Italy looms, literally. I go to Rome at the end of month for nearly 3 weeks. I have been wanting to drink ‘local’ before I actially went local and have been seeing all of these amazing deals. What gives? Is 2011 that bad and/or abundant?
Grazie mille!
Here’s JFO’s take
Great read. Thanks.
Producers were surprised that they managed to make good wine in 11, despite some inconsistency from estate to estate. Generally very accessible, with good ripe fruit, but not hot or jammy like 09s can be, good elegance and personality. What I really enjoyed was that the 2011s tend to maintain their personality (also in contrast to hot vintages) and their charm.
Few surprise estates for me, the one’s I usually love I really enjoyed, especially for early drinking. This goes for any central Italian sangiovese.
Looks like Col di Lamo is worth the trip!
I loved all the 2011 wines we tasted from Poggio di Sotto while we were in Italy last November. Bind Santi was quite classic in style…but the prices there are VERY different from here. €85/bottle at the winery.
Ron, thanks for the link. No idea who JFO is, but it was a good read. Brunello hasn’t been a traditional buy of mine, but I’ve been investigating & buying more over the past 2 vintages as they remain one of the few old world bargains in my market and I’ve enjoyed 2 dinners in the past year or so with friends with some well cellared bottles. He/she does score in a small window, but you can read the difference a point here or there makes to the writer.
Appreciate it.
Wow, thanks so much for the mention. After all the flack I received a few years ago, I’ve not been around here. Glad to see that I’m still valued. TuscanVines is growing exponentially so I’m happy you found the article useful. Cheers.
And PS, I’d happily drink 2011 Brunello, especially from a bit higher elevations in the near term. They will be ready.
Here I be!
Thanks! If you need any Rome advice, feel free to email me.
And Collemattoni
I’ve never met John, but his blog is very Italian positive, always fun to read, and keep up on. Your not going to find a really negative review out of John, but I have a feeling he just skips those that made something that didn’t totally click and moves on to something else good. The guy loves Italian wine and looks for the upside in each one, plus he does have what seems to be some excellent detail to share on the many estates. I doubt he’s one who walks through life with a little black rain cloud overhead.
FYI, Suckling has declared 2012 a “rockstar” vintage in Brunello. I’m still waiting for clarification on how that ranks against the “legendary” 2010.
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They are really good. The examples I’ve had so far, final bottled wines but not yet released, are very good. That said, I’m not sure it’s better than 2010. 2015 will be better than both.
Rob, I am defined not a negative person. If a wine is properly made but I don’t like it, I try to get that across and not let it affect my commentary. If a wine is just badly made, I will review it unless I have a reason to think it was flawed. Truth is, there are very few “poor” wines. The Italians have come a long way. When I don’t like a wine, it’s usually because of a lack of tipicity or style.
Anyway, thanks for your nice remarks. I do appreciate them.
J
If you want to drink really local, you should be drinking Piglio or some other wines from cesanese grapes, or Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, or maybe Sagrantino. Montalcino is 2 1/2 hours by car from Rome.
Galloni’s take on the 2011 Brunellos is outside the pay wall. He makes it sound very uneven:
The 2011 Brunellos have a hard task, as they are nestled between the superb 2010s and the highly promising 2012s… The best 2011 Brunellos are racy, open-knit and seductive, all qualities that make them well-suited for near to medium-term drinking…
Because of the stressed conditions of the year, the 2011 Brunellos are highly uneven across the board. I place 2011 behind 2010, but ahead of 2009, a year with which 2011 shares some similarities, the biggest being the generally forward, advanced qualities that are found in many wines. With a few exceptions, the 2011s are wines that will drink well with minimal cellaring and that are likely to age at a faster pace than normal.
I tasted more than a few 2011 Brunellos with advanced, bricked/orangeish tonalities of color and the accompanying developed flavors that are much more typical of older wines. The vintage is much stronger on the northern side of Montalcino, where temperatures are generally cooler than in the south, and where a number of key vineyards sit at higher altitudes… [In the south] the normally dry, arid conditions influenced by nearby Maremma were taken to nearly unbearable levels by the August heat spike [with temperatures around 100F]…
There are only a few estates that plan on bottling a 2011 Riserva, including Salicutti, Poggio di Sotto and Le Potazzine.
Mike, if you are in Rome for 3 weeks and haven’t previously checked it out, put Roscioli on your list of restaurants to visit. I think the full name is Salumeria Roscioli, but for some killer Burrata, a great bread basket and a super Italian wine list in a casual environment, hard to beat. Lunch or dinner.
I noticed in John’s post on The new book on Piedmont thread that he had a link to another Italian guy that had takes on both the 2011 and the 2012 vintages. Amazing the amount of info out there, not saying the least about the knowledge shared on this board.
So how would 2011 compare with 2013? Lush vs taut (or lean)?