TN: 1999 Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT

Sigh. Purchased two bottles 17.5 years ago and finally opened one. I wish I had a case. This is just fantastic!

• 1999 Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT (11/27/2018)
  Wow, this is screamingly good right now. Still young but so fresh, balancing the cherry and shoe leather of a Chianti with the deeper tobacco and depth reminiscent of a Brunello or even a great Bordeaux. This didn’t stand a chance, just drinking perfectly. (95 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

A near-OMFG?

I think this has to be my fave Supertuscan and I have tasted Sassicaia, Tig, Ornellaia, Solaia and Masseto. Any vintage of this wine never fails to bring a broad smile to my face.

Maluhia,

Mike

I love Flaccianello. It’s a wonderful wine every year.

It’s not really comparable to most of the big name SuperTuscans, though, even though it uses the IGT designation. It’s all Sangiovese from vineyards in Panzano. Ornellaia and Sassicaia are Bordeaux blends from Bolgheri. Tignanello has a decent percentage of Sangiovese and is from Chianti, but it, too, is to some extent a Bordeaux blend.

To experienced Flaccianello drinkers, how long do I keep my bottles away before I open one? I have these vintages: 2011, 2013 & 2015.

19 years seems like a nice time…

Hey stranger!

I love this wine. I drank my last bottle of the 99 a couple of years ago with a dear, dear friend who died of cancer some months later; it as the last time I saw her. It makes me very melancholy to see this note.

Unfortunately, I’d say a long time. It benefits from bottle age as much as any sangio wine I know. You might look at that Cellartracker site and see how those specific years are drinking, but (esp if you don;'t have a number of bottles) I’d recommend burying them.

The 2001 was superb in March this year. I’d say it was close to peaking, but will likely hold for a long time before it shows any signs of decline. All yours are at least a decade too young I’d say. In my experience it’s not a wine which rewards early drinking, in contrast to some of the other Super Tuscans which can drink well early.

2011 Flaccianello, from a reputed “lesser” vintage (and I’m not sure I entirely agree) is really a strong, concentrated wine that is in need of lots of cellar time to unfurl. Congrats on owning this, as the '11 is really a great wine at a lesser price than some of the more celebrated vintages.

Well, the 2003 tasted earlier this year:

"2003 Flaccianello della Piave

I just had a quick sip of this—it was surprisingly fresh for the vintage and had traces of leather to the clear red fruit nose and palate. Maybe not as memorable as the 07, it was still quite enjoyable."


1995 tried 5 years ago

"1995 Flaccianello della Piave

Seductive nuzzie, just-right herbs, berry fruit, plum and cocoa. And this is smooth like silk. Very expressive with red licorice and bright red fruit. It is king with my Peking Duck and as sexy as it gets in a sophisticated way. WOTN and probably a 92 for me."

My last bottle of the 1997 was great in January of this year.

Sadly this has escalated in price.

Hey Neal, sorry to trigger the sad memory. I hope you are doing well.

Maybe bittersweet rather than melancholy. I enjoyed the note.

One of my favourite wines! Can’t wait for mine to mature. I tried the 2009 earlier this year and it is probably 5-10 years away from showing well. Prices have really soared in recent years.