I saw Markus’ post over in the “Best Brunellos” thread about how difficult he has found it to try and figure out the Sangiovese grape. Now before it sounds like I’m picking on him, I will preface my comments by saying that I value Markus’ input on the Board - he’s a long-time member who seems to drink pretty widely, so when he posts something, I think it comes from someone with a good background on the subject.
But the first thought I had when reading his commentary was how is Sangiovese different than any other grape/region in that regard? Do you know what you will get when you open a Riesling? Nebbiolo? Burgundy? It seems to me that, with the obvious exception of the 20,000 case production Bordeaux chateau, there aren’t a lot of wine regions where you can taste broadly and not find a significant degree of diversity between producers.
For me, Sangiovese is about as food-friendly of a grape as you will find - I love it with pizza or pasta, but it also can work with grilled beef, veal and pork. While I have more Nebbiolo in my cellar, Sangiovese is my clear #2 grape, and I drink a lot more of it annually because it has a much wider drinking window.
At any rate, Markus inspired me to liberate three bottles from the cellar that I had standing up, and at three different points in terms of age/evolution, with some stylistic diversity thrown in there as well (the Pacenti being, at least IMO, a clearly modernist take on Brunello).
At any rate, Happy 4th, everyone!
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1999 Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona Brunello di Montalcino Vigna di Pianrosso - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino (7/4/2020)
Well, at least the cork came out intact - much better than the bottle I opened last month ;^)
Mature nose with black & red fruits, beef broth, a hint of funk - a lot going on with the nose here.
Seamless on the palate, fully mature fruit that fans out with good persistence and enough acidity after 20+ years to provide lift. I would think this is pretty much at peak right now, although this probably has enough left in the tank for another decade of drinking pleasure.
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2006 Siro Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino (7/4/2020)
Ripe red and black fruit on the nose, with an earthy note in the background and a slight hit of menthol to boot.
Okay on the palate - for my tastes, a little deficient in acidity, but otherwise not unappealing.
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2011 Podere Salicutti Brunello di Montalcino Piaggione - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino (7/4/2020)
Fresh & lively on the palate, and a good effort from a so-so vintage. More red-fruited on both nose & palate, light- to medium-bodied, and a wine that is probably not destined for the long haul, but is drinking pretty well today and over the next 3-5 years.
Posted from CellarTracker