1993 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino

Community Tasting Notes (9) Avg Score: 88.7 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View mwagner7700's profile
  • Report Issue

  10/1/2022 - mwagner7700 wrote:

  Wow. What a surprise. What a fantastic surprise for this rainy weekend. This wine has a great story and this is my final bottle and I couldn't have when imagined a better final chapter. Purchased for $11. Yes, you read that right. $11. Back in 2006, a small wine store today is no longer around, was cleaning out inventory and was asking for bids on many "final bottles". This 1993 Altesino was part of a 9-bottle lot. I placed a bid for $99 for all 9 bottles, figuring someone would put in a much higher bid. To my surprise, I got a call two days later informing me of my winning bid. To this day, this was my greatest wine find. I drank a majority of these by 2009 and each bottle has been "hit or miss". I saved one bottle for an experiment. Every now and again, I see it in my cellar and think about opening it. But I kinda figured I'd save it as a "trophy" wine and never actually drink it. I don't know what made me pull it out tonight, but WOW. The cork broke in half while extracting, but it was still in good shape. This is a translucent burnt garnet in color with browning and an orange rim. The nose is just phenomenal with tar, rubber, stone, underbrush, leather and cedar. No primary fruit remaining, but an ever-so-slight hint of cherry. Really balanced acidity and even some tannins left. Medium finish. This was really a beautiful unexpected surprise. I really didn't expect much from this bottle and this completely blew me away. BRAVO!!!!! ENCORE!!!! Grade: A

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View RR47's profile
  • Report Issue

  1/25/2009 - RR47 wrote: 88 Points

  Earthy tones, little fruit, but some cherry. Tannins are soft. This was OK with a steak, but had hoped for a little more life. Decanted and tasted immediately. Didn't change much into the 2nd hour.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View TheFoodieTraveler's profile
  • Report Issue

  7/19/2008 - TheFoodieTraveler wrote: 85 Points

  sadly was all tannins fruit was gone. We did not even finish the bottle

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View TheFoodieTraveler's profile
  • Report Issue

  4/1/2008 - TheFoodieTraveler wrote: 88 Points

  Just ok. Agree with previous reviewer; tannins too big. By the time they come down, fruit may be gone

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View mwagner7700's profile
  • Report Issue

  6/9/2007 - mwagner7700 wrote: 88 Points

  Popped and poured. Dark maroon in color with noticible bricking on the edge, boardering tan/brown. Notes of petrol, mineral, cherry, smoke and cranberry. Still quite tannic, I'm afraid the fruit won't outlive the tannins. I may hold my final bottle for a year or so to see what happens. 87-89 points.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

View all 9 Community Tasting Notes

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.