I ask that to be provocative. But I’m serious, too. I’m sipping a 2016 Caprili Rosso ($17-$25), whose nose gives off an intensely earthy note – think wet, wet dirt – as well as classic sangiovese sour cherries. Both were there when I popped the cork two days ago, and they’re still there in the back half of the bottle, which I poured into a 375ml and refrigerated. Yes, it’s drinkable now, but this has substantial tannin and acid, so I think it will age for a few years.
I have had so, so many disappointing Brunellos with some age on them, but I keep stumbling on rossos that have a lot of complexity and structure and give more pleasure from release up to five to seven years from the vintage than most of the mature Brunello’s I’ve had. Lisini, Le Chiuse and Mastrojanni rossos have stood out, and now Caprili. (Here’s the NY distributor’s web page on the winery.)
By contrast, a lot of Brunellos either remain too tannic even after 15+ years, show too much alcohol or too much VA (or both), and never seem to come into balance. I’ve also had my share of tired, over-the-hill bottles that shouldn’t have been. (Note: I have tended to buy more traditional and cooler-vintage Brunello, not '97 and '07. When a friend ran a tasting of '97s a few years back, many of them showed fading fruit and alcohol – not a pretty combo.)
Other than the '99 Mastrojanni 10 or 12 years ago, I’m hard pressed to remember an aged Brunello that really sang for me.
I tend to like my wines younger than most and I have been finding my sweet spot is 10-12 yrs post vintage for Brunello. Certain vintages like 2012 will need longer. I just had a 2007 Collemattoni Vigna Fontelontano Riserva that was incredible. Mostly resolved tannins and still great cherry with mint and earth notes. It was singing, and it was an eye-opener and conversation starter at the table and I don’t recall ever having a rosso that gave me a similar reaction. I’ll keep drinking both but definitely not giving up on brunello!
Brunello is most assuredly a mess these days, which saddens me because when I first got interested in wine and my father started opening bottles from his collection to share with me, we also started dining in some of his favorite Houston restaurants with good wine lists- including Carmelo’s. The food was quite superb back in the day (sadly, the restaurant is now closed), as was the wine list- and I had many a fine Brunello there from the 80s and 90s.
As for other options- I admit I have an insane passion for Soldera. While the current going rate of $500-650 seems high, relative to where Soldera used to be the wines are relatively cheap (though that is little comfort for many of us- me included.) I remember in the late 90s when the store I worked at finally got an allocation of Soldera. The owner was so excited about it. We got 2 bottles of the 1991 Riserva, and at standard markup they came out to $209.95 each. Just to give some comparisons- at the time that was higher than the release price of the first growths and most DRC wines (93-94 vintages), which were already starting their strong upward trend in the secondary market. After Romanee Conti, DRC Montrachet and Petrus- those were the 2 most expensive current release bottles we had in the shop!
These days, I just buy what little Soldera I can afford and resign myself to occasionally enjoying an outstanding Brunello. I also like Val di Suga, but the wines rarely come into Texas- so I can only get them sporadically. I would also note that Val di Suga tends to be on what some might call the modern side- not excessively in my view, but now I definitely drink them before age 25. I would not hold them forever like Soldera as they can get a little pruney for me otherwise.
If you want a more comprehensive resource- John Gilman’s View from the Cellar might be for you. He has really railed against a lot of what is happening in Brunello- especially since the 2006 vintage- and with a subscription you would be able to see all of his TNs archived on CT, the good and the bad. If I am ever offered an unfamiliar Brunello that a merchant is highly recommending, Gilman is where I go first for TNs.
EDIT- to address the Rosso option, I think you make some good sense there. I do not buy Rosso to cellar, but at customer tastings I have had some real beauties lately- notably Valdicava. There is a case to be made for enjoying Rossos at that level young and not bothering with cellaring the minefield of Brunellos out there.
I don’t know whether it’s cellar-worthy, but it restored my faith that somebody can still deliver a fine wine at $50 [after passing through the entirety of the 3-Tier System].
I think both appellations are minefields and it only makes sense to buy from producers you know to really like (then again, aren’t most regions like that?). That being said Stella di Campalto’s Rosso can be better than most Brunellos, although the price reflects that.
My first answer is, no. But you do need to be selective depending on what you are looking for in the wine. No doubt that a lot of good producers make good - very good - great RdM. And they deliver a lot of value also. I too find the sweet spot at about 10 years of age for Brunello. One of the sad facts about wine is that as you climb the scale in quality the price increases dramatically as you approach the top. This is true with many/most wines including RdM. Nowhere is it more true than with Burgundy.
I think you forgot to add wood as well, but I suppose careful producer selection could mitigate this.
But your thoughts have illustrated what I’ve secretly thought when I open a Brunello that, upon opening, wonder why it justified celllaring and expense. I’m still waiting… People used to say what a crapshoot Burgundy can be, but Brunello can lead to a numbing disappointment, as to “this is 95 points?”
I’m still a major Brunello fan but I prefer fruit from elevated vineyards. Le Ragnaie at 600 masl comes to mind. I rarely get excited over anything grown at lower grounds south-west of the village, where I think it’s too warm and soils are too rich. Generally speaking, I’m looking for producers loving Burgundy wines:)
Another thing I factor when buying for the personal cellar is the size of the barrels; 30 hl is my choice for Brunello (as with Barolo/Barbaresco) as the prolonged ageing requirements often leave the consumers with a dried-out Sangio fruit character (which I don’t like), when aged in smaller casks.
That said, I like Siri Pacenti a lot. While more tilting towards Bordeaux in style, I still their wines are impeccably made.
Very much like to OP, I enjoy Rosso di Montalcino very much, and there’s a boatload of bargains to be found.
I can’t say that Brunello was ever a mainstay for me, but between the rather boring experiences I have had over, say, the last 5-7 years and the widespread fraud in the region, it isn’t something I look to buy. Ever. I delete offers as soon as they come in.
I love Brunello and have no plans to stop buying it. It’s all about knowing the producers and where the grapes are from. I have a lot in my cellar but its from a limited number of producers, a mix of modernists and traditionalists, high elevations and low elevations. The producers from whom I purchase tend to be consistent and reliable for my palate. Of course YMMV. The crapshoot is buying something just because it says “Brunello” on the label.
To the original point, I buy a lot of Rossos each year, but again it’s primarily from the same producers. I don’t intend to age them but that happens sometimes unintentionally and, while they can age, they don’t substitute for the Brunellos, so I’ll keep buying both. There’s no question that some producers’ Rossos are better than others’ Brunellos, but that shouldn’t be a surprise.
I agree, buy from producers you’ve tried and liked. I’m still a novice but my wife decided she really enjoys Brunello so will continue to buy selectively. Rossos can be a great value and some benefit from short term aging.
Interesting topic. In most cases, I’d rather have a good Chianti than a RdM. I look at RdM sort of like the second wines of Bordeaux. There are some exceptions, though. I do like Stella di Campalto Rosso. I’ve liked some Uccelliera.
I like tend to like a lot of the less acclaimed vintages of Brunello. I think less can be more, sometimes. I was really impressed with a recent 2012 Ragnaie Brunello and think that might be a style you would like. Red fruited, structured, mint.
I don’t know if we have different tastes; or you have more experience than I (which I know you do!); or the wines you had were not stored properly. But when we did a tasting here in Seattle of 97 Tuscans (mostly Brunellos), many of them were drinking really well. Having said that, I am not sure that Brunello’s excite me so much at the current price level, so I am grateful for your recommendation of the RdMs. I will definitely look for them. I actually have a lot of wine for the long term, but need some short to medium term reds, so those might fit nicely.
This is a good topic.
Love a Good Brunello as well as a good Rosso.
Have had some success with Renieri’s Brunello as well as their Rosso.
The 2013 RDM was very nice and the 14 is getting a 92 from JS.
I really liked the 13 though.
I have had some success with other RDM’s such as Tassi 2013 (Last Bottle buy) as well as La Fortuna 2015 (Also LB).
Very nice.
But I can sympathize with the Brunello comments as they can be underwhelming at times.
I had had a 2008 Livio Sassetti Pertimali at a wine gathering in 2016. This was after a lot of other wines.
I thought it was amazing at the time.
Later on after getting a couple of bottles…not so much including the last bottle opened within the last month.
I did get a couple of La Serena 2012’s at a favorite store with great prices in NJ.
WS had given them a classic score of 96
96 Wine Spectator
“Enticing from the first aromas of fresh cherry, violet and spice, this supple red is balanced and expressive. Matches an elegant fame with a firm backbone of tannins and lively acidity. Very Persistent on the long, detailed aftertaste. Best from 2020 through 2036.”
So I grabbed two and haven’t tried yet.
So in addition to having 10,11, & 12 Renieri BDM
Also have 2 Terralsole 2010 BDM Riserva
Saving those for a bit.
(2) Caparzo 1995
2013 Caparzo
Fanti 2012
An 11 Renieri Riserva
I like Sangiovese!
There is even a Caparzo Sangio Toscana for 10$ that is good.
But I can relate about Brunello’s that seem a bit underwhelming and Rosso’s that hit the palate just right.
Try the 14 Renieri RDM
Total… or maybe I should now say Partial Wine carries the Renieri.
I agree with many of the above comments. If I want a nice affordable Sangiovese, chianti is the more interesting choice for me, not RdM, and that’s coming from someone who loves Brunello, despite the difficulties the region has had. Also too much crap from the valley floors, no proper subzones, clumsy application of oak given the long aging time, has made Montalcino a tough area to navigate. It’s one of the only regions I buy in that I’ll almost never get the riserva. I always prefer the style of the annata as that extra year in oak the riserva gets rarely seems necessary.
Despite the above challenges, the appellation is doing better and better, and quality is actually pretty high right now, it remains my favorite DOC/G for Sangiovese and there are good affordable options that are doing great things.
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