Magnum opened 6 hours before tasting. beautiful wine with a fresh, elegant and complex nose. the palate mirrors the nose. very delicate and integrated tanins. ready now.
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Sadly my one and only bottle. Check out Vancouver's note, similar experience. Let bottle decant for 2 hours, dense ruby and opaque as hell. The nose is rich with a liquor of stewed dark fruits, some magic marker/menthol thing, dried violets, herbs, baking spice; its just fantastic; hypnotic. The front hits with a blend of cherries and blackberry, weighty, smooth, rich, and earthy with leather notes. Velvety tannins, super balanced acidity moving to the middle. A treat. Finish is just a well integrated blend of the aforementioned, a bit light perhaps, but lingers like a nice afterglow for quite a bit. Its drinking amazingly well now, its in a great spot. If you want to gamble, you could go longer but I'm not sure what you'll get out of it. Pus, don't freak out if the cork shows seepage stains up quite a bit, so long as it ain't dripping. May be a thing with the enclosure, but the wine was perfect; cork was "delicate". Saw another note alluding to the same.
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Really enjoyed this wine a lot. Classic Tuscany wine, very high quality and has aged perfectly. This might deserve an even higher score, and can certainly hold at this level for a while longer. 95-96 pts.
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Found this in a hidden corner of the cellar as the lockdown here enters month 14....
Popped it open and did not decant as was worried that the wine would be "fragile" at age 23 or so. Boy was I wrong...
The color was deep ruby and almost opaque. Very impressive for a wine this age.
Pronounced, complex and evolved aromas of liqueur of black fruit, thyme, rosemary, baking spice, balsamic notes and who knows what else- very impressive.
The full bodied palate was very surprising- plenty of structure and acidity as the wine enters its 23rd year. Lots of flavor persistence with a long and savory finish.
The wine went perfectly with some rich Italian dishes including a grilled rib eye with mushroom sauce.
This particular bottle could have kept for another decade but at this age it could vary , so I would opt to drink up.
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Auction purchase. Cork bled 99%. PnP. Last bottle of the night, and I only got a small glass, but this was really good Brunello in a very good place right now. Nice balance of fruit and aged flavors. Excellent body and length.
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2 hr decant then consumed over 4 hrs. Slow to open until in the glass. Resolved tannins and deep red/cherry fruit. A rather rough complextion but also at peak i'd say.
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A beautiful wine from Gaja, I tried this 3 years ago and it was perfect. This particular bottle was still drinking ok, maybe towards the end of it's cycle but lovely. The cork had seeped only a 3rd of an inch and was in good condition. All the flavors a little muted but some folks like their wine older. I wouldn't keep this year much longer myself.
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Cesare's - had this decanted. A bit pedestrian early, but after 45-60 minutes, it opened and flourished. Nice fruit-rich nose. Medium to full bodied. The cedar that showed early on fades into the background, with an elegant rendition of sangiovese coming to the forefront. Not the forward approach, concentration of our New Year's Brunello (1997 Tenimenti Angelini Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Spuntali), but a very nice showing. The 2004 Saggi, with a bit harder edge, gives this one a run for its money this evening.
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Sexy, blackberry, red currant and marzipan nose; lovely, gorgeous, red currant, blackberry, chocolate and vanilla palate with grip, sweet firm tannins; medium-plus finish
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11/4/2022 - NickNYC Likes this wine: 94 Points
Magnum opened 6 hours before tasting. beautiful wine with a fresh, elegant and complex nose. the palate mirrors the nose. very delicate and integrated tanins. ready now.
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2/18/2022 - Fftjr Likes this wine: 95 Points
My last of this vintage. Was fantastic. Plenty of fruit, refined tannins. An elegant, Premier example of Brunello
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2/18/2022 - N.Bonaparte wrote: 93 Points
Popes and poured. Needs 20 min in the glass to open up. A complete wine in its prime that should drink well for 5 more years.
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2/6/2022 - Fftjr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Probably my all time favorite Brunello. Losing a little luster, but drinking well.
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12/31/2021 - LotionInTheBasket Likes this wine:
Sadly my one and only bottle. Check out Vancouver's note, similar experience. Let bottle decant for 2 hours, dense ruby and opaque as hell. The nose is rich with a liquor of stewed dark fruits, some magic marker/menthol thing, dried violets, herbs, baking spice; its just fantastic; hypnotic. The front hits with a blend of cherries and blackberry, weighty, smooth, rich, and earthy with leather notes. Velvety tannins, super balanced acidity moving to the middle. A treat. Finish is just a well integrated blend of the aforementioned, a bit light perhaps, but lingers like a nice afterglow for quite a bit. Its drinking amazingly well now, its in a great spot. If you want to gamble, you could go longer but I'm not sure what you'll get out of it. Pus, don't freak out if the cork shows seepage stains up quite a bit, so long as it ain't dripping. May be a thing with the enclosure, but the wine was perfect; cork was "delicate". Saw another note alluding to the same.
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8/24/2021 - SonnyChiba wrote: 95 Points
Really enjoyed this wine a lot. Classic Tuscany wine, very high quality and has aged perfectly.
This might deserve an even higher score, and can certainly hold at this level for a while longer. 95-96 pts.
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3/18/2021 - Vancouver Likes this wine: 96 Points
Found this in a hidden corner of the cellar as the lockdown here enters month 14....
Popped it open and did not decant as was worried that the wine would be "fragile" at age 23 or so. Boy was I wrong...
The color was deep ruby and almost opaque. Very impressive for a wine this age.
Pronounced, complex and evolved aromas of liqueur of black fruit, thyme, rosemary, baking spice, balsamic notes and who knows what else- very impressive.
The full bodied palate was very surprising- plenty of structure and acidity as the wine enters its 23rd year. Lots of flavor persistence with a long and savory finish.
The wine went perfectly with some rich Italian dishes including a grilled rib eye with mushroom sauce.
This particular bottle could have kept for another decade but at this age it could vary , so I would opt to drink up.
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8/15/2020 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 95 Points
Better with 30-60 minutes of air, this is in a really great place right now. Deep, rich fruit, nice structure on the finish. Very good.
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8/5/2020 - Axone Likes this wine: 95 Points
Dans un très bon spot de dégustation actuellement. Mais pas d'urgence non plus, il en a sous la pédale.
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5/3/2020 - S-C-S Likes this wine: 95 Points
Balanced.
Don‘t decant.
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3/4/2017 - lesz Likes this wine: 94 Points
beautiful wine
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3/31/2016 - BrunelloBob wrote: 93 Points
Auction purchase. Cork bled 99%. PnP.
Last bottle of the night, and I only got a small glass, but this was really good Brunello in a very good place right now. Nice balance of fruit and aged flavors. Excellent body and length.
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1/11/2016 - Louvin Likes this wine: 93 Points
2 hr decant then consumed over 4 hrs. Slow to open until in the glass. Resolved tannins and deep red/cherry fruit. A rather rough complextion but also at peak i'd say.
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10/2/2015 - wr12162 wrote: 97 Points
this wine is STILL outstanding! have only one left :(
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12/9/2013 - JV2728 Likes this wine: 93 Points
A beautiful wine from Gaja, I tried this 3 years ago and it was perfect. This particular bottle was still drinking ok, maybe towards the end of it's cycle but lovely. The cork had seeped only a 3rd of an inch and was in good condition. All the flavors a little muted but some folks like their wine older. I wouldn't keep this year much longer myself.
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1/20/2007 - vanpe003 wrote: 91 Points
Cesare's - had this decanted. A bit pedestrian early, but after 45-60 minutes, it opened and flourished. Nice fruit-rich nose. Medium to full bodied. The cedar that showed early on fades into the background, with an elegant rendition of sangiovese coming to the forefront. Not the forward approach, concentration of our New Year's Brunello (1997 Tenimenti Angelini Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Spuntali), but a very nice showing. The 2004 Saggi, with a bit harder edge, gives this one a run for its money this evening.
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2/20/2004 - rjonwine@gmail.com wrote: 97 Points
Sexy, blackberry, red currant and marzipan nose; lovely, gorgeous, red currant, blackberry, chocolate and vanilla palate with grip, sweet firm tannins; medium-plus finish
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