TN: 1999 Cerbaiona (Molinari) Brunello di Montalcino

WINE TALK
1

A glorious, multifaceted nose with dark strawberry and cherry fruit, clove, spice, balsam and roses. Sublime. Deep and expansive on the palate with terrific sap and density coupled with a sense of weightless power. Texturally this is the iron fist in a velvet glove. It’s rich, yet detailed, focused, and incredibly long, finishing with some clamping somewhat bitter tannins that keep this from being truly monumental. Fantastic by most measures. Sadly my last bottle. Drinking wonderfully right now. (96 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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2

Thanks for the TN. I’ve never had this producer’s Brunello. I will seek them out.

3

Be prepared to pay for this. Very rare and very expensive.

4

I have never had the official Brunello, but the first VDT Rosso (which was a blend of 2 vintages of Brunello) ist terrific, and a screaming deal. I really backed up the truck.

5

And you certainly want the Molinari-era wines.

6

Todd,

Thanks for the great note. I was able to source a single bottle of the 2006, which will sleep awhile.

Cheers,
Doug

7

Thanks for reading everyone. This was a pretty special bottle, and among the growing list of producers I love but no longer buy. ‘04 being my last vintage. I’ve not had any post Molinari era Cerbaiona. Diego Molinari’s wines are fantastic and a special treat anytime I open one of my dwindling stash.

8

The 2006 is magnificent. It left an indelible mark on a small group of us a year and a half ago.

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9

Thank you, Adrian. This is good to know.

Cheers,
Doug

10

Yup, wonderful stuff and hard to find (and pay for). The 2015 VDT Rosso, the last vintage he made, supposedly is the Brunello juice, if you can find it.

11

I opened a bottle of the 2015 VDT Rosso last June for research purposes. Consistent with what Joshua wrote, the entry in my spreadsheet is “2015 Rosso di Montalcino (Declassified Brunello)”. On day one, I was repaid with wave after wave of fine grain tannins. The fruit was mostly in hiding. Later in the week, a dense core of red fruit finally emerged. Obviously, I should have waited. I plan to open my only other bottle circa 2030. I’m also on the hunt for some earlier vintages of the Brunello.