TN. Visit in Montepulciano - more wines

After 1½ days of driving, my wife and I finally arrived at the agriturismo we will stay in for a week, just outside of Montepulciano. We arrived later than planned, so we quickly went into town to grap something to eat. The town is very lovely, and we will visit it again in the next few days to explore much more. Tonight the focus was to find something local and simple to eat.

Just behind piazza grande we discovered Osteria Del Borgo, which also is an Enoteca. We had some great Carpaccio, Vegetable soup, and local wild boar in tomato sauce which was quite excellent. We sampled some wines before and during dinner, and i was able to jolt down a few notes on some of them:
2009 Boscarelli Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Nocio dei Boscarelli
Young and primary. Nose of red cherry, dusty tuscan soil, perfume and wild flowers. Palate is delivering nice primary red fruit profile, with undergrowth and dust, but at the moment very tight and unapproachable packed in acidity and tannins. contains a lot of stuffing and could develop nicely. This is the 100% Sangiovese top Cuvee from Boscarelli. 91 points.

2007 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova
Expressive nose packed with dusty cherry, dark raspberry, boyrsenberry, roses and tar. Palate is immense, but wonderfully balanced and the oak is actually perfectly integrated. Obviously this is primary and will develop, but is not a sin to open one now. Aftertaste is decidedly floral and tarry, and finishes very long. Excellent. 94 points.

2006 Tenuta Greppo (Biondi-Santi) Brunello di Montalcino
Unsure if there was some fault in the bottle here, as i only tasted a small glass at an enoteca. Some funk on the nose, with red cherry and red raspberry underneath. Rather closed. Palate is yielding very little, just some primary red fruit and acidity, and a strange hollowness in the midpalate which i was not expecting. Needs a ton of time to come together and flesh out. Not rated as i dont know if the bottle was representative, but based on this showing if it doesnt improve with time, this is 89-90 points max.

2007 Poliziano Le Stanze Toscana IGT
70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30 % Merlot. Ripe nose of creamy dark cherry, raspberry and blackberry with faint notes of cedar and teak-tree oil. Palate is smooth and balanced with layers of dark berry fruit held in place by grippy acidity. Welvety mouthfeel. Finished medium-long with finely grained tannins. Will shed some fat over the next few years and probably become more elegant. Nice showing. 91 points

Visit Luca Tiberini if you get a chance, tell him I sent you. Fantastic wines, he’s funny and speaks great English.

http://aziende.virgilio.it/2907398/tiberini-azienda-agricola

Roberto, Thanks. I will try to do that

EDIT! Looked it up on google maps, its literally 2 km from where we are staying. Will definetely be able to visit then. [cheers.gif]

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A sentence which starts with “not rated” and then ends with a very specific rating. Interesting strategy :slight_smile:

Brings back memories of our wonderful stay near Montepulciano in Sept last year. At Podere Lamberto.

Tell Luca that Roberto from Wine Expo in Santa Monica, CA who works with Vitis Imports sent you.

Cernos, you are right. i couldnt help myself. [wow.gif] i felt reluctant to rate because i know that they should probably age ATLEAST 10 years before showing what they got, and secondly because of the funk i got from the bottle which made me think that something was wrong. I ended with a rating because that was my perception of what was in the glass on this showing, to help convey the impression, but i wouldnt be surprised if another bottle showed better. It was only a small glass at Enoteca, and did not have time to follow the wine evolving in glass. pileon

Mattias, nice notes so far. Keep em coming. I think you and I share similar palates and I am not at all surprised by your notes. Curious…what was the Nocio selling for??

Thanks John, i am glad if someone other than me can find my notes useful. The nocio is selling for too much IMHO… 50 EUR

We went back into town this morning and took a nice walk through the city centre. We found a great Enoteca, called La bottega del Nobile which is owned by a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic Sommelier who opened the store 10 years ago together with his brother. This enoteca had great selection, and kind and helpful service. We tasted some more wines:


2008 Godiolo Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
100 % Sangiovese aged in Botti. Perfumed nose of bright red cherry, very primary, a bit harsh. Palate is red fruited and perfumed, with some menthol notes and licorice as well. Very grippy acidity, needs a few years to soften up. Drying tannins on the close. Nice. 90 points


2000 Nottola Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva Del Fattore
Crimson in colour. Fading cherry fruit on the nose, with some mushroom and barnyard smell. Palate is nice but simple, finishing a bit short. This is past its prime. 87 points
2007 La Poderina Brunello di Montalcino
Very perfumed nose of bright red cherry, leather, sweet licorice, menthol, and cigarbox. The nose is simply gorgeus, very traditional in characteristic. The palate is primary, red fruit and cigarbox, with mouthcoating acidity and sharp tanninss. But i have a feeling this will turn out very nicely with a few more years. Excellent. 92 points


2010 Boscarelli Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
Red fruited with raspberry and bright cherry, some soil and undergrowth as well as cedar wood. Very grippy acidity on the palate. Long aftertaste. Impressive for a basic nobile, but needs time or atleast some food to balance the acidity. 91 points

2010 Isole e Olena Chianti Classico
Ripe nose of dark cherry, some blackberry and cassis. Palate is simple but very balanced. Finishes medium. Very good. 89 points

2008 Fattoria della Talosa Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva
This is great stuff! Nose is a stuffed with cherry, tobacco, smoke, grilled meat, new leather and licorice. Full bodied palate packed with red bright fruit leather and cedar, balanced perfectly with fresh acidity and grainy tannins. Will develop but with such great balance that it is already delicious now. Easily the best Nobile i have tasted. Was served blind. 93 points


2004 Pian delle Querci Brunello di Montalcino
Served blind. Very small production, only around 8-10.000 bottles of the brunello. Great and complex brunello with dusty cherry, leather, cigarbox, sage, and rosemary. Palate is expertly balanced, fleshes out in the midpalate and wraps around your mouth with cherry, followed by complexities of leather and pipe tobacco. Finished long with swet tannins. In a great spot but think it will hold and possibly improve even further. 93 points



I think many underestimate the cellaring potential (and requirement) for Vino Nobile. They need as long as Brunello if they are traditionally made to begin to show more than primary characteristics. But again, the best shows great also in their youth with their excellent balance and perfumed aromatics. The Talosa Vino Nobile Riserva really stood out for its quality, and IMHO it can rival many brunello’s with higher price tags.

Wow. Indeed. Thanks.

I can attest to the aging potential of Montepulciano - had a '90 Reserva last month on vacation that was spectacular.

I had a bottle of the 2007 La Poderina [Brunello di Montalcino] over the last couple of nights with a mild lamb curry. For the years cellared and $30ish it was, I didn’t get much enjoyment out of it. There was a little leather and cigarbox on the nose, but not in a beguiling nice kind of way. 13.5% abv but it feels a little on the thin side. Great looking cork and I purchased near release from a reputable retailer, so I can’t really blame storage here. It’s just a bit too woody and underfruited. For a lot less money I’d just rather have Melini’s La Selvanella single vineyard Chianti I remember buying at the same time.

The SO said she liked it, but I think she was just being polite, as she only had one glass.

I very much agree [cheers.gif]

Keeping track on which of these are available here in the US?