I was visiting one of my best friends tonight, and this friend is quite passionate about Italian wine, so that’s what we usually drink together.
Tonight he pulled out a bottle he said he had been saving. The label was torn off enough that there was no vintage designation visible anywhere, but he said he had bought it for five or ten dollars at some wine shop in Venice during a trip to Italy in 1990. My guess would be something in the 1985-1988 range based on the label and what I tasted, although I could easily be wrong. This is not the much more famous Brunello but rather appears to be some sort of base bottling, perhaps from declassified fruit.
The cork came out cleanly in one piece, with good firmness and soaked about halfway up. The color remained rather deep for its age, albeit with some bricking.
The nose was attractive and revealed a wine with plenty of life, although there was not that much notable to the nose other than freshness.
The palate was a whole different story, with great structure evidenced by good grip at the first taste, fresh acidity and abundant red-fruit flavors including flashes of sour cherry and raspberry and some occasional hints of strawberry. The mouthfeel and balance was excellent with a clean, medium length finish.
Slight demerits for lack of complexity on the nose and the dearth of non-fruit complexity on the palate. With that being said, what was there was perfectly en pointe and really, could we reasonably claim that this was doing anything but showing the very best it possibly could?
I am so very happy I got to try this wine and once again I am fortunate enough to try a very inexpensive wine with some real age on it that shines and surprises. Overall an absolutely lovely, mature wine that far outstripped its price point and reminds me of why I continue to indulge in this insanity.
What vintage? Do you have a photo? If the Rosso label was tan and had a red banner across it…it was a year where the fruit was not “good enough” for the Brunello…They did it in 2014.
Reminds me of one of the more devious tricks of the auction crowd, taking a bottle of (say) 1984 Bordeaux, tearing the vintage slip so the 4 and some of the 8 is removed, then putting it into auction as ‘Vintage unknown - believed to be 1982’. Buyer beware indeed.
Kirk, I will have to have another look at the label next time I visit my friend’s place (he kept the bottle). The label was indeed tan, but I don’t recall whether there was red lettering on the label or not. The label looked like other pictures I saw of the Rosso label. A declassified vintage of the Brunello certainly seems plausible, especially if such a thing happened sometime during the 80s. However, I also know there are other years in which the Rosso and Brunello were both released based on a very short google search on my phone last night.
It sure was a fun François Audouze moment, though.
Ian, nobody would have bothered to fake this over 25 years ago (or even now) so I’m pretty sure it is what it purported to be, a base bottling from a very good source. But yeah, when it comes to Bordeaux and Burgundy especially, it’s buyer beware.
Here is a photo of the difference…The one on the far left is the regular rosso, the one to the right of it with the red streak is from a year they didn’t make any Brunello.
Ah, that’s tremendously helpful. We definitely had the regular bottling. Same label as the bottle on the left, but missing the neck label with the vintage.
Well…this seems like a good reminder that some folks make Rosso that can age well…
Poggio di Sotto comes to mind here for me. I visited both places on our trip to Tuscany and found myself far more impressed w/ Poggio di Sorto for aging & balance. But no question Biondi Santi knows what they’re doing…glad you had an awesome experience with this!!
