine absolutely soared from the glass. The only words to describe this wine are round and delicious. This is what wine is all about. A wine with tons of soul that will last for decades to come.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/11/2009 - Lorien wrote: 96 Points
Had this one two years ago and it was great then and its great now. truly an Extraordinary wine that is just starting to show its true colors. An incredible level of personality. Big WOW.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
8/12/2007 - psmith wrote:
Dark fruit and tarry earth notes - lots of personality and class. Slight spritz on the palate. Good body but rather hard-structured at this point. Really enjoyable with a great future.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/19/2006 - Lorien wrote: 95 Points
Enjoyed for our anniversary. HUGE wine. loads and loads of character with fantastic concentration and balance. wow
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment