Mentholated cherries on a very primary nose - for a very young wine, this nose is pretty likable.
Tart red fruits, nice acidity and a tannic finish. I think this wine has a nice future ahead of it, although it’s approachable enough right now that it’s really not a crime to drink a bottle.
Her wines can be a little pricey when it comes to Brunello, but I find the purity of fruit and elegance that they tend to display makes them worth the additional tariff.
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2008 Gulfi Sicilia Neromaccarj - Italy, Sicily, Sicilia (5/22/2015)
Dark translucent ruby in the glass; very ripe, red-fruited nose - borders on, but doesn’t quite get to raisin.
While the nose gave me pause, nicely balanced on the palate, with decent persistence on the finish. Adequate acidity that frames the ripe fruit - not bad at all.
Posted from CellarTracker
Bob, I’ve never tried Stella di Campalto, but your note makes my lips smack. Brunello w/Pizza. Life can’t be too bad. Hope all is well.
Henry, I like her style of winemaking. She’s still relatively new on the scene, so I don’t know where I would place her qualitatively until I see the wines with a little more age on them, but the early returns are encouraging.
One thing to note that I have mixed feelings about - starting in 2009, she decided to bottle her production as either Rosso or Riserva’s, so the old Normale will now carry an extra year of wood aging.
I did order some, but haven’t had the opportunity to taste it yet.
Bob,
Did the style change at Stella? I remember having a pre-2007 Stella Brunello that was very concentrated and lacking the elegance you mention.
The production is low driving up the retail price but the wine is worth it once you get over chocking on the prices. I love the freshness, balance and depth of these wines. Taste like eating grapes right off the vine. I need to buy some more but the sourcing offers limited options.
Tom, I would say to some degree she has been “learning on the job”, so I think the later vintages are closer to the style she is trying to achieve. I haven’t had it in a while, but my recollection was that I didn’t think her 2005 was nearly as good as this 2007.
I am looking forward to the 2009 Riserva release with my fingers crossed, as that is not exactly a “classic” vintage for her first release to carry an extra year’s worth of wood, so we shall see.
I haven’t pulled a cork on one yet, but off the bottle last night, I’m betting her 2008 will be pretty nice.