A Diverse Set of Wines in Honor of a Visiting Friend (Los Olivos, CA): Slow-ox'ed for about 6 hours. This bottle showed how well the wine continues to evolve in my experience, with a powerful and fresh nose showing red fruit and spice. Concentrated and energetic, with fine tannins and loads of dark cherry, some sweet mint and a dizzying array of exotic spice notes. Just fabulous.
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First opened: Dried floral and ripe plum / blueberry jam. Very approachable. On palate, the structure is quite bold.
3 hours bottle decant, the body gets more linear. Some aged Pu’er, smokiness, some eucalyptus, dried rose petal, dried sage, aged citrus peel marmalade. Suede texture.
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Pre-Paulee Warm-up Dinner (House of Nanda - Chicago IL): 99/04 paired. I was not thrilled with either. Lots here, but the structure of this 1999 overshadowed the fruit, and I found this less pristine than I'd prefer, too.
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99/01 Brunello Showdown Night. Tasted semi-blind. Drank in Conterno Sensory. Guessed by most correctly. Also (thankfully) the crowd favourite. Appearance is clear, medium intensity, garnet colour. Legs. Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of floral red roses, licorice, nicely ripe red cherries. Developing. On the palate, dry, very high lifted acidity, medium+ alcohol (14%), seamless smooth gliding resolved tannins, medium+ body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with graceful flavours of sweet earth, licorice, ripe red cherries, melted potpourri flowers. Long finish. Really awesome Brunello. Excellent quality. Maybe not the most complex, but the seamless mouthfeel and grace are the aspects that make this wine shine. Already so good to drink, and still has freshness and lift to age another 5+ years well I think.
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Highly complex nose with dark rich red fruit, rose petals, herbs, spice, cloves, forest floor, and wet leather. Tremendously balanced but still youthful and powerful (but homehow light on its toes) once tasted with a variety of fruity as well as secondary and tertiary notes (nutmeg, cinnamon, red fruit). Epic finish.
Fantastic; a real winner
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Nose is super complex...leather, red fruits, red flowers, spice, cedar, earth and moss. Palate is pure cashmere...so silky...perfect balance of primary, secondary and tertiary flavors....red plum, cherry, raspberry, flowers, cinnamon, clove, leather, cedar, earth and moss. Finish is soooooo long....wow...so complex
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This was my favorite Soldera of the night. Quite fresh on the nose, with smoke, licorice, red cherry, violet, and forest floor. On the palate, even deeper than other vintages, with complex spices, red fruits, cherry, plum, and firm acidity. Tannin was gentle yet provide good length to the wine. The wine seems still young to me with long ageing potential. My favourite wines of that night was 1999 vintage, followed by 1998 and 1996, and then 1991.
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Beautiful and concentrated nose with flowers, potburri, iron, and sweet red currant. Palate was so powerful and dense yet weightless with that orange peel and sweet red currant fruit. The finish was very long. The underlying substances were screaming to be unleashed. Still tight now but very nice for a youthful soldera. Long long life ahead.
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In stunning form after a 2-hour decant. Nowhere near fully developed but revealing what could come, though peak may be two decades away. Bold nose of red fruit, spice and florality. Intense, structured and energetic, with fine tannins and notes of dark cherry, sweet mint and a myriad of exotic spice. A big step up in concentration and intensity relative to the normale, which I’ve had twice of late. This is a fine example of what makes Soldera the greatest expression of Sangiovese for me.
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L' annata straordinaria si riflette in un Soldera diverso dalle Riserve post 2000. Qui niente fiori, niente eleganza borgognona, né moquette e satin. E' un vinone massiccio, scuro, balsamico, che incarna alla perfezione l' essenza del Sangiovese purosangue in tutta la sua tenacia tridimensionale. A chi è in cerca di eleganza, profumi soavi e finezza, consiglio il 2001. Vino completo, assoluto e di integrità e gioventù ancora scalpitanti. Consiglio di aspettare ancora qualche annetto, ma è già una bevuta di assoluto livello.
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This is impressive with prunes, tart, earth, menthol, meat, hawflakes and to charcoa. Palate has lots of stuffing with soaring acidity. I think this has just entered its drinking window when things have integrated so nicely! Having the regular 99 twice, I really dont see the difference vs the riserva.
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One of the most profound Brunellos I've ever tasted, the Soldera Riserva 1999 has a nose that is both infinitely complex and pungent. Alluring aromas of dried rose petals, dark cherries, game, saddle leather, damp tilth, decaying leaves, anise, and sandalwood waft from the glass. Truly, it's the iron fist in the velvet glove—incredibly intense and powerful, yet totally refined, elegant and balanced. Caressing ultra-fine tannins shore up notes of sweet tobacco, dried herbs, and cinnamon bark. I am undone.
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My wine of the first half year. Very possibly wine of the year. It might have the most elegant(or even teasing!) aromas that I have ever smelled, just like dews on newly-cutted rose petal. After the ocean of rose, it comes black tea, cinnamon,cloves, truffle, tar... The mouth feeling is all in purity, rounded,extremely balanced, with long long finish.After a while, the tannins seems to be awake and leaves me fine-grained and structured sensation. I wish that I could have this wine every day.
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Brunello di Montalcino: Liquirizia dolce (quella nera tonda avvolta su se stessa) nettissima, china, tamarindo, radici, menta fresca. Molto buono, il più grosso della batteria e decisamente il meno preciso, è il primo che mi fa pensare di volerlo abbinare a tavola.
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Visto il blasone e da appassionato di Soldera con alle spalle bevute fantastiche di questo vino devo dire che questa volta non sono state rispettate le aspettative. Il naso è statico, poco piacevole mentre la bocca è molto meglio ma non appagante come altre volte
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Opened with Troy. Soldera is special for a reason! Italian burgundy in a glass. The last bottle I had was the 1990 vintage which was spectacular. The 99 had great length just a hint of bite at the end, which with cellaring should dissipate. Looking forward to the next bottle.
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Alcohol :: 14% Decanted for 60mins and drink for next 2hrs. Well, what am I having here? My very first Soldera and man, I seriously need to stock some in my cellar. This is the most beautiful Sangiovese I ever had. Stunningly rich and perfume aromas that blossom in the glass and continue to evolve during lunch. Sweet red and dark fruits, roses, tar and truffle that wrapped in an highly focus, seductive package. Still young and dense that loaded with perfectly ripe fruits. Mouth coating intensity an it numbs the palate in a silent way. The structure is massive together with the ripe and sweet tannin that formed the great sense of harmony that you find yourself keeps repeating these steps: empty-refill-empty-refill..... The finished is full of complex layer of fruits, roses and savory tone. By far the most elegance and refine BdM I have had. This will continue to evolve for at least another decade effortlessly. 95-96+
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So dense and saturating that I didn't even notice the tannin til the back end, when it turned out to be just as dense with tannin as it previously was with deep bloody sangiovese fruit, but even then it didn't dry your mouth out, it just left you with a sense of heavy, heavy stuffing. This strikes me as something many years away from its drinking zone.
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This was just a magic bottle of wine. This must ne the best Brunello I have ever had. What a lovely and vomplex wine this is. Elegant red fruit with a gorgeous length.
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very good but not so good as I expected, and I remembered by my tasting of august 2009. Brillant and rather trasparent red, nose not so complex and intense, with dry leaves, little red fruits, red oranges. When I drank it I felt equilibrium, acidity, quite fine tannins and a sweet final. Much better the taste than the smell.
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The 1999 Case Basse showed much better than the 1988 Case Basse that this wine was served against. Dark color, with nice flavors of dark fruit. Large, rugged tannins that still need time to smooth out. Much more depth in this wine with a 20-30 second finish. Perhaps we were drinking this too early. Very good wine. Try again in 5 years.
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I can't help but think that the 1999 Soldera Riserva will be a great wine, but not yet. Lots of tannins and lucious fruit but needs a minimum of another 5 years in the bottle.
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2/27/2024 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 96 Points
A Diverse Set of Wines in Honor of a Visiting Friend (Los Olivos, CA): Slow-ox'ed for about 6 hours. This bottle showed how well the wine continues to evolve in my experience, with a powerful and fresh nose showing red fruit and spice. Concentrated and energetic, with fine tannins and loads of dark cherry, some sweet mint and a dizzying array of exotic spice notes. Just fabulous.
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12/21/2023 - lalalalala wrote:
First opened: Dried floral and ripe plum / blueberry jam. Very approachable. On palate, the structure is quite bold.
3 hours bottle decant, the body gets more linear. Some aged Pu’er, smokiness, some eucalyptus, dried rose petal, dried sage, aged citrus peel marmalade. Suede texture.
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3/1/2023 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Pre-Paulee Warm-up Dinner (House of Nanda - Chicago IL): 99/04 paired. I was not thrilled with either. Lots here, but the structure of this 1999 overshadowed the fruit, and I found this less pristine than I'd prefer, too.
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3/1/2023 - Nanda wrote: 94 Points
Pre La Paulée Dinner with friends (Home): 99/04 side-by-side. More purity and clarity of fruit here vs. the 04. Incredible elegance. A soulful wine.
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5/1/2022 - RayOB Likes this wine: 95 Points
Drank in London
Still holding well
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12/28/2021 - Derek Darth Taster Likes this wine: 97 Points
99/01 Brunello Showdown Night. Tasted semi-blind. Drank in Conterno Sensory.
Guessed by most correctly. Also (thankfully) the crowd favourite.
Appearance is clear, medium intensity, garnet colour. Legs.
Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of floral red roses, licorice, nicely ripe red cherries. Developing.
On the palate, dry, very high lifted acidity, medium+ alcohol (14%), seamless smooth gliding resolved tannins, medium+ body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with graceful flavours of sweet earth, licorice, ripe red cherries, melted potpourri flowers. Long finish.
Really awesome Brunello. Excellent quality. Maybe not the most complex, but the seamless mouthfeel and grace are the aspects that make this wine shine. Already so good to drink, and still has freshness and lift to age another 5+ years well I think.
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8/29/2021 - jchan1 wrote: 94 Points
Mouthful, chewy. Tannins a touch too prominent for my likings. Attractive nonetheless.
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5/18/2021 - mchern02 wrote: 97 Points
2 Hour Decant
Highly complex nose with dark rich red fruit, rose petals, herbs, spice, cloves, forest floor, and wet leather. Tremendously balanced but still youthful and powerful (but homehow light on its toes) once tasted with a variety of fruity as well as secondary and tertiary notes (nutmeg, cinnamon, red fruit). Epic finish.
Fantastic; a real winner
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3/7/2021 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 97 Points
Big, dark, powerful and delicious.
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10/8/2019 - winemaker Likes this wine: 96 Points
Gorgeous Brunello! Powerful, deep and rich. Smooth and elegant too! A tour de force! Should hold for years.
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5/2/2019 - Dave Canada wrote: 97 Points
Nose is super complex...leather, red fruits, red flowers, spice, cedar, earth and moss.
Palate is pure cashmere...so silky...perfect balance of primary, secondary and tertiary flavors....red plum, cherry, raspberry, flowers, cinnamon, clove, leather, cedar, earth and moss.
Finish is soooooo long....wow...so complex
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8/5/2018 - Ms. Bubblehead Likes this wine:
This was my favorite Soldera of the night. Quite fresh on the nose, with smoke, licorice, red cherry, violet, and forest floor. On the palate, even deeper than other vintages, with complex spices, red fruits, cherry, plum, and firm acidity. Tannin was gentle yet provide good length to the wine. The wine seems still young to me with long ageing potential. My favourite wines of that night was 1999 vintage, followed by 1998 and 1996, and then 1991.
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8/2/2018 - Burgnick Likes this wine: 94 Points
Beautiful and concentrated nose with flowers, potburri, iron, and sweet red currant. Palate was so powerful and dense yet weightless with that orange peel and sweet red currant fruit. The finish was very long. The underlying substances were screaming to be unleashed. Still tight now but very nice for a youthful soldera. Long long life ahead.
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7/16/2018 - cbforever1 Likes this wine: 96 Points
In a sweet spot right now. Transitioning from primary qnd fruity tones to more developed and mature aromas. Tannins are not bothering anymore.
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12/14/2017 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 96 Points
In stunning form after a 2-hour decant. Nowhere near fully developed but revealing what could come, though peak may be two decades away. Bold nose of red fruit, spice and florality. Intense, structured and energetic, with fine tannins and notes of dark cherry, sweet mint and a myriad of exotic spice. A big step up in concentration and intensity relative to the normale, which I’ve had twice of late. This is a fine example of what makes Soldera the greatest expression of Sangiovese for me.
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5/22/2017 - galenico Likes this wine: 94 Points
L' annata straordinaria si riflette in un Soldera diverso dalle Riserve post 2000. Qui niente fiori, niente eleganza borgognona, né moquette e satin.
E' un vinone massiccio, scuro, balsamico, che incarna alla perfezione l' essenza del Sangiovese purosangue in tutta la sua tenacia tridimensionale. A chi è in cerca di eleganza, profumi soavi e finezza, consiglio il 2001.
Vino completo, assoluto e di integrità e gioventù ancora scalpitanti.
Consiglio di aspettare ancora qualche annetto, ma è già una bevuta di assoluto livello.
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4/24/2017 - Burgnick wrote: 94 Points
This is impressive with prunes, tart, earth, menthol, meat, hawflakes and to charcoa. Palate has lots of stuffing with soaring acidity. I think this has just entered its drinking window when things have integrated so nicely! Having the regular 99 twice, I really dont see the difference vs the riserva.
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2/28/2015 - Christine Havens Likes this wine: 95 Points
One of the most profound Brunellos I've ever tasted, the Soldera Riserva 1999 has a nose that is both infinitely complex and pungent. Alluring aromas of dried rose petals, dark cherries, game, saddle leather, damp tilth, decaying leaves, anise, and sandalwood waft from the glass. Truly, it's the iron fist in the velvet glove—incredibly intense and powerful, yet totally refined, elegant and balanced. Caressing ultra-fine tannins shore up notes of sweet tobacco, dried herbs, and cinnamon bark. I am undone.
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7/10/2014 - Button Yang Likes this wine: 99 Points
My wine of the first half year. Very possibly wine of the year. It might have the most elegant(or even teasing!) aromas that I have ever smelled, just like dews on newly-cutted rose petal. After the ocean of rose, it comes black tea, cinnamon,cloves, truffle, tar... The mouth feeling is all in purity, rounded,extremely balanced, with long long finish.After a while, the tannins seems to be awake and leaves me fine-grained and structured sensation. I wish that I could have this wine every day.
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6/28/2014 - JJB007 Likes this wine: 98 Points
nice
i like it
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5/6/2014 - paolonardi Likes this wine:
Brunello di Montalcino: Liquirizia dolce (quella nera tonda avvolta su se stessa) nettissima, china, tamarindo, radici, menta fresca. Molto buono, il più grosso della batteria e decisamente il meno preciso, è il primo che mi fa pensare di volerlo abbinare a tavola.
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11/23/2013 - boston wrote:
Visto il blasone e da appassionato di Soldera con alle spalle bevute fantastiche di questo vino devo dire che questa volta non sono state rispettate le aspettative.
Il naso è statico, poco piacevole mentre la bocca è molto meglio ma non appagante come altre volte
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9/1/2013 - esburgundy wrote: 93 Points
Opened with Troy. Soldera is special for a reason! Italian burgundy in a glass. The last bottle I had was the 1990 vintage which was spectacular. The 99 had great length just a hint of bite at the end, which with cellaring should dissipate. Looking forward to the next bottle.
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6/11/2013 - scamhi wrote:
fantastic wine. decanted for 30 minutes and it was firing. Bright acidity ripe fruit yet weightless. silky tannins.
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5/13/2013 - Sleepy Dave wrote: 95 Points
Alcohol :: 14%
Decanted for 60mins and drink for next 2hrs. Well, what am I having here? My very first Soldera and man, I seriously need to stock some in my cellar. This is the most beautiful Sangiovese I ever had. Stunningly rich and perfume aromas that blossom in the glass and continue to evolve during lunch. Sweet red and dark fruits, roses, tar and truffle that wrapped in an highly focus, seductive package. Still young and dense that loaded with perfectly ripe fruits. Mouth coating intensity an it numbs the palate in a silent way. The structure is massive together with the ripe and sweet tannin that formed the great sense of harmony that you find yourself keeps repeating these steps: empty-refill-empty-refill..... The finished is full of complex layer of fruits, roses and savory tone. By far the most elegance and refine BdM I have had. This will continue to evolve for at least another decade effortlessly. 95-96+
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7/31/2011 - Keith Levenberg wrote:
So dense and saturating that I didn't even notice the tannin til the back end, when it turned out to be just as dense with tannin as it previously was with deep bloody sangiovese fruit, but even then it didn't dry your mouth out, it just left you with a sense of heavy, heavy stuffing. This strikes me as something many years away from its drinking zone.
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4/30/2011 - St Paul wrote: 98 Points
This was just a magic bottle of wine. This must ne the best Brunello I have ever had. What a lovely and vomplex wine this is. Elegant red fruit with a gorgeous length.
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8/28/2010 - Dr.F wrote: 94 Points
bouquet not completely full due to youth, but still nice leather, earth, spice. bright red with fruity palate and above average length
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5/4/2010 - Bogho wrote: 90 Points
very good but not so good as I expected, and I remembered by my tasting of august 2009. Brillant and rather trasparent red, nose not so complex and intense, with dry leaves, little red fruits, red oranges. When I drank it I felt equilibrium, acidity, quite fine tannins and a sweet final. Much better the taste than the smell.
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3/12/2010 - rthun wrote: 94 Points
The 1999 Case Basse showed much better than the 1988 Case Basse that this wine was served against. Dark color, with nice flavors of dark fruit. Large, rugged tannins that still need time to smooth out. Much more depth in this wine with a 20-30 second finish. Perhaps we were drinking this too early. Very good wine. Try again in 5 years.
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1/8/2010 - edge wrote: 93 Points
I can't help but think that the 1999 Soldera Riserva will be a great wine, but not yet. Lots of tannins and lucious fruit but needs a minimum of another 5 years in the bottle.
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10/5/2005 - 97mjr wrote:
Under the Tuscan Sun/Florence Rain; 10/1/2005-10/7/2005 (Tuscany): (SW) lighter traditional style. bright red fruit, long smooth, elegant finish; though similar to the BS in style, remarkably smoother and much more complex. A stunning wine.
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