Leather, dried cherry, hints of cinnamon and strawberry. Dark red no browning. Soft on the palate with lots of dried cherry and strawberry. leather and wet stone. Nice complexity.. Very long finish. Decanted for 30 mins. Opened even more in the glass and held the fruit. Wonderful old Brunello!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Been sitting on my last of three for quite some time. Decided to use a little bit in my Christmas Eve fish gravy and have the rest with the pasta/gravy. It went perfectly together. This evolved nicely over the years. Gone were the red cherries and funk that dominated it's youth. This was more layered flavors of balsamic, leather and ripe strawberry.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Low expectations given the recommended drinking window. Drinking beautifully, but fully mature. Highly complex, displays lots of cooked red cherry, stewed raspberry, powdered cocoa, old shoe leather, dried tobacco, old pine forest, and balsamic. Structure is definitely lurking and well intact. Lacks the power that I remember from late 2010, but now reflects balance and elegance. Finishes long. Decanted with lots of sediment in both the bottle and the decanter. Enjoyed with a pepperoni pizza. Unlikely to improve with further cellaring, but if cellared properly this might drink well for another 3+ years. Still 92 points.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pronounced. Scented. Ripe fruit. Dried cherries, prune, sweet spices. Cedar, oak, chocolate. Leather, tobacco. High alcohol but very fresh, doesn’t show its age, top form. Tannins are ripe and soft. Med+ acidity. Very balanced and long. Complex, will keep.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
This bottle deserves food, and alas, Brunello is our weekly virtual wine theme tonight, and this is my selection. I've opened and let the bottle air for about 90 mins. The first pour into the glass was a bit rough. It had dirt like color bricking, and had an off put prune nose. She came around after about 15 mins in the glass. I get a still somewhat funky nose of semi burnt strawberries, with a mushroom and soil smell....not overly attractive. She tastes much better, with a nice soft balance of strawberry and cherry flavors. For my taste, this bottling is a bit past prime drinking window, but that said, it's still pretty good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted. Perfect cork, slight bricking with lots of sediment - glad this bottle stood upright the last few weeks. Slight earth on the nose initially, then transitioned to fruit after about 2 hours. Red cherry flavors with drying tannins over the several hours we consumed.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Much more old world than my first bottle nine years ago. Dark flavors dominated with some tobacco and mushroom funk. Mouthfeel was very pleasing and the balance was quite nice. When superbly with homemade brick oven pizza
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very nice. Still drinking well, but I would not keep for too much longer. Drank it next to the 2010 which was more serious, but I seem to enjoy the 2010.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
served with pre-sprinkle dinner at selkirk manor. shared with pat, ellen and louis. giuliana also had a sniff. paired with pat's meatloaf, fresh jersey corn, fresh jersey string beans and two way potatoes (fried shell with mashed insert) sour cream and home grown chive topping. we last tasted this wine on 12/11/2016. selected the wine for tonite due to lack of recent feedback from others with drink latest date frozen at 2017 as a result. tasting notes similar to last time although the wine has evolved to what appears to be a fully mature state with tannings substantially resolved. the wine continues to show robustly dark but is ready to drink immediately after being poured. the wine presents with purple color, fragrant nose, medium mouth feel. lots of dark cherry and earth. well structured. glad to have had the opportunity to enjoy this wine at its peak. thank you, joe canal.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Brovia Barolos 2006 Horizontal (Bishan): Poured into decanter and drank over 30 mins. Appearance is clear, deep intensity, ruby colour iwth garnet rim. Legs. Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of mushrooms, earth, undergrowth, dark red plums. Developing. On the palate, dry, high acidity, high alcohol (14.5%), very puckery high tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of black cherries, dark red plums, black licorice, dark leather horse-saddle, earth, undergrowth, mushrooms. Long finish. Very good quality. Big and highly extracted. Serious and built to last. Needs more time to tone down, but then the tertiary elements may overwhelm and upset the balance. May be safer to just drink and enjoy this big bold Brunello.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Prune, manure, and camphor on the nose; more pleasant than it sounds. On the palate, this seemed thin and closed at first, but it opened up over two to three hours with flavors of black cherry, blackberry, and anise, with notes of savory herbs, black pepper, and bitter tobacco on the medium to long finish, with moderate tannins and good acidity. Although this is in its drinking window, it should hold for three or four years yet; the Cellartracker drinking window is too conservative. At under $40, this was a bargain.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
shared with pat at selkirk manor to celebrate the end of the work week. have been reading other people's notes since my purchase in 2010. resisted pulling the cork until now. glad i waited. this is a robust wine that needed time to come together. dark purple color. fragrant nose. medium mouth feel. lots of dark cherry and earth. well structured. tannins need more time to resolve. otherwise, everything is in the right place. will wait a year before trying another one. thank you, cinderella.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
very very good. more fruit fwd than i was expecting at this age. smoky notes rounded it out nicely, silky texture and a long finish. not sure if it gets any better. drink it up!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Nose is enticing, featuring red fruits, Asian spices, mineral, and faint leather. The wine features fresh black cherry and sour cherry, Tuscan earthiness, minerals all on a silky frame. Plenty of acidity keeps the wine feeling younger than 12 years. Mature and in a great drinking window with air (2 hours at least), will hold for at least half a decade.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Garnet with brick rim, mod+ viscosity mod stain. Aromas of blueberry jam, blackberry liquor, fruit leather. Palate confirms blue-black baked and preserved fruit, but with plenty of Italian spices, dried oregano, leather, cloves, anise, licorice, and vanilla. Ripping tannins and a very long and dusty finish highlighting toasty oak, smoke, tar, and graphite. Plenty of oak. Med+ alcohol med+ tannins med acidity almost keeps it all in balance but the ending is all jam. I don't think I could drink this all night.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark for Brunello. I am appreciating this wine more with time. The earlier oakiness has pretty much subsided, leaving a complex Brunello with earth, blackberry and spice notes. Tannins are recedin. Wine was still very good day 2 indicating a longer life.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
PnD let air for 1 hr. drank over 2hrs. Dark purple crimson almost saturated with plum to slightly orange rim. Very aromatic with fig blackberry confiture cherry cola and a bit of pleasant torrefaction. Medium weight with silky tannins. Nicely ripe yet very fresh with fig blackberry and and Bing cherry fruit then espresso cola and amaro notes. Great combination of big flavours with complexity and balance. Freakin' delicious. Faded a bit from the first glass. Drink up.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
PnP. Nose and palate of dusty dried dark fruit and savory spice with soft tannins. After an hour open, fresh blackberries joined in along with hints of chocolate following on the mid-palate. The finish was medium and smooth.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Inky dark ruby with bing cherry nose. Dry, tart chewy tannins on opening, bold but not heavy red fruit. Red currants, pomegranate, even some light peach pit bitter notes. Drinking nicely with good acid and tannins bracketing the fruit which leaves the peaches on the fairly long finish. In a very good place now and I think the acid and tannins will keep it alive for a couple years longer, but no need to wait. If you like acid, this will not disappoint.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Mike G and Berto visit Cleveland (Italian wines)+ (Willoughby, Ohio): This is really in a great place right now. Perhaps not as long lived as some Brunellos, this is at peak now. The nose is open with great cherries, dust, and forest floor notes. There is also this mocha quality that presumably are remnants from what was at one time a modern, oaked BdM. I enjoyed it. On the palate, medium bodied. Layers of dried and fresh cherries with earthy/wet forest. Not a ton of acidity, but enough to carry the food. Nice finish. IIRC, this was available for around $30 shortly after release and that was a great value.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Well, I wanna love this one, I really do - I've had some brilliant bottles from this producer, and they're typically among my favorites. Unfortunately, this bottle's just not showing anything beyond "good" for me. It showed deep fruits (blueberries and cherries) in moments, but in others was somewhat bland. It seemed that some drying tannins hit the palate right up front on the attack; though oddly enough, it's still silky through the middle before the tannins take over again. I dunno - maybe I just picked a poor food match, but I'd have expected it to go with a rustic Mario Batali recipe for sausages with peppers (simmered in a thick tomato sauce with plenty of EVOO involved.) This bottle is certainly not "gone-by," but it's just not showing much either.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
This wine just blew me and my friends away. This bottle was almost perfect in terms of balance, fruit, complexity, flavor profiles yet still some mild drying tannins that says it still has life left. Best brunello that I have had including some highly rated 1997. So what's special? Some red and black fruit like raspberries mixed with strawberry, blackberries and some roses, yet dark cherries linger. It's fresh, yet shows smoothness from age. Sweet fruit in the mid palate, yet finish has mild drying tannins. Medium plus weight - not at all heavy yet full in terms of favor. This bottle was kept at room temperature for several years before placed in a cooling wine cabinet for a few more. Alcohol is not at all predominant as some have noted, maybe because it was at room - 72-75 degrees for a few years that allowed it to mature a bit faster during that time. I don't rate above 90 very often and 92 has been my highest except for an 03 and 05 Montelena Cab. I wish I had several cases of this wine.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Extremely balanced with dried cherries taste and dry soft tannins.Medium length and pleasant finish. Medium body. Works well with fatty Italian sauces especially vodka sauce.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
In great shape and perfectly harmonious, the 2004 La Rasina delivers all attributes of a great brunello. Intense aromatic profile of fresh oak, aged leather, blackberries and tobacco. Incense and roses add elegance. Medium body, of strong, tasty tannins and surrounding acidity. Deeply spiced palate of blackberries, ginger and parmesan, rich and unique, lasting forever. 95
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted 1 hour. This is a big wine, made in a full style! The nose is filled with blackberry, leather, meat, spice, dried fruit and dried flowers. Unfortunately, there is a good amount of alcohol on the nose as well. On the palate it is full with a nice balsamic component. Quite complex and well structured. The finish is medium-long but a bit alcoholic as well. I like this wine but it's just a bit too big and the alcohol (14.5%) is too pronounced for me at this stage.
After 4+ hours: Alc. is mellowing out nicely. Tannins are coming through more pronounced. I would hold this wine for another couple of years. It should be better.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Big, bold wine that doesn't give in much with an hour decant. Dark berry & tart red fruit, tobacco, leather, pretty oaky but overall enjoyable, balanced and compex. Barely showing age.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted ~2 hours. Good red fruit with roasted meet and tobacco. Showing age but still good fruit on the palette and tannin on the finish. Had plenty left over and as good the next day; we'll see about tomorrow.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Bright red to light brown coloration, orange reflections. After the aromatic impact of oak and leather, a subtle note of roses, blackberry, coffee and tobacco start to reveal. Full, yet silky on mouth, the Rasina tastes of toasted coffee, vanilla and exotic spices. Powerful and fresh structure, finishing long, with a light cutting fervency on throat referring to coffee and ginger. Great wine!
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Improving over time. Dark with robust blackberry, leather and spice nose. Oak notes are subsiding with time. Not my favorite style of Brunello, but still a decent wine
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Really delicious. On pop and pour the bouquet was huge, gorgeous, and complex. The fruitier side died down during a short decant and left the wine a bit heavy with oak and tannin. I thought we'd missed its best window, but the fruit (gorgeously dark and balanced across the spectrum with nice acid) seemed to rally for the last glass some 3-4 hours later. Still a huge crowd please even during its heavy stage.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wow, this wine is plush for a Brunello. It has an opulent ripe dark fruit, cinnamon, and violet aroma. The palate has juicy, velvety, cherry cola, mocha, mineral and subtle licorice flavor with ample fine tannins and a long finish.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark, dirty colour, not clear, with lighter rim. Nose: big, stuffy, thick, sweet macerated fruits, some light smoke and later leather. Very good. Taste: tannins almost soft and well integrated. Medium bodied. Very ripe cherries; sweet, long finish with choco-mocha flavours. Complex. Could be more elegant, anyway good stuff.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted 2 hours. Mediun dark red'ish color. Very pleasant nose, good balance on the palate, however it is clearly young. Fruit and spice dominate the palate. Needs more time. medium finish.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
a wonderful example of a great Brunello. a ncie mix of fruit and earth tones on the nose and a great smooth finish. might improve slightly over the next yr or so but is in a greta drinking window right now
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Drank better than expected- showed really well after an hour decant. Dried flowers, plums, cherries, leather and some oak. Killer QPR @ $25- Wine Library deal. Wish I had more and a good slightly more modern Brunello. Great with Italian and on its own. Definitely recommend and would seek out again. As another taster noted- Tanzer got this wrong- IMHO.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
A nose of dark sweet fruits and spice, dark garnet in color. A medium to full bodied red wine, with blackberries, plum, some black cherry, vanilla and spice on smooth finish. Decant for a couple hours, great QPR. www.winelx.com
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Aromas of dirty earth, dried flowers, and red cherry. Medium body with earthy dried cherry flavors. Dry finish with gripping tannins. Should make a great food wine.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
I was perhaps a bit too critical in my previous review. Still dark for Brunello, but this has the characteristic leather and sour cherry nose. Good acidity and while oak is present on the finish, the oakiness is not overbearing.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Last bottle of this year from La Rasina. Down the fairway brunello - and a pretty big one as well. Not sure why Tanzer couldn't get to a better score on this, but this remains a solid 92 for me as before. In fact I'm going 93.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
My last bottle of 4. More integrated again than last year. Tannins holding. Leather, spice and earth. Has aged very well. Only wish I had not to get into next year.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Not very familiar with Brunellos. Decanted for 2 hours, dried cherries, leather and spice on the nose, with a palate of cherries, earthiness, tobacco and drying tannins.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
PnD let air for 7hrs. Huge candied fruit nose on initial decant. Settled into a delicious elegant flavorful Brunello. Better with food than the 2004 Il Palazzone.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tasted vs '04 La Leccaiaia, which had far more body, flavor, nose. This was a nice wine, but against the more stellar other bottle, this paled by comparison. Given price diference, QPR, however remains high.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Seem to be some comments about this being a modern style.. perhaps, but I didn't quite get that, at least not in the sense of over the top oak, etc.
Decanted about one hour, continued to open over the eveneing. Lots of sour cherry, leather, balsamic and some earthy notes, perhaps a little cinnamon in the background. Sadly my only bottle.
Very nice and right on my type of Brunello. Decanted for 90 minutes & really singing. Nose: dry cherries, cinnamon & leather with a hint of oak. Alcohol still strong but fading. Medium palate. Palate of red fruits, dried cherry & plum with a note of wood, cinnamon & spice towards the finish. Tannins are still there and while balanced with some acidity, they are not fully integrated. Finish is quite lengthy. Cherry, Cinnamon and an interesting charcoal note. This should get better in a year or two. Glad I have another bottle.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
The darker color betrays a modern style Brunello. The nose is leather and spice, with black fruit flavors. Oak nuisances present on the finish are too strong.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Drinking well now. Cherries, licorice, potpourri and earth on the nose. The palate has red cherries, earth, tobacco, a hint of cedar, licorice, and a bit of spice. Fairly high tannins and acid, but all is in balance. Medium length, pleasant finish. Right on the PnP the fruit was a bit stewed and the tannins strong, but after 30-60 minutes the wine opened up and is very nice.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
This is drinking very well now. My last bottle. Wonderful nose of dried flowers and stone. Tannins were long and smooth. Acidity well balanced. Must be my kind of wine now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Popped, aerated and drank over 2 nights. Black fruit, but a primary aroma of green peppers on the nose. Black fruit on the palate, but a lot of tannin...too much for my taste.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Beautiful brunello, excellent balance, Paired with Osso Bucco nicely. Needs decanting (opened an additonal bottle that was a bit tannic without adequate air time).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
2 hour decant. Dark purple color. On the nose, dark cherries, a hint of tobacco and some spice. On the palate, great balance. Cherries, wood, earthiness. Not too tart or oaky. Medium tannins. Just a great bottle of wine. Went wonderful with homemade eggplant parmesan and sauce. 91+pts. Aloha!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark in color with no signs of ageing.....the nose is dark as well, with black cherry and lots of floral, licorice and a pronounced cinnamon/clove note. The palate is medium + bodied with good richness and balance, but with a fair amount of structure that kicks in on the finish. This is definitely a bigger style of Brunello. The acidity is a nice counterpoint to the chalky tannins and bitter spice that show at the backend, but this is still pretty tight considering it has several years of bottle age under its belt. It seems like it's beginning to hit its drinking window, and I imagine it will drink well now (with food and/or a good decant) and for the next 3-5 years at least.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark garnet color. Dark red fruit, oak and chocolate notes on the nose. Similar flavors on the palate with dark plum, tobacco and black cherry flavors coming through with some charred oak and dark chocolate on the back end. Medium acid and medium+ gritty tannins. Decent finish. A little too oaky for my liking and not enough juicy sour cherry and red fruits that I look for in a a good bdm. Decent but not memorable.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark rustic garnet. Strawberry, spice, forest, and cherry nose. Full bodied, pomegranates, black cherries, very grainy tannins, good acid, tobacco, cedar, and a long, slightly tart finish. Smooth and well integrated, yet still seems young. Enjoyable.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Ruby in color with no significant aging in appearance. Aromas of tobacco, cedar, lavendar, rose petal, plum, and a hint of soil. In the mouth, this wine has an immediate silkiness but past that there are great tannins, good acid, and wonderful depth. Flavors of cedar box, cherry and more earth persists which make this a wonderful example of a well made brunello.
The acid and tannins are balanced well and this wine is great on its own, but will be even better with a hearty pasta dish........maybe a bore Ragu!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This has gotten better with time, earthy and coffee on the nose, as well as dark fruit behind it. Strong on the palate, cherry and raspberry, tannic at the end. Very good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Spicy oak leads on the nose, with cherry, raspberry, licorice, roast coffee. Medium plus body. Bramble berry fruit, oak, fennel, earth on the palate. This one just seems a bit clumsy and over-oaked compared to previous one. Okay, but not so hot for a BdM.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This wine is hitting its stride in early 2012. Big nose and adult palate, this wine takes up some space in the room. Raw ingredients here are luscious. 50/5/14/15/8
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Textbook Brunello nose, with ripe black cherry, earthy, tobacco, and leather notes coming through. A beautiful combination of savory and ripe fruit qualities, with black fruits leading the way up front, before a smokey, leather aspect comes through on the mid palate through finish. The tannins are still a little aggressive at this stage, making it a contender to hold another couple of years before opening.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
One hour in decanter opened the wine up to reveal earthiness, cured meat, tobacco and pine needles. Drinking very well now. Following my new rule "if I like the wine now- drink the remaining inventory soon as you have no idea how it will develop in future", this bottle completes my stash.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Right out the bottle explosive nose of tobacco, mushroom, and dark cherry. This was really approachable right away. Beautiful silky texture and mouth-feel. Soft, yet firm tannins. Wonderful food wine. Paired with grilled marinated flank steak and roasted brussel sprouts. Elegant. Great QPR for $25. Glad I have one more.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
nose: in the first attack fresh and little bit tart; later sweet cherries and dark fruits; when openes a lot of cherries and flowers. Balanced. taste: concentrated and fresh; gentle, lively tanins; dark sweet cherries; prunes. When openes very smooth. Decant for1h to get the most of it. Good now and in 10 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
My first glass from the just cork-popped bottle was reluctant to yield much beyond a cherry/tobacco taste holding a fetal position, but it was smooth and silky with a mouthfeel quality that kind of gave away the wine's price-point, or so one is led to believe. As my second glass had a chance to breath and unfurl itself, the body filled out and earlier flavors were accompanied by richer enhancements of blueberries, honeyed deserts, and dried fruit with dessicated hibiscus flowers -- fairly complex. Then the baby's soft mouthfeel gave way to a more silty form as condensates of mouth drying tannins encroached the whole, particularly noticeable on my 2nd day tastings. Nice wine that does quite well alone as well paired with food owing to it's good Italian-Sangio acidity. Glad to have a few more tucked away for next year and years after.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted and drank over 2 hours. Did not change much. A slight nose of mineral and dryed flowers. On the palate minerals and dark berry. The finish was long and tannic some oak... but primary. Strong but not subtle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose started with a little barnyard followed by flowers, mixed dark fruits and wet stones. Flavors of berries, a bit of cherries and minerals. Medium acidity, medium tannins, medium body. Drink over the short term.
My guess was a 2007 California Pinot Noir North Coast. Man did I blow it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Double Blind Tasting - 5/29/2011 (Farpointe Cellar): Dark black fruit and scorched earth, with pepper behind that, and pencil lead at the end. Rich and dark on the palate, with burnt wood and graphite, and a nice spicy finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Hmmm this wine just didn't work for me. Decanted 2hrs, dry mouth feel, short, low spice... Served with homemade gravy & pasta, so it should of paired well. But not very eventful.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
With professional reviews ranging from 87-93 I didn't quite know what to expect. What a terrific surprise. Great dark fruits, lovely nose, soft almost sweet tannins. Does not have much of that earthiness usually associated with some Brunellos. First of the 2004's I've tasted. Regret I only had 1 bottle. Look forward to others from this vintage.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
On Pnp, Displayed a bit more oak that gave up scents of roasted meats, blood, dirt. Yummy. Aft soe air, the roasted scents and smoke fall off, and teh scent is of clean dirt and raw meat. Attack is sweet, tart, and rife with tannins. Very juicy, a little bitter and hot. All in all, good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A few blind wines (my place): nose: big and rich nose of oak, dark red fruits, black currants, vanilla, dark berries, and dark cherry liqueur. On the over ripe side of things and definitely very forward
taste: full bodied with medium acidity and chewy tannins with rich and bold tones of dark red fruits, oak, vanilla, dark berries and black cherry liqueur
overall: This being a brunello never entered my mind. This was on the over ripe side but wasn't too bad. Lacking a bit on the mid-palate, this was a solid wine
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Color: Medium-ruby. Nose: Quite fragrant with red cherries, dirt, spice and an elegant floral component. Palate: Juicy, ripe red cherry, medium spice, light oak with a hint of red raspberry. Medium body. Finish: Pleasantly long with more of cherries and an interesting complexity and decent balance. This was decanted an hour and consumed over three. Seems to me to have hit its sweet spot at around 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Drinking well now. 91+
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Nice cherry nose/taste at first. Becomes more complex after 1 hour, so definitely decant. Noticed the stewed fruits, earth, and wood from other tasters, but the wood doesn't overpower. Very smooth, medium to full body. What stops it from being spectacular, imo, is the mid-palate. It feels a little hollow/boring. The finish is fantastic though, at around 20-30 seconds. This wine was a hit with four of us at dinner. I've had better brunello's, but at more than double the price. This was a very good deal.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
After reading these notes the next day, maybe I'll have to chalk this up to not enough air time. After about 45 minutes in the decanter, i got slight hints of tobacco and cherries, but the nose was not strong in the least. It had a very light mouthfeel and weak finish. Overall i was disappointed, but i seemed to be more in the minority than the other people who had tried it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Currant, leather, dried fruit with strong cherry on the nose. After about an hour of being opened the fruit became more apparent. Balanced weight, full-bodied with some crispness. Cherry, fig, and wild strawberry on the palate with the tannins giving it a nice earthy finish. A chrystalline robitussin red color with burnt orange edges. Great now, but I will save the next bottle to see the change. The future looks tasty.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Medium body with nicely balanced tannin and acid characteristics. Dark cherry and earthy flavors. I also enjoyed it the second day, perhaps even a little more than immediately upon opening.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Sangiovese tasting (Dhiraj's place): Rich ruby with a little tawny color toward the edge. Morello cherry nose intense upon opening, waned and then returned. Palate with more morello cherry with fennel developing with air and slight salinity. Bright acidity. Med-long finish. Liked by all.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pretty wine! Wish I had more. Great aroma of cherries and some chocalate on the nose. Long creamy, cherry finish on the palate. Smooth tanins. Had it with meatloaf - delicious pairing. NEED MORE!!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very nice Tuscan that consisted of a blend of Cab Sav, Merlot, Cab Franc and Petite Verdot yet tasted nothing like a Bordeaux or Cali blend. Sour cherries predominated with a nice balance and good acidity. Over all it was a very good wine for food.
Pretty open right way, but almost throttling muscularity. I decanted and Vinturied into glass. Nose of big cherry, big spicy oak, and that olive loaf luncheon meat I last had about four decades ago. Cherry and druple berry on the palate, with coffee and minerals. Medium weight but with major tannin and acid structure. Good balance and intensity, not a lot of complexity. 90-91
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Opened and let air for 2 hrs. Then decanted through Venturri and let sit for another 2hrs. Huge aromas of blackberries and earth right from the opening. Medium weight fairly smooth mouthfeel with pleasant espresso like tannins. Delicious blackberry and dark cherry skin with coffee dark chocolate and herbs. Beautiful stuff.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Haven't had many Brunello's but I enjoyed this. It was light but concentrated, almost (but not) Pinot-esque. Lots of flavors of cherry, cherry skins and even something like apple skins. Also some mushroomy funk that makes it undeniably old world Italian. Maybe not a lot of complexity but a very nice wine for the price ($30).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Largely consistent with my previous note, but in this bottle I found the chalkiness of the tannins even more pronounced to the point of being distracting on the finish. Recorked and stored in a clean fridge, it was similar, just less flavorful overall 2 days later, so I'm not sure there's much aging potential.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
{ST} Est decant 1+ hr. Similar to prior experience and note in May, although this time more prune noticeable in the mid and finish. Lovely bouquet, full flavors, lengthy finish of dark fruit, tobacco and spice. Not quite as good as the '04 Piancornello Brunello tasted alongside, but then again this is 10+ dollars cheaper.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Nose of flowers and dark cherries. Great mouthfeel with nice balanced, structured tannins. Medium bodied with a palate of cherry cola. Long persistent finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Even better than the first bottle we had a few months back. Drinking quite well now with a decent decant. I think this is a great balance of new world and old world flavor, we really enjoyed it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Still great, but slightly disappointed in comparison to my first experience. Didn't seem as expressive. Don't know if it was heightened expectations or slight variation in bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tasted blind. Similar to previous notes. Candied fruit, chocolate and smoke on the nose. Nice intensity of cherry liqueur mixed with creamy oak. Tasty mid palate with balanced tannins and acid. #2 wine of the night and a definite crowed pleaser.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Popped and poured. Tight. Tar and cherries at the outset. Opened up some after giving it time to breath. Perfume. Long finish. Not "silky" imo as reported.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Average. Opens up better after a few hours and was actually better the 2nd day. But even then, this wine was not balanced. The heat on the back end was never balanced with the fruit up front. Very little bouquet and just at the end of the mid palette this wine starts to disappear only to have the back end acidity and alcohol hit you in the end. Much better wines out there for this price.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
1 down, 5 more to go, and I couldn't be happier about that. Takes a little bit of airtime to come together, as it's tight as a rock on the p-and-p. But once it does open up, you get a nose of perfumed plum/prune/raisin that is just delicious. On the palate you get wonderful balance of black fruit, tannin, and acidity that makes this a great food wine. If you see it at 30 bucks again it's a no-brainer, though I had no real qualms buying it at 36.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Med+ Ruby A: Clean, Med+ Intensity, starting to show signs of Development Chocolate, Blackberry, Dried Flowers, Sour Cherry, High Toned Licorice
T: dry, med+ acid, med+ tannin, med body, med+ alc, med+ intensity, long finish Dusty Tannins, Gorgeous Sour Cherries, Spice, Dried Flowers, lil Bitterness [might be because of pairing with Summer Squash]
Conc: Excellent, couple years and it should be beautiful
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This shows a lot of new world influences, but it's a brunello for sure. Lush cherry fruit, prune, earth, coffee, and some vanilla. Not the most complex brunello but solid stuff and good QPR for what I paid. It seemed quite open at this stage in my experience.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Drank this over three evenings. The first day, did not like it AT ALL. Second day, a little better. Third, it opened up really nicely! I enjoyed it. But it shouldn't take three days to get to a good state!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Beautiful brunello drinking very well for lovers of the funk (me!). Fairly full bodied with exceptional balance. Lots of earthly scents and tastes with some very, very dark berries, mushroom, forest floor. Love it and for $25 it is quite the deal (cinderella?)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
PnP. My first brunello, I think this one is of the more modern/fruit-forward style. This is a rich wine. Expressive nose of lots of varied fruit: most strongly dark cherry, but also blackberry and raspberry. There's also some vanilla notes from the oak, and some herbal rosemary type stuff going on. More cherry on the full-bodied palate, with some chewy tannin, leading into a nice finish where the oak shows up again.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pretty, old world nose with some tar, raisin, a milk chocolate. However, it was thin, short finished, light mouthfeel and the acidity was off-balance. Huge disappointment.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
90-91. Nice wine with a solid flavor profile. Not overly complex, but a nice wine with solid tannn structure that clamps down after a bit of air. Structured enough to go a few years yet well. I could have used slightly more acidity.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Drank with lamb at the Gottesmans. Very drinkable right now. Some tannins but not overwhelming. Nice dark fruits. Good mouthfeel. Much preferred over the Bordeaux wines this evening.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Drank another of these and I now believe my original notes on this wine (dated 5/25/10) were based on a flawed (oxidized) bottle. The one I drank most recently was like a completely different wine--fresher dark red fruits, gripping tannins throughout the palate, some plum and licorice, but nothing like the "dried fruits" or "mulled spices" I experienced with the first bottle. This bottle was much more enjoyable and as a result gets a score boost. Drinking window seems much longer to me now as well. This wine has tremendous structure, and without the tired flavors I experienced before, I can see it developing nicely for 5 or more years. Drinkable 5-10 more years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
In reading all the notes I couldn't quite nail down whether to drink this as soon as I could, or wait a few years. A decision was made, and Dino's no-corkage Wednesdays was the perfect venue.A realtiively modern styled Brunello di Montalcino. Prunes, plums and cedar on the nose. Good mouth feel with almost deceptive tannins showing up on the back end, drying out the mouth. That and the tight acid made it a very good pairing to food for the first hour. After this the wine mellowed out and became a pleasant sipper. Sort of lost its structure. It wasn't bad, but I don't think this wine is in it for the long haul.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
not my style but tasted like a quality product. a little pine needles on the nose along with very nice bing cherry and other tart red fruit. palate screams for lamb or hearty pasta with meat sauce. nice acid.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Modern style bdm. Mix of fruit forward and old world styles. Got lots of plum. 30+ sec finish. Drinking well now and wont get much better I dont think. Drink in the next 3-5yrs.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Great $25 bottle of BDM. Went perfectly with our dinner of shellfish on one side of the table and pasta with red sauce, ham, eggplant, and chicken on the other side. Didn't decant. Very dry. Dark fruit. Earthy. Italy. Perfect.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A lot of earthiness, leather, barnyard floor on the nose, which overpowers the fruit a little. A little blackberry, rustic fruit, currant also on the nose. Gorgeous, rusted ruby color. Same Flavors on the nose upfront. Slight acidity, still very tannic - super, super dry on the finish. Beautiful wine... We should have been a little more patient with it. With a little more age, we would have scored a little higher - but still a LITTLE too dry.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted about 5 hours. The nose had lots of tobacco mixed with damp forest floor aromas. It also had some cherry, and dried herbs. The palate was soft and juicy, with bright cherry and raspberry flavors. On the finish it had a very delicious tobacco, earth, and herb mixture.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Drank at BBQ, no formal note - nose and palate scream Brunello, but my general impression was that it lacked body. Will have to try another bottle soon in a setting where I can focus on the wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Awesome brunello, perfect dark fruit and acidity, opens up very quickly in the glass. Drank next to a 1997 Casisano-Colombaio Riserva and the La Rasina blew it away. Probably can age a year or two more but is not closed at all and ready to be enjoyed now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I seem to be agreeing with the vast majority of reviewers on this. The first hour was the best with alluring tobacco, earthy,herbal notes and meatiness on the nose and palate along with a touch of cherry. I found it to be very complex. A lot of that blew off within an hour or two and the wine gained some weight on the mouthfeel and gained just a touch of fruit. This was probably a 93 for me at first and then more like a 89-90 as time went by. I don't really think this is a matter of aging potential as the tannins were fairly tight at first. I wonder if some of this isn't based on the oak influence and it blows off after a decant.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Really solid upon opening. Pop and pour. My first Brunello. Lots of tobacco, earth, and complexity. Strong tannins, not fruit forward, good acidity. It sort of went dumb after a couple hours though. The next day there wasn't much left, though it wasn't bad. Some reviewers have suggested that its nearing its end of life. It would seem more like its just entering a dumb phase to me, but I really don't know how this stuff ages. Not sure if I should pop my other bottle as soon as possible or wait 5 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Nose: Leather and earth. Taste: It's kind of closed off. It's still somewhat tannic, but its not such big tannins that you expect a lack of fruit. Maybe a little bit of a liqueur note, a little bit of coffee. Some kind of earthy notes as well.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I think I'm backward compared to most reviewers. Nose on this was super perfumy, raisiny and bright upon opening. Big time mint and eucalyptus with cherry and forrest floor. It was complex but not very "delicious". Second day with steak, I liked it much better. It mellowed out and the cherry was more present. Tanins were still going strong. IMO this will last at least another 5 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Color shows tinge of brown on the edges. Nose of raisins, spice, touch of mint. Mostly secondary flavors of raisins, mulled spices, dried fruits, especially cherries, mint, bit of chocolate. Flavors are on the downhill slope. Somewhat dry tannins on the backend but not unpleasant. Good overall structure. I'm glad I tried this wine now because I think it is nearing the end of its useful life. I would consume this one within the next year or so. I wish I had tried one a year or two ago, as it probably would have been low 90's for me. Guess I'll have to get crackin' on the remaining 5 in the cellar. Note: score deleted due to what I now believe to be a flawed (oxidized) bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted and drank over a six-hour window. The aroma matched the taste -- cherries and plums, with a bit of wood. Well integrated and balanced. The tannins were strong on the finish. After a large meal (steak, lentils, sweet potato fries) the last glass, all by itself, was the best.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Beautiful and complex. Opened up nicely over the hour with tobacco, oak and fruit. Enjoyed immensely throughout the bottle. Tannic on the finish. Drinkable for many more years. Will hold (if I can).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wow...fantastic wine here. Pretty much pop and pour, but really a great showing tonight. Huge nose of pure cherries, chocolate, cedar, and tobacco. Tasty fruit hits on the entry followed by creme de cassis, dark chocolate, and an interesting minty note on the mid palate. Big tannins on the finish but fades into lasting notes of black fruit and spice. Loved it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
nice cherry fruit complex wine I was sitting around a campfire so I couln't analyze it like I wanted to I will be more descriptive next couple bottles We all agreed it was very good, especially with some air time
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A great wine. Classic Brunello nose. Cherries forever on the palate. Long finish that got better and better with every sip. Will evolve nicely and glad there is more to be enjoyed.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wish I had more. After 3 or so ours in the decanter, real bright red fruits with some prunes on the nose. Just exploding out of the glass. On the palate you get wonderful fruit and racy acidity. The exact combination that makes me happy. Just an especially delicious wine with great balance, modest tannins. Very food friendly with bright acidity and I am likely to buy again. No rating because I don't have the glass in front of me (all gone), but it was probably a 92pt wine for my palate.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Great wine! Nose of chocolate dust, dark fruit, a little leather & shoe polish. Very pleasant. Taste has a medium to long fnish that touches all parts of my palate. This wine is young so I let it decant for 30 minutes and then enjoyed a small amount each 1/2 hour. After 2 hours, I'm really enjoying it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
{ST} Est decant 2 hrs. Color garnet with dark hues, medium-full body. Fairly big nose of blackberries, ripe black plums, dried flowers, tobacco, and slight fumes of boot polish. With less and less vino in the glass and lots of swirling, the bouquet became more nuanced with leather, cigar, and a bit of meatiness. On the palate, very nice depth of rich black fruits, spice, damp earth, tobacco, and a flowery perfume throughout that makes this very alluring. Excellent texture, medium-plus acid, and some fairly big tannins that continue to grip the tongue for some time after the finish is done. A lengthy finish of black fruit, tobacco, and spices. This was an outstanding (90+), will improve, and my score is conservative relative to the '03 Valdicava we drank yesterday. In a world where many BdM's are 50 and up, this delivers very well at 40.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I loved this. I get a red twizzlers nose and some darker fruit aromas. The palate is delicious. I like the mouthfeel and the dark berry flavors burst in my mouth. I am a brunello fan boy, but this tops my most recent brunello experience. Awesome wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pop and pour, consumed over 1 hr. Slightly translucent dark ruby. Black cherry, plum, smooth vanilla, leather. Streak of sour cherry builds throughout and permeates the finish, becoming slightly bitter. Interesting hints of flowers. An intensely flavorful, modern Brunello; a bit rustic and missing the smoothness of a higher end BdM. Accessible and an excellent value at the CW price. 89
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This has a pretty nose and drinks well right out of the bottle, but opens further and develops depth with a couple hours of decanting. Raspberry and blackberry and brush on the nose, a lush well-rounded body with acid and tannins providing support for the rich dark fruit, spices, and, with some time, toasted notes and some earth, chocolate, and herbal components. Slightly drying tannins on the finish are nice. This wine is drinking well now. I don't know enough to say whether a few more years of bottle age will further integrate the tannins and harmonize an already very pleasant wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I loved this! Opened the bottle and the nose was fantastic. Decanted and let sit for two hours, and the aroma took over the room. A great drink, especially considering that it is one of the lowest priced BdM's around. Will definitely be picking up more.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A beautiful and surprisingly typical 2004 Brunello. Dynamic and well-balanced with high acidity providing a broad and impressive structure for notes of dried fruit including red cherry and raisin. The wine was delicious from the moment the bottled was opened and decanted. After an hour in the decanter it was showing perfectly with a pronounced aromatic nose. Despite 6 months in French oak barrique, this Brunello is an authentic expression of the Montalcino terroir, unmarred by notes of vanilla, toasty oak, or other marks of heavy-handed modernist winemaking.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
8/5/2022 - Anita Therese wrote:
Nydelig Brnello kjøpt i Italia med familien i 2012❤️ Kjørte til Spania
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/11/2022 - bgriffi1 wrote: 91 Points
Nice Brunello; still showing lots of life. Soft fruit balanced harmoniously with modest tannins. Feels like it has a few more years left in it.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/10/2022 - Alcontd Likes this wine: 93 Points
Leather, dried cherry, hints of cinnamon and strawberry.
Dark red no browning. Soft on the palate with lots of dried cherry and strawberry. leather and wet stone. Nice complexity.. Very long finish. Decanted for 30 mins.
Opened even more in the glass and held the fruit.
Wonderful old Brunello!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/24/2021 - bablues wrote: 92 Points
Been sitting on my last of three for quite some time. Decided to use a little bit in my Christmas Eve fish gravy and have the rest with the pasta/gravy. It went perfectly together. This evolved nicely over the years. Gone were the red cherries and funk that dominated it's youth. This was more layered flavors of balsamic, leather and ripe strawberry.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/17/2021 - wmccone54 Likes this wine:
Low expectations given the recommended drinking window. Drinking beautifully, but fully mature. Highly complex, displays lots of cooked red cherry, stewed raspberry, powdered cocoa, old shoe leather, dried tobacco, old pine forest, and balsamic. Structure is definitely lurking and well intact. Lacks the power that I remember from late 2010, but now reflects balance and elegance. Finishes long. Decanted with lots of sediment in both the bottle and the decanter. Enjoyed with a pepperoni pizza. Unlikely to improve with further cellaring, but if cellared properly this might drink well for another 3+ years. Still 92 points.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/10/2021 - GArpaia Likes this wine:
Pronounced. Scented. Ripe fruit. Dried cherries, prune, sweet spices. Cedar, oak, chocolate. Leather, tobacco. High alcohol but very fresh, doesn’t show its age, top form. Tannins are ripe and soft. Med+ acidity. Very balanced and long. Complex, will keep.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/16/2021 - CCestaro wrote: 90 Points
This bottle deserves food, and alas, Brunello is our weekly virtual wine theme tonight, and this is my selection. I've opened and let the bottle air for about 90 mins. The first pour into the glass was a bit rough. It had dirt like color bricking, and had an off put prune nose. She came around after about 15 mins in the glass. I get a still somewhat funky nose of semi burnt strawberries, with a mushroom and soil smell....not overly attractive. She tastes much better, with a nice soft balance of strawberry and cherry flavors. For my taste, this bottling is a bit past prime drinking window, but that said, it's still pretty good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/25/2019 - AAJR Likes this wine: 91 Points
Decanted. Perfect cork, slight bricking with lots of sediment - glad this bottle stood upright the last few weeks. Slight earth on the nose initially, then transitioned to fruit after about 2 hours. Red cherry flavors with drying tannins over the several hours we consumed.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/10/2019 - bablues wrote: 92 Points
Much more old world than my first bottle nine years ago. Dark flavors dominated with some tobacco and mushroom funk. Mouthfeel was very pleasing and the balance was quite nice. When superbly with homemade brick oven pizza
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/2/2019 - winepog wrote: 91 Points
Very nice. Still drinking well, but I would not keep for too much longer. Drank it next to the 2010 which was more serious, but I seem to enjoy the 2010.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/19/2019 - KSWinegeek wrote: 91 Points
Dark, rich, black fruit.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/28/2018 - bacchus wrote: 90 Points
served with pre-sprinkle dinner at selkirk manor. shared with pat, ellen and louis. giuliana also had a sniff. paired with pat's meatloaf, fresh jersey corn, fresh jersey string beans and two way potatoes (fried shell with mashed insert) sour cream and home grown chive topping. we last tasted this wine on 12/11/2016. selected the wine for tonite due to lack of recent feedback from others with drink latest date frozen at 2017 as a result. tasting notes similar to last time although the wine has evolved to what appears to be a fully mature state with tannings substantially resolved. the wine continues to show robustly dark but is ready to drink immediately after being poured. the wine presents with purple color, fragrant nose, medium mouth feel. lots of dark cherry and earth. well structured. glad to have had the opportunity to enjoy this wine at its peak. thank you, joe canal.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/20/2017 - Derek Darth Taster wrote: 92 Points
Brovia Barolos 2006 Horizontal (Bishan): Poured into decanter and drank over 30 mins.
Appearance is clear, deep intensity, ruby colour iwth garnet rim. Legs.
Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of mushrooms, earth, undergrowth, dark red plums. Developing.
On the palate, dry, high acidity, high alcohol (14.5%), very puckery high tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of black cherries, dark red plums, black licorice, dark leather horse-saddle, earth, undergrowth, mushrooms. Long finish.
Very good quality. Big and highly extracted. Serious and built to last. Needs more time to tone down, but then the tertiary elements may overwhelm and upset the balance. May be safer to just drink and enjoy this big bold Brunello.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/29/2017 - Kentw Likes this wine: 92 Points
Last bottle. Sorry to see it go. Great nose and smooth drinking. Similar to last note.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/9/2017 - RichardP wrote: 92 Points
Prune, manure, and camphor on the nose; more pleasant than it sounds. On the palate, this seemed thin and closed at first, but it opened up over two to three hours with flavors of black cherry, blackberry, and anise, with notes of savory herbs, black pepper, and bitter tobacco on the medium to long finish, with moderate tannins and good acidity. Although this is in its drinking window, it should hold for three or four years yet; the Cellartracker drinking window is too conservative. At under $40, this was a bargain.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/11/2016 - bacchus wrote: 90 Points
shared with pat at selkirk manor to celebrate the end of the work week. have been reading other people's notes since my purchase in 2010. resisted pulling the cork until now. glad i waited. this is a robust wine that needed time to come together. dark purple color. fragrant nose. medium mouth feel. lots of dark cherry and earth. well structured. tannins need more time to resolve. otherwise, everything is in the right place. will wait a year before trying another one. thank you, cinderella.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/12/2016 - clarktoews Likes this wine: 93 Points
very very good. more fruit fwd than i was expecting at this age. smoky notes rounded it out nicely, silky texture and a long finish. not sure if it gets any better. drink it up!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/7/2016 - SchlaepDog Likes this wine: 93 Points
Nose is enticing, featuring red fruits, Asian spices, mineral, and faint leather. The wine features fresh black cherry and sour cherry, Tuscan earthiness, minerals all on a silky frame. Plenty of acidity keeps the wine feeling younger than 12 years. Mature and in a great drinking window with air (2 hours at least), will hold for at least half a decade.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/23/2016 - Ellenkf wrote: 88 Points
Garnet with brick rim, mod+ viscosity mod stain. Aromas of blueberry jam, blackberry liquor, fruit leather. Palate confirms blue-black baked and preserved fruit, but with plenty of Italian spices, dried oregano, leather, cloves, anise, licorice, and vanilla. Ripping tannins and a very long and dusty finish highlighting toasty oak, smoke, tar, and graphite. Plenty of oak. Med+ alcohol med+ tannins med acidity almost keeps it all in balance but the ending is all jam. I don't think I could drink this all night.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/18/2016 - Huskerjag wrote:
Very nice. Decanted for 3 hours. Kept getting better!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/16/2016 - Winiac wrote: 90 Points
Still balanced and gracefully aging. Would drink the rest of the stock in the next 3-4 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/12/2016 - KSWinegeek wrote: 91 Points
Dark for Brunello. I am appreciating this wine more with time. The earlier oakiness has pretty much subsided, leaving a complex Brunello with earth, blackberry and spice notes. Tannins are recedin. Wine was still very good day 2 indicating a longer life.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/17/2016 - df1962 Likes this wine: 94 Points
PnD let air for 1 hr. drank over 2hrs. Dark purple crimson almost saturated with plum to slightly orange rim. Very aromatic with fig blackberry confiture cherry cola and a bit of pleasant torrefaction. Medium weight with silky tannins. Nicely ripe yet very fresh with fig blackberry and and Bing cherry fruit then espresso cola and amaro notes. Great combination of big flavours with complexity and balance. Freakin' delicious. Faded a bit from the first glass. Drink up.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/7/2016 - albrigsr wrote:
Good
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/24/2015 - NoWineWiz wrote: 89 Points
PnP. Nose and palate of dusty dried dark fruit and savory spice with soft tannins. After an hour open, fresh blackberries joined in along with hints of chocolate following on the mid-palate. The finish was medium and smooth.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/5/2015 - dsgris Likes this wine: 93 Points
Inky dark ruby with bing cherry nose. Dry, tart chewy tannins on opening, bold but not heavy red fruit. Red currants, pomegranate, even some light peach pit bitter notes. Drinking nicely with good acid and tannins bracketing the fruit which leaves the peaches on the fairly long finish. In a very good place now and I think the acid and tannins will keep it alive for a couple years longer, but no need to wait. If you like acid, this will not disappoint.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/4/2015 - joet626 wrote: 89 Points
A bit past prime. Brownish and a bit pruny. Smooth and flavorful but a bit off
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/4/2015 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 91 Points
Mike G and Berto visit Cleveland (Italian wines)+ (Willoughby, Ohio): This is really in a great place right now. Perhaps not as long lived as some Brunellos, this is at peak now. The nose is open with great cherries, dust, and forest floor notes. There is also this mocha quality that presumably are remnants from what was at one time a modern, oaked BdM. I enjoyed it. On the palate, medium bodied. Layers of dried and fresh cherries with earthy/wet forest. Not a ton of acidity, but enough to carry the food. Nice finish. IIRC, this was available for around $30 shortly after release and that was a great value.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/15/2015 - dowrey Likes this wine: 95 Points
with steak dinner.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/25/2015 - Adventr.us wrote: 87 Points
Well, I wanna love this one, I really do - I've had some brilliant bottles from this producer, and they're typically among my favorites. Unfortunately, this bottle's just not showing anything beyond "good" for me. It showed deep fruits (blueberries and cherries) in moments, but in others was somewhat bland. It seemed that some drying tannins hit the palate right up front on the attack; though oddly enough, it's still silky through the middle before the tannins take over again. I dunno - maybe I just picked a poor food match, but I'd have expected it to go with a rustic Mario Batali recipe for sausages with peppers (simmered in a thick tomato sauce with plenty of EVOO involved.) This bottle is certainly not "gone-by," but it's just not showing much either.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/31/2015 - Kentw Likes this wine: 92 Points
This wine just blew me and my friends away. This bottle was almost perfect in terms of balance, fruit, complexity, flavor profiles yet still some mild drying tannins that says it still has life left. Best brunello that I have had including some highly rated 1997. So what's special? Some red and black fruit like raspberries mixed with strawberry, blackberries and some roses, yet dark cherries linger. It's fresh, yet shows smoothness from age. Sweet fruit in the mid palate, yet finish has mild drying tannins. Medium plus weight - not at all heavy yet full in terms of favor. This bottle was kept at room temperature for several years before placed in a cooling wine cabinet for a few more. Alcohol is not at all predominant as some have noted, maybe because it was at room - 72-75 degrees for a few years that allowed it to mature a bit faster during that time. I don't rate above 90 very often and 92 has been my highest except for an 03 and 05 Montelena Cab. I wish I had several cases of this wine.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/6/2015 - Dalex wrote: 92 Points
agreed that this wine is in it's optimal drinking window. Very round and fleshy with a great fruit profile. pop those corks
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/28/2015 - stevenjstein Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drinking very well now. It think it's hitting its sweet spot. A good balance of dark fruit and acidity. It definitely paired well with Italian food.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/2/2015 - Winiac wrote: 91 Points
Extremely balanced with dried cherries taste and dry soft tannins.Medium length and pleasant finish. Medium body. Works well with fatty Italian sauces especially vodka sauce.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/29/2014 - kbcadeponei wrote: 95 Points
In great shape and perfectly harmonious, the 2004 La Rasina delivers all attributes of a great brunello. Intense aromatic profile of fresh oak, aged leather, blackberries and tobacco. Incense and roses add elegance. Medium body, of strong, tasty tannins and surrounding acidity. Deeply spiced palate of blackberries, ginger and parmesan, rich and unique, lasting forever. 95
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/28/2014 - bin905 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Rich and serious dark fruit, spice and earth flavor with plentiful grippy tannins and a long finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/9/2014 - brooklynwine wrote: 90 Points
Decanted 1 hour. This is a big wine, made in a full style! The nose is filled with blackberry, leather, meat, spice, dried fruit and dried flowers. Unfortunately, there is a good amount of alcohol on the nose as well. On the palate it is full with a nice balsamic component. Quite complex and well structured. The finish is medium-long but a bit alcoholic as well.
I like this wine but it's just a bit too big and the alcohol (14.5%) is too pronounced for me at this stage.
After 4+ hours: Alc. is mellowing out nicely. Tannins are coming through more pronounced. I would hold this wine for another couple of years. It should be better.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/6/2014 - diane.forgy@dianeforgy.com Likes this wine: 91 Points
Big, bold wine that doesn't give in much with an hour decant. Dark berry & tart red fruit, tobacco, leather, pretty oaky but overall enjoyable, balanced and compex. Barely showing age.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
8/18/2014 - WinthropT96 wrote: 92 Points
Decanted ~2 hours. Good red fruit with roasted meet and tobacco. Showing age but still good fruit on the palette and tannin on the finish. Had plenty left over and as good the next day; we'll see about tomorrow.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/2/2014 - clarktoews Likes this wine: 93 Points
still a deep red colour, no signs of aging yet. loads of fruit and well balanced
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/29/2014 - cigar52 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Layer upon layer of deep fruit. Fabulous
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/24/2014 - AdamJP wrote:
Wish I'd bought more than one case! Excellent.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/25/2014 - kbcadeponei wrote: 94 Points
Bright red to light brown coloration, orange reflections. After the aromatic impact of oak and leather, a subtle note of roses, blackberry, coffee and tobacco start to reveal. Full, yet silky on mouth, the Rasina tastes of toasted coffee, vanilla and exotic spices. Powerful and fresh structure, finishing long, with a light cutting fervency on throat referring to coffee and ginger. Great wine!
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/25/2014 - KSWinegeek wrote: 89 Points
Improving over time. Dark with robust blackberry, leather and spice nose. Oak notes are subsiding with time. Not my favorite style of Brunello, but still a decent wine
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/11/2014 - DaddyNeedsPow Likes this wine: 91 Points
Really delicious. On pop and pour the bouquet was huge, gorgeous, and complex. The fruitier side died down during a short decant and left the wine a bit heavy with oak and tannin. I thought we'd missed its best window, but the fruit (gorgeously dark and balanced across the spectrum with nice acid) seemed to rally for the last glass some 3-4 hours later. Still a huge crowd please even during its heavy stage.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/10/2014 - winetexan wrote: 91 Points
quite enjoyed, nice mineral taste and balance
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/19/2014 - ssspore Likes this wine: 89 Points
Enjoyed this with porterhouse. Med body. Tannins ok. Not much nose. Decanted for 2 hours.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/13/2014 - bin905 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Wow, this wine is plush for a Brunello. It has an opulent ripe dark fruit, cinnamon, and violet aroma. The palate has juicy, velvety, cherry cola, mocha, mineral and subtle licorice flavor with ample fine tannins and a long finish.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/22/2013 - Texoenophile wrote: 88 Points
Pretty solid wine. a bit hot, oak coming through but good flavors throughout.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/13/2013 - HousePour wrote: 90 Points
Mushrooms and earth more pronounced than I expected. Fruit came to the fore as it opened up.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/25/2013 - Jeffyboy Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dark, dirty colour, not clear, with lighter rim. Nose: big, stuffy, thick, sweet macerated fruits, some light smoke and later leather. Very good. Taste: tannins almost soft and well integrated. Medium bodied. Very ripe cherries; sweet, long finish with choco-mocha flavours. Complex. Could be more elegant, anyway good stuff.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/12/2013 - Buick455 wrote: 91 Points
Decanted 2 hours. Mediun dark red'ish color. Very pleasant nose, good balance on the palate, however it is clearly young. Fruit and spice dominate the palate. Needs more time. medium finish.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/7/2013 - clarktoews Likes this wine: 93 Points
a wonderful example of a great Brunello. a ncie mix of fruit and earth tones on the nose and a great smooth finish. might improve slightly over the next yr or so but is in a greta drinking window right now
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/28/2013 - nav2u wrote: 82 Points
Dark ruby. Oak on the nose and palate overpowered everything else, even after decanting. Pretty disappointing.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/28/2013 - VinoPKM wrote: 92 Points
Drank better than expected- showed really well after an hour decant. Dried flowers, plums, cherries, leather and some oak. Killer QPR @ $25- Wine Library deal. Wish I had more and a good slightly more modern Brunello. Great with Italian and on its own. Definitely recommend and would seek out again.
As another taster noted- Tanzer got this wrong- IMHO.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/11/2013 - corkscrews Likes this wine: 91 Points
A nose of dark sweet fruits and spice, dark garnet in color. A medium to full bodied red wine, with blackberries, plum, some black cherry, vanilla and spice on smooth finish. Decant for a couple hours, great QPR. www.winelx.com
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
8/5/2013 - ecola Likes this wine: 91 Points
Aromas of dirty earth, dried flowers, and red cherry. Medium body with earthy dried cherry flavors. Dry finish with gripping tannins. Should make a great food wine.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/29/2013 - joet626 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very smooth and tasty. Was really good
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/17/2013 - UpfromtheCellar wrote: 90 Points
Really nice this bottle did not last long - everyone took a little pour a tiny sip a second bigger taste and then went back for a big glass full!
Sweet tannins, earthy dark fruits, bitter, savory, cinnamon, spice and a long finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/30/2013 - KSWinegeek wrote: 90 Points
I was perhaps a bit too critical in my previous review. Still dark for Brunello, but this has the characteristic leather and sour cherry nose. Good acidity and while oak is present on the finish, the oakiness is not overbearing.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/12/2013 - Johnny C NYC wrote: 93 Points
Last bottle of this year from La Rasina. Down the fairway brunello - and a pretty big one as well. Not sure why Tanzer couldn't get to a better score on this, but this remains a solid 92 for me as before. In fact I'm going 93.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/29/2013 - gkjrs wrote: 91 Points
My last bottle of 4. More integrated again than last year. Tannins holding. Leather, spice and earth. Has aged very well. Only wish I had not to get into next year.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/24/2013 - NoWineWiz wrote: 87 Points
Not very familiar with Brunellos. Decanted for 2 hours, dried cherries, leather and spice on the nose, with a palate of cherries, earthiness, tobacco and drying tannins.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/15/2013 - df1962 wrote: 92 Points
PnD let air for 7hrs. Huge candied fruit nose on initial decant. Settled into a delicious elegant flavorful Brunello. Better with food than the 2004 Il Palazzone.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/11/2013 - Venturifan wrote: 87 Points
This wine did very little for me...just OK Brunello.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/13/2013 - slippytoad wrote: 91 Points
Nicely balanced, not a great deal of power but what there is is subtle and elegant.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/11/2013 - jpinsb wrote: 88 Points
Tasted vs '04 La Leccaiaia, which had far more body, flavor, nose. This was a nice wine, but against the more stellar other bottle, this paled by comparison. Given price diference, QPR, however remains high.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/28/2013 - Grape_ape wrote: 91 Points
Seem to be some comments about this being a modern style.. perhaps, but I didn't quite get that, at least not in the sense of over the top oak, etc.
Decanted about one hour, continued to open over the eveneing. Lots of sour cherry, leather, balsamic and some earthy notes, perhaps a little cinnamon in the background. Sadly my only bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comments (1)
1/19/2013 - gquigs Likes this wine: 90 Points
Enjoyed this. Cherries and leather on the nose. Cherries and red fruit with a touch of oak on the palate. Nice acidity.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/6/2013 - vinniemontoni wrote: 93 Points
Very nice and right on my type of Brunello. Decanted for 90 minutes & really singing. Nose: dry cherries, cinnamon & leather with a hint of oak. Alcohol still strong but fading. Medium palate. Palate of red fruits, dried cherry & plum with a note of wood, cinnamon & spice towards the finish. Tannins are still there and while balanced with some acidity, they are not fully integrated. Finish is quite lengthy. Cherry, Cinnamon and an interesting charcoal note. This should get better in a year or two. Glad I have another bottle.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/2/2013 - KSWinegeek wrote: 88 Points
The darker color betrays a modern style Brunello. The nose is leather and spice, with black fruit flavors. Oak nuisances present on the finish are too strong.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/31/2012 - ctjared wrote:
Rich, fruity and balanced. Very nice.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/29/2012 - Dar3 wrote: 92 Points
Modern style brunello. Very smooth. One of my favorite brunellos
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/2/2012 - David_T wrote: 91 Points
Drinking well now. Cherries, licorice, potpourri and earth on the nose. The palate has red cherries, earth, tobacco, a hint of cedar, licorice, and a bit of spice. Fairly high tannins and acid, but all is in balance. Medium length, pleasant finish. Right on the PnP the fruit was a bit stewed and the tannins strong, but after 30-60 minutes the wine opened up and is very nice.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/28/2012 - jpdel wrote:
Tobacco notes, a hint of stewed dark fruits, drinking nicely
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/19/2012 - benny wrote: 93 Points
This is drinking very well now. My last bottle. Wonderful nose of dried flowers and stone. Tannins were long and smooth. Acidity well balanced. Must be my kind of wine now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/14/2012 - The Wine Write wrote: 84 Points
Popped, aerated and drank over 2 nights. Black fruit, but a primary aroma of green peppers on the nose. Black fruit on the palate, but a lot of tannin...too much for my taste.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/14/2012 - slippytoad wrote: 90 Points
Tobacco, earth, rich raisin
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/19/2012 - pete s. wrote: flawed
Unfortunate as I really enjoyed the previous two bottles. A lot of musty sourness and none of the beautiful fruit and spice.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/13/2012 - clarktoews wrote: 93 Points
a great Brunello. excellent colour, no browning yet, loads of freshness and very smooth.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/1/2012 - hamiltoncd wrote:
Beautiful brunello, excellent balance, Paired with Osso Bucco nicely.
Needs decanting (opened an additonal bottle that was a bit tannic without adequate air time).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/1/2012 - bg3034 Likes this wine: 91 Points
2 hour decant. Dark purple color. On the nose, dark cherries, a hint of tobacco and some spice. On the palate, great balance. Cherries, wood, earthiness. Not too tart or oaky. Medium tannins. Just a great bottle of wine. Went wonderful with homemade eggplant parmesan and sauce. 91+pts. Aloha!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/1/2012 - davidga75 wrote:
Dark in color with no signs of ageing.....the nose is dark as well, with black cherry and lots of floral, licorice and a pronounced cinnamon/clove note. The palate is medium + bodied with good richness and balance, but with a fair amount of structure that kicks in on the finish. This is definitely a bigger style of Brunello. The acidity is a nice counterpoint to the chalky tannins and bitter spice that show at the backend, but this is still pretty tight considering it has several years of bottle age under its belt. It seems like it's beginning to hit its drinking window, and I imagine it will drink well now (with food and/or a good decant) and for the next 3-5 years at least.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/18/2012 - Rich S wrote: 89 Points
Dark garnet color. Dark red fruit, oak and chocolate notes on the nose. Similar flavors on the palate with dark plum, tobacco and black cherry flavors coming through with some charred oak and dark chocolate on the back end. Medium acid and medium+ gritty tannins. Decent finish. A little too oaky for my liking and not enough juicy sour cherry and red fruits that I look for in a a good bdm. Decent but not memorable.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/16/2012 - Zo65 wrote: 85 Points
Nice bouquet. Dissappointing mid-palate. Medium finish. Just OK.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
8/14/2012 - Seweint wrote: 90 Points
Slightly flawed.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/3/2012 - merryberry wrote: 89 Points
Dark rustic garnet. Strawberry, spice, forest, and cherry nose. Full bodied, pomegranates, black cherries, very grainy tannins, good acid, tobacco, cedar, and a long, slightly tart finish. Smooth and well integrated, yet still seems young. Enjoyable.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/25/2012 - benny wrote: 93 Points
Decanted for one hour. This wine was singing! Outstanding.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/24/2012 - mikeaukenbals wrote: 90 Points
fine, but nothing special
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/18/2012 - Foodievines Likes this wine: 92 Points
Ruby in color with no significant aging in appearance. Aromas of tobacco, cedar, lavendar, rose petal, plum, and a hint of soil. In the mouth, this wine has an immediate silkiness but past that there are great tannins, good acid, and wonderful depth. Flavors of cedar box, cherry and more earth persists which make this a wonderful example of a well made brunello.
The acid and tannins are balanced well and this wine is great on its own, but will be even better with a hearty pasta dish........maybe a bore Ragu!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/29/2012 - gquigs wrote: 91 Points
This has gotten better with time, earthy and coffee on the nose, as well as dark fruit behind it. Strong on the palate, cherry and raspberry, tannic at the end. Very good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/16/2012 - MindMuse wrote: 87 Points
Spicy oak leads on the nose, with cherry, raspberry, licorice, roast coffee. Medium plus body. Bramble berry fruit, oak, fennel, earth on the palate. This one just seems a bit clumsy and over-oaked compared to previous one. Okay, but not so hot for a BdM.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/5/2012 - AdamJP wrote:
No sediment. Excellent.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/2/2012 - absolutvodka wrote: 93 Points
Decanted for two hours. Very nice and big.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/31/2012 - Johnny C NYC wrote: 92 Points
This wine is hitting its stride in early 2012. Big nose and adult palate, this wine takes up some space in the room. Raw ingredients here are luscious. 50/5/14/15/8
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/22/2012 - Bumbanian wrote:
Good, not typical BDM though. Opened up substantially on day 2.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/18/2012 - RussK wrote:
Russk MyWW tasting at LaBrochette.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/27/2011 - troutmonster wrote:
Textbook Brunello nose, with ripe black cherry, earthy, tobacco, and leather notes coming through. A beautiful combination of savory and ripe fruit qualities, with black fruits leading the way up front, before a smokey, leather aspect comes through on the mid palate through finish. The tannins are still a little aggressive at this stage, making it a contender to hold another couple of years before opening.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/23/2011 - redman77 wrote: 90 Points
Pnp this needs to be decanted
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/22/2011 - Eugene wrote: 91 Points
One hour in decanter opened the wine up to reveal earthiness, cured meat, tobacco and pine needles.
Drinking very well now. Following my new rule "if I like the wine now- drink the remaining inventory soon as you have no idea how it will develop in future", this bottle completes my stash.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/9/2011 - BrunelloBob wrote: 90 Points
A hair less fruit, more mineral than last time. Still a nice QPR.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/9/2011 - nschmidt wrote: 91 Points
Drank with spaghetti at home with Adrianne. Very dry yet tasty. Still has lots of life ahead. If you don't like mouth drying tannins, wait.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/4/2011 - RussK wrote: 93 Points
RUSSK WIC @ VILLEGIO italian BB. Good all around. Still one of my favorite affordable BdM. 4 days later after vinvac and frig. Still good. 93-
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/6/2011 - stevenp22 wrote: 90 Points
Second bottle of the night, very nice some crisp tannis
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/19/2011 - Reblin wrote: 90 Points
Soft nose of dark fruit, cherry. Creamy, satisfying texture. Good balance of fruit and tannin.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/25/2011 - Sniffy-Sniff Likes this wine: 91 Points
Right out the bottle explosive nose of tobacco, mushroom, and dark cherry. This was really approachable right away. Beautiful silky texture and mouth-feel. Soft, yet firm tannins. Wonderful food wine. Paired with grilled marinated flank steak and roasted brussel sprouts. Elegant. Great QPR for $25. Glad I have one more.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/14/2011 - Bumbanian wrote: 88 Points
Big. Needs 2-3 hours to open still. More wood than i would prefer, but otherwise pretty solid.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/4/2011 - 4iron wrote: 89 Points
This bottle had something funky to the finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/28/2011 - Jeffyboy wrote: 91 Points
nose: in the first attack fresh and little bit tart; later sweet cherries and dark fruits; when openes a lot of cherries and flowers. Balanced. taste: concentrated and fresh; gentle, lively tanins; dark sweet cherries; prunes. When openes very smooth. Decant for1h to get the most of it. Good now and in 10 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/29/2011 - AdamJP wrote:
No sediment. Excellent.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/29/2011 - redman77 wrote: 91 Points
z_willus_d nailed this... a very nice QPR at $29
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/16/2011 - z_willus_d wrote: 91 Points
My first glass from the just cork-popped bottle was reluctant to yield much beyond a cherry/tobacco taste holding a fetal position, but it was smooth and silky with a mouthfeel quality that kind of gave away the wine's price-point, or so one is led to believe. As my second glass had a chance to breath and unfurl itself, the body filled out and earlier flavors were accompanied by richer enhancements of blueberries, honeyed deserts, and dried fruit with dessicated hibiscus flowers -- fairly complex. Then the baby's soft mouthfeel gave way to a more silty form as condensates of mouth drying tannins encroached the whole, particularly noticeable on my 2nd day tastings. Nice wine that does quite well alone as well paired with food owing to it's good Italian-Sangio acidity. Glad to have a few more tucked away for next year and years after.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/12/2011 - benny wrote: 91 Points
Decanted and drank over 2 hours. Did not change much. A slight nose of mineral and dryed flowers. On the palate minerals and dark berry. The finish was long and tannic some oak... but primary. Strong but not subtle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/9/2011 - thatrick wrote: 91 Points
much better than the last bottle - 4 hour decant
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/3/2011 - JJKinch wrote: 90 Points
Strong fruit - cherry, raspberry - slight tobacco, nice minerality, slight floral - lingering finish. Smooth tannins - drinking really well. Better on 2nd night.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/3/2011 - patsox wrote: 92 Points
Totally delicious. Deep, rich fruit and noticeable but smooth tannins. Wish I had more!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/2/2011 - mkubow wrote: 92 Points
Can't go wrong with this wine, so balanced.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/28/2011 - nschmidt wrote: 91 Points
Drank at 410 Bank Street. Thouroghly enjoyable. Heidi liked it a lot. Nice contrast to the Barbaresco. Less dry and more cherry as one would expect.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/2/2011 - dangdad wrote: 89 Points
Need to decant and sit before drinking. Tannins soften, nose improves, front has great complexity and the finish is long
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/29/2011 - wineismylife wrote: 90 Points
Saturdays at One - Volume 50: WIML90-
Tasted double blind.
Garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose started with a little barnyard followed by flowers, mixed dark fruits and wet stones. Flavors of berries, a bit of cherries and minerals. Medium acidity, medium tannins, medium body. Drink over the short term.
My guess was a 2007 California Pinot Noir North Coast. Man did I blow it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/29/2011 - mmurry Likes this wine: 91 Points
Double Blind Tasting - 5/29/2011 (Farpointe Cellar): Dark black fruit and scorched earth, with pepper behind that, and pencil lead at the end. Rich and dark on the palate, with burnt wood and graphite, and a nice spicy finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/27/2011 - RussK wrote: 93 Points
RUSSK WIC@Peters BdM BB my wine of the night. Great nose very complex ,similar to Talenti,getting sweeter over time. Should buy more if under $40.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/18/2011 - NH WINO wrote: 83 Points
Hmmm this wine just didn't work for me. Decanted 2hrs, dry mouth feel, short, low spice... Served with homemade gravy & pasta, so it should of paired well. But not very eventful.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/10/2011 - sarlyb wrote: 87 Points
Still a bit young
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/8/2011 - Tickman wrote: 85 Points
Dark red color with strong nose of must and earthiness. Dark cherry notes with nice even balance throughout palette. Dry and long finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/3/2011 - rjrausch wrote: 90 Points
Still a really good brunello. Not as much flavor as my last bottle, but it still went very quick.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/31/2011 - coreywb Likes this wine: 93 Points
With professional reviews ranging from 87-93 I didn't quite know what to expect. What a terrific surprise. Great dark fruits, lovely nose, soft almost sweet tannins. Does not have much of that earthiness usually associated with some Brunellos. First of the 2004's I've tasted. Regret I only had 1 bottle. Look forward to others from this vintage.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/19/2011 - CaliCab wrote: 88 Points
On Pnp, Displayed a bit more oak that gave up scents of roasted meats, blood, dirt. Yummy. Aft soe air, the roasted scents and smoke fall off, and teh scent is of clean dirt and raw meat. Attack is sweet, tart, and rife with tannins. Very juicy, a little bitter and hot. All in all, good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/25/2011 - KeithAkers wrote: 89 Points
A few blind wines (my place): nose: big and rich nose of oak, dark red fruits, black currants, vanilla, dark berries, and dark cherry liqueur. On the over ripe side of things and definitely very forward
taste: full bodied with medium acidity and chewy tannins with rich and bold tones of dark red fruits, oak, vanilla, dark berries and black cherry liqueur
overall: This being a brunello never entered my mind. This was on the over ripe side but wasn't too bad. Lacking a bit on the mid-palate, this was a solid wine
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/15/2011 - RDHudak wrote: 91 Points
Color: Medium-ruby. Nose: Quite fragrant with red cherries, dirt, spice and an elegant floral component. Palate: Juicy, ripe red cherry, medium spice, light oak with a hint of red raspberry. Medium body. Finish: Pleasantly long with more of cherries and an interesting complexity and decent balance. This was decanted an hour and consumed over three. Seems to me to have hit its sweet spot at around 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Drinking well now. 91+
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/13/2011 - Decanthor wrote: 92 Points
Nice cherry nose/taste at first. Becomes more complex after 1 hour, so definitely decant. Noticed the stewed fruits, earth, and wood from other tasters, but the wood doesn't overpower. Very smooth, medium to full body. What stops it from being spectacular, imo, is the mid-palate. It feels a little hollow/boring. The finish is fantastic though, at around 20-30 seconds. This wine was a hit with four of us at dinner. I've had better brunello's, but at more than double the price. This was a very good deal.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/29/2011 - thatrick wrote: 89 Points
OK Brunello - nothing special
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/23/2011 - jcha24 wrote:
After reading these notes the next day, maybe I'll have to chalk this up to not enough air time. After about 45 minutes in the decanter, i got slight hints of tobacco and cherries, but the nose was not strong in the least. It had a very light mouthfeel and weak finish. Overall i was disappointed, but i seemed to be more in the minority than the other people who had tried it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/19/2011 - MrDarryl Likes this wine: 91 Points
Currant, leather, dried fruit with strong cherry on the nose. After about an hour of being opened the fruit became more apparent. Balanced weight, full-bodied with some crispness. Cherry, fig, and wild strawberry on the palate with the tannins giving it a nice earthy finish. A chrystalline robitussin red color with burnt orange edges. Great now, but I will save the next bottle to see the change. The future looks tasty.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/17/2011 - dlc212 wrote: 90 Points
Medium body with nicely balanced tannin and acid characteristics. Dark cherry and earthy flavors. I also enjoyed it the second day, perhaps even a little more than immediately upon opening.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/16/2011 - dkoontz wrote: 92 Points
Sangiovese tasting (Dhiraj's place): Rich ruby with a little tawny color toward the edge. Morello cherry nose intense upon opening, waned and then returned. Palate with more morello cherry with fennel developing with air and slight salinity. Bright acidity. Med-long finish. Liked by all.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/9/2011 - sarlyb Likes this wine: 92 Points
wonderful
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/28/2010 - winepog wrote: 91 Points
Decanted 1 hour. Nice flavors of stewed fruit, some wood apparent. My sister hated it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/20/2010 - pld07 wrote: 93 Points
Pretty wine! Wish I had more. Great aroma of cherries and some chocalate on the nose. Long creamy, cherry finish on the palate. Smooth tanins. Had it with meatloaf - delicious pairing. NEED MORE!!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/18/2010 - D.Callahan wrote: 88 Points
Very nice Tuscan that consisted of a blend of Cab Sav, Merlot, Cab Franc and Petite Verdot yet tasted nothing like a Bordeaux or Cali blend. Sour cherries predominated with a nice balance and good acidity. Over all it was a very good wine for food.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comments (1)
12/11/2010 - collinb227 wrote: 91 Points
sweet for a brunello
smooth cherry strawberry
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/4/2010 - MindMuse wrote: 91 Points
Pretty open right way, but almost throttling muscularity. I decanted and Vinturied into glass. Nose of big cherry, big spicy oak, and that olive loaf luncheon meat I last had about four decades ago. Cherry and druple berry on the palate, with coffee and minerals. Medium weight but with major tannin and acid structure. Good balance and intensity, not a lot of complexity. 90-91
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/26/2010 - LChaim wrote: 90 Points
Musty on nose; taste of minerals, cherry, blackberry. Went well with savory rack of lamb.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/20/2010 - nschmidt wrote: 91 Points
Drank with Adrianne at Divina with pasta with mushrooms. Very nice with smooth tannins. Not particularly complex but a nice mouthfeel. Good QPR.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/14/2010 - df1962 wrote: 92 Points
Opened and let air for 2 hrs. Then decanted through Venturri and let sit for another 2hrs. Huge aromas of blackberries and earth right from the opening. Medium weight fairly smooth mouthfeel with pleasant espresso like tannins. Delicious blackberry and dark cherry skin with coffee dark chocolate and herbs. Beautiful stuff.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/19/2010 - Zinny wrote:
Haven't had many Brunello's but I enjoyed this. It was light but concentrated, almost (but not) Pinot-esque. Lots of flavors of cherry, cherry skins and even something like apple skins. Also some mushroomy funk that makes it undeniably old world Italian. Maybe not a lot of complexity but a very nice wine for the price ($30).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/18/2010 - BrunelloBob wrote: 92 Points
Cherry bomb!
Loads of fruit, plenty of acidity and tannin. Should go another 5 yrs +/-
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/3/2010 - reese Likes this wine: 91 Points
Pop and pour. Restrained nose. Medium body. Black cherry, cinnamon and fine grained tannin. Medium finish. Understated and elegant.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/28/2010 - Bluedevil99 wrote: 88 Points
Largely consistent with my previous note, but in this bottle I found the chalkiness of the tannins even more pronounced to the point of being distracting on the finish. Recorked and stored in a clean fridge, it was similar, just less flavorful overall 2 days later, so I'm not sure there's much aging potential.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/19/2010 - gquigs wrote: 90 Points
Tasty
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/18/2010 - Vinacull wrote: 90 Points
{ST} Est decant 1+ hr. Similar to prior experience and note in May, although this time more prune noticeable in the mid and finish. Lovely bouquet, full flavors, lengthy finish of dark fruit, tobacco and spice. Not quite as good as the '04 Piancornello Brunello tasted alongside, but then again this is 10+ dollars cheaper.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/13/2010 - www.jasonskitchen.com wrote: 91 Points
Nice nose off the bat, became more fruity and smoother finish after 2 hours...standard, well made, easy to drink...no regrets.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/5/2010 - wmccone54 wrote: 92 Points
Nose of flowers and dark cherries. Great mouthfeel with nice balanced, structured tannins. Medium bodied with a palate of cherry cola. Long persistent finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/27/2010 - Justin B wrote: 92 Points
Even better than the first bottle we had a few months back. Drinking quite well now with a decent decant. I think this is a great balance of new world and old world flavor, we really enjoyed it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/27/2010 - Ben Frost wrote: 88 Points
Still great, but slightly disappointed in comparison to my first experience. Didn't seem as expressive. Don't know if it was heightened expectations or slight variation in bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/24/2010 - pete s. wrote: 91 Points
Tasted blind. Similar to previous notes. Candied fruit, chocolate and smoke on the nose. Nice intensity of cherry liqueur mixed with creamy oak. Tasty mid palate with balanced tannins and acid. #2 wine of the night and a definite crowed pleaser.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/22/2010 - amazin1986 wrote: 88 Points
Popped and poured. Tight. Tar and cherries at the outset. Opened up some after giving it time to breath. Perfume. Long finish. Not "silky" imo as reported.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/21/2010 - Tholmz1 wrote: 85 Points
Average. Opens up better after a few hours and was actually better the 2nd day. But even then, this wine was not balanced. The heat on the back end was never balanced with the fruit up front. Very little bouquet and just at the end of the mid palette this wine starts to disappear only to have the back end acidity and alcohol hit you in the end. Much better wines out there for this price.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/12/2010 - DRod wrote:
1 down, 5 more to go, and I couldn't be happier about that. Takes a little bit of airtime to come together, as it's tight as a rock on the p-and-p. But once it does open up, you get a nose of perfumed plum/prune/raisin that is just delicious. On the palate you get wonderful balance of black fruit, tannin, and acidity that makes this a great food wine. If you see it at 30 bucks again it's a no-brainer, though I had no real qualms buying it at 36.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/2/2010 - Weston3220 Likes this wine: 90 Points
My Meal Called for an Italian Wine~
Med+ Ruby
A: Clean, Med+ Intensity, starting to show signs of Development
Chocolate, Blackberry, Dried Flowers, Sour Cherry, High Toned Licorice
T: dry, med+ acid, med+ tannin, med body, med+ alc, med+ intensity, long finish
Dusty Tannins, Gorgeous Sour Cherries, Spice, Dried Flowers, lil Bitterness [might be because of pairing with Summer Squash]
Conc: Excellent, couple years and it should be beautiful
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/30/2010 - heythatslife wrote: 90 Points
This shows a lot of new world influences, but it's a brunello for sure. Lush cherry fruit, prune, earth, coffee, and some vanilla. Not the most complex brunello but solid stuff and good QPR for what I paid. It seemed quite open at this stage in my experience.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/18/2010 - rabs wrote: 88 Points
Drank this over three evenings. The first day, did not like it AT ALL. Second day, a little better. Third, it opened up really nicely! I enjoyed it. But it shouldn't take three days to get to a good state!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/17/2010 - tbone wrote:
Beautiful brunello drinking very well for lovers of the funk (me!). Fairly full bodied with exceptional balance. Lots of earthly scents and tastes with some very, very dark berries, mushroom, forest floor. Love it and for $25 it is quite the deal (cinderella?)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/17/2010 - coremill Likes this wine: 90 Points
PnP. My first brunello, I think this one is of the more modern/fruit-forward style. This is a rich wine. Expressive nose of lots of varied fruit: most strongly dark cherry, but also blackberry and raspberry. There's also some vanilla notes from the oak, and some herbal rosemary type stuff going on. More cherry on the full-bodied palate, with some chewy tannin, leading into a nice finish where the oak shows up again.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/17/2010 - KyleMittskus wrote: 84 Points
Pretty, old world nose with some tar, raisin, a milk chocolate. However, it was thin, short finished, light mouthfeel and the acidity was off-balance. Huge disappointment.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/13/2010 - vinotintoiowa wrote: 90 Points
very nice old world
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/6/2010 - winegr wrote: 90 Points
90-91. Nice wine with a solid flavor profile. Not overly complex, but a nice wine with solid tannn structure that clamps down after a bit of air. Structured enough to go a few years yet well. I could have used slightly more acidity.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/2/2010 - nschmidt wrote: 91 Points
Drank with lamb at the Gottesmans. Very drinkable right now. Some tannins but not overwhelming. Nice dark fruits. Good mouthfeel. Much preferred over the Bordeaux wines this evening.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/30/2010 - Brad B. wrote: 91 Points
Drank another of these and I now believe my original notes on this wine (dated 5/25/10) were based on a flawed (oxidized) bottle. The one I drank most recently was like a completely different wine--fresher dark red fruits, gripping tannins throughout the palate, some plum and licorice, but nothing like the "dried fruits" or "mulled spices" I experienced with the first bottle. This bottle was much more enjoyable and as a result gets a score boost. Drinking window seems much longer to me now as well. This wine has tremendous structure, and without the tired flavors I experienced before, I can see it developing nicely for 5 or more years. Drinkable 5-10 more years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/24/2010 - Lessthanzero wrote: 91 Points
In reading all the notes I couldn't quite nail down whether to drink this as soon as I could, or wait a few years. A decision was made, and Dino's no-corkage Wednesdays was the perfect venue.A realtiively modern styled Brunello di Montalcino. Prunes, plums and cedar on the nose. Good mouth feel with almost deceptive tannins showing up on the back end, drying out the mouth. That and the tight acid made it a very good pairing to food for the first hour. After this the wine mellowed out and became a pleasant sipper. Sort of lost its structure. It wasn't bad, but I don't think this wine is in it for the long haul.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/23/2010 - Normones wrote: 88 Points
not my style but tasted like a quality product. a little pine needles on the nose along with very nice bing cherry and other tart red fruit. palate screams for lamb or hearty pasta with meat sauce. nice acid.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/22/2010 - cadams wrote: 92 Points
Modern style bdm. Mix of fruit forward and old world styles. Got lots of plum. 30+ sec finish. Drinking well now and wont get much better I dont think. Drink in the next 3-5yrs.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/21/2010 - PBM wrote:
Great $25 bottle of BDM. Went perfectly with our dinner of shellfish on one side of the table and pasta with red sauce, ham, eggplant, and chicken on the other side. Didn't decant. Very dry. Dark fruit. Earthy. Italy. Perfect.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/16/2010 - AdamJP wrote:
No sediment. Excellent.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/16/2010 - gkjrs wrote: 92 Points
Strong dark fruit forward on nose and palate. Good structured transition to spicy finish which lasts.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/12/2010 - tmarman wrote: 91 Points
A lot of earthiness, leather, barnyard floor on the nose, which overpowers the fruit a little. A little blackberry, rustic fruit, currant also on the nose. Gorgeous, rusted ruby color. Same Flavors on the nose upfront. Slight acidity, still very tannic - super, super dry on the finish. Beautiful wine... We should have been a little more patient with it. With a little more age, we would have scored a little higher - but still a LITTLE too dry.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/12/2010 - dnickerson wrote: 91 Points
Very food friendly, drinkable Brunello. Well balanced and enjoyable.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/8/2010 - kscopela wrote: 89 Points
Earth and Plum on the nose. Not that complex but easy drinking. May be a little hot but enjoyable.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/8/2010 - mmurry Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted about 5 hours. The nose had lots of tobacco mixed with damp forest floor aromas. It also had some cherry, and dried herbs. The palate was soft and juicy, with bright cherry and raspberry flavors. On the finish it had a very delicious tobacco, earth, and herb mixture.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/6/2010 - Bumbanian wrote:
Drank at BBQ, no formal note - nose and palate scream Brunello, but my general impression was that it lacked body. Will have to try another bottle soon in a setting where I can focus on the wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/4/2010 - TBlock wrote: 93 Points
Awesome brunello, perfect dark fruit and acidity, opens up very quickly in the glass. Drank next to a 1997 Casisano-Colombaio Riserva and the La Rasina blew it away. Probably can age a year or two more but is not closed at all and ready to be enjoyed now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/30/2010 - Ben Frost wrote: 91 Points
I seem to be agreeing with the vast majority of reviewers on this. The first hour was the best with alluring tobacco, earthy,herbal notes and meatiness on the nose and palate along with a touch of cherry. I found it to be very complex. A lot of that blew off within an hour or two and the wine gained some weight on the mouthfeel and gained just a touch of fruit. This was probably a 93 for me at first and then more like a 89-90 as time went by. I don't really think this is a matter of aging potential as the tannins were fairly tight at first. I wonder if some of this isn't based on the oak influence and it blows off after a decant.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/29/2010 - tourette wrote: 90 Points
Really solid upon opening. Pop and pour. My first Brunello. Lots of tobacco, earth, and complexity. Strong tannins, not fruit forward, good acidity. It sort of went dumb after a couple hours though. The next day there wasn't much left, though it wasn't bad. Some reviewers have suggested that its nearing its end of life. It would seem more like its just entering a dumb phase to me, but I really don't know how this stuff ages. Not sure if I should pop my other bottle as soon as possible or wait 5 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/29/2010 - oog wrote: 88 Points
Nose: Leather and earth. Taste: It's kind of closed off. It's still somewhat tannic, but its not such big tannins that you expect a lack of fruit. Maybe a little bit of a liqueur note, a little bit of coffee. Some kind of earthy notes as well.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/28/2010 - scotty_b wrote: 90 Points
I think I'm backward compared to most reviewers. Nose on this was super perfumy, raisiny and bright upon opening. Big time mint and eucalyptus with cherry and forrest floor. It was complex but not very "delicious". Second day with steak, I liked it much better. It mellowed out and the cherry was more present. Tanins were still going strong. IMO this will last at least another 5 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/26/2010 - quagland wrote:
a very nice brunello that fell apart after 2 1/2 hours. nice cherries and complexity in the meantime.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/25/2010 - Joelene wrote: 90 Points
solid, but not much wow
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/25/2010 - Brad B. wrote: flawed
Color shows tinge of brown on the edges. Nose of raisins, spice, touch of mint. Mostly secondary flavors of raisins, mulled spices, dried fruits, especially cherries, mint, bit of chocolate. Flavors are on the downhill slope. Somewhat dry tannins on the backend but not unpleasant. Good overall structure. I'm glad I tried this wine now because I think it is nearing the end of its useful life. I would consume this one within the next year or so. I wish I had tried one a year or two ago, as it probably would have been low 90's for me. Guess I'll have to get crackin' on the remaining 5 in the cellar. Note: score deleted due to what I now believe to be a flawed (oxidized) bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/23/2010 - BullseyeOregon wrote: 90 Points
Decanted and drank over a six-hour window. The aroma matched the taste -- cherries and plums, with a bit of wood. Well integrated and balanced. The tannins were strong on the finish. After a large meal (steak, lentils, sweet potato fries) the last glass, all by itself, was the best.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/22/2010 - hamiltoncd wrote: 92 Points
Beautiful and complex. Opened up nicely over the hour with tobacco, oak and fruit. Enjoyed immensely throughout the bottle. Tannic on the finish. Drinkable for many more years. Will hold (if I can).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/16/2010 - pete s. wrote: 92 Points
Wow...fantastic wine here. Pretty much pop and pour, but really a great showing tonight. Huge nose of pure cherries, chocolate, cedar, and tobacco. Tasty fruit hits on the entry followed by creme de cassis, dark chocolate, and an interesting minty note on the mid palate. Big tannins on the finish but fades into lasting notes of black fruit and spice. Loved it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/15/2010 - Johnny C NYC wrote: 89 Points
Dense violet, nice brunello notes of sanjo/prune, enjoyable rustic bite. A lesser wine after 2 hours of decanting.
50/4/11/15/9
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/14/2010 - collinb227 wrote: 91 Points
nice cherry fruit complex wine
I was sitting around a campfire so I couln't analyze it like I wanted to
I will be more descriptive next couple bottles
We all agreed it was very good, especially with some air time
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/14/2010 - bablues wrote: 92 Points
A great wine. Classic Brunello nose. Cherries forever on the palate. Long finish that got better and better with every sip. Will evolve nicely and glad there is more to be enjoyed.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/13/2010 - DRod wrote:
Wish I had more. After 3 or so ours in the decanter, real bright red fruits with some prunes on the nose. Just exploding out of the glass. On the palate you get wonderful fruit and racy acidity. The exact combination that makes me happy. Just an especially delicious wine with great balance, modest tannins. Very food friendly with bright acidity and I am likely to buy again. No rating because I don't have the glass in front of me (all gone), but it was probably a 92pt wine for my palate.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/13/2010 - Lgindoff wrote: 88 Points
Drank it at Provisi for Kathy's birthday. Big earthy wine. Cherry on the front with a big earthy finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/12/2010 - bccdavid wrote: 91 Points
Great wine! Nose of chocolate dust, dark fruit, a little leather & shoe polish. Very pleasant. Taste has a medium to long fnish that touches all parts of my palate. This wine is young so I let it decant for 30 minutes and then enjoyed a small amount each 1/2 hour. After 2 hours, I'm really enjoying it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/10/2010 - BATWine wrote: 91 Points
Delicious. Lots of cherry and dark plum. Not a lot of oak. Nice long finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/8/2010 - Vinacull wrote: 90 Points
{ST} Est decant 2 hrs. Color garnet with dark hues, medium-full body. Fairly big nose of blackberries, ripe black plums, dried flowers, tobacco, and slight fumes of boot polish. With less and less vino in the glass and lots of swirling, the bouquet became more nuanced with leather, cigar, and a bit of meatiness. On the palate, very nice depth of rich black fruits, spice, damp earth, tobacco, and a flowery perfume throughout that makes this very alluring. Excellent texture, medium-plus acid, and some fairly big tannins that continue to grip the tongue for some time after the finish is done. A lengthy finish of black fruit, tobacco, and spices. This was an outstanding (90+), will improve, and my score is conservative relative to the '03 Valdicava we drank yesterday. In a world where many BdM's are 50 and up, this delivers very well at 40.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/7/2010 - rjrausch Likes this wine: 95 Points
I loved this. I get a red twizzlers nose and some darker fruit aromas. The palate is delicious. I like the mouthfeel and the dark berry flavors burst in my mouth. I am a brunello fan boy, but this tops my most recent brunello experience. Awesome wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/1/2010 - Bluedevil99 wrote: 89 Points
Pop and pour, consumed over 1 hr. Slightly translucent dark ruby. Black cherry, plum, smooth vanilla, leather. Streak of sour cherry builds throughout and permeates the finish, becoming slightly bitter. Interesting hints of flowers. An intensely flavorful, modern Brunello; a bit rustic and missing the smoothness of a higher end BdM. Accessible and an excellent value at the CW price. 89
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/23/2010 - Weston3220 Likes this wine: 93 Points
med to med+ ruby
A: Floral, Elegant, some earth, mint
T: minty[lite], gorgeous fruit, absolutely beautiful
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/26/2010 - poppa wrote:
Seductive. And this is not even my style. Quite oaky. Very modernist. Good balance. Nicely done.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/30/2010 - wabi47 wrote: 89 Points
delicate color and lite cranberry nose; cherry and cranberry fruit still opening up at 3 hrs; good structure, just not ready
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/23/2010 - tward wrote: 91 Points
This has a pretty nose and drinks well right out of the bottle, but opens further and develops depth with a couple hours of decanting. Raspberry and blackberry and brush on the nose, a lush well-rounded body with acid and tannins providing support for the rich dark fruit, spices, and, with some time, toasted notes and some earth, chocolate, and herbal components. Slightly drying tannins on the finish are nice. This wine is drinking well now. I don't know enough to say whether a few more years of bottle age will further integrate the tannins and harmonize an already very pleasant wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/3/2010 - Idrink,therefore,Iam wrote: 94 Points
I loved this! Opened the bottle and the nose was fantastic. Decanted and let sit for two hours, and the aroma took over the room. A great drink, especially considering that it is one of the lowest priced BdM's around. Will definitely be picking up more.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/25/2009 - KDC2708 wrote: 90 Points
still had to open up, medium bodied, quality wine that will still evolve, typical sangiovese taste
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/4/2009 - D. Fulton wrote: 94 Points
A beautiful and surprisingly typical 2004 Brunello. Dynamic and well-balanced with high acidity providing a broad and impressive structure for notes of dried fruit including red cherry and raisin. The wine was delicious from the moment the bottled was opened and decanted. After an hour in the decanter it was showing perfectly with a pronounced aromatic nose. Despite 6 months in French oak barrique, this Brunello is an authentic expression of the Montalcino terroir, unmarred by notes of vanilla, toasty oak, or other marks of heavy-handed modernist winemaking.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment