2001 Le Chiuse Brunello di Montalcino- Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino (9/21/2013)
Almost six months after I last looked in on this wine.
Noticeably lighter in the glass than the Pertimali, with a red-fruited nose, but not a lot of other nuance on opening.
Nice acidity framing the red fruits on the palate; like the Pertimali, really no hard edges here, with maybe just a hint of unresolved tannin to add some bite on the finish. I think right now I prefer the Pertimali, but these are showing quite differently today, and it will be interesting to see how they marry up with some food.
2001 Pertimali (Livio Sassetti) Brunello di Montalcino- Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino (9/21/2013)
Popped & poured - dark translucent ruby in the glass; the nose has almost a smoked meat quality to it, black- and red-fruited, with the black fruits being most prominent on opening. Really nice nose with a lot going on right now - complex.
Very smooth on the palate - really spreads out and covers every “nook & cranny”. The fruit is both sweet & tart, with a nice finish - about the only criticism I would have right now is a trace of heat on the finish, but otherwise it shows pretty nicely on opening.
So we checked our '98 Baroli last night, and today I decided to look in on some 2001 Brunello.
For those of you who have been around and purchased Brunello for a while, you might recall the 2001 Le Chiuse being one of the more “Jekyll & Hyde” wines in recent memory - there is a great Keith Levenberg TN on CT written when the wine was newly-released, and while I’m not sure I ever liked this as much as Keith, there was no denying the fact that this was compelling young Brunello (and available at a very attractive price).
Yet shortly after that initial time period, the wine descended into a “shut down from hell” period where the wine was virtually undrinkable; notes on CT also document this as well.
At any rate, this is my 2nd bottle this year, and while I’m doubtful that we will ever recover enough to revisit the glories of the wine’s youth, this is drinking now like a pretty solid citizen at 12 years of age.
Can’t say I’ve ever come across the “Le Chiuse”, but was wondering if you know anything about the Pertimali in the way of vineyard/vinification practices. They are hard to come by in Europe, but on the handful of occasions that I have tasted them I came away liking the wine, but wondering where it could be placed on the scale from traditional to modern. I did not detect any overt oakiness, but there was a refined quality to the structure that came across as somewhat modern.
By the way, I also tasted the 2004 Riserva twice and was quite taken with that one, as I preferred it slightly to the Poggione “Paganelli” and Lisini “Ugolaia” which -as you know- are no slouches.
Mike, from what i know about Pertimali they are considered traditional, and as far as i know they age their brunello solely in large neutral casks. The richness of the fruit you detect, i suspect is due to low yields and the terroir they represent (vinyards are located on Montosoli hill)
Im not an expert, so hopefully someone with more experience can chime in
Pertimali is known for their “meaty” aspect. I’ve seen that too, especially as they age. I think I’ve had this very wine. I bought the 2006 too. Always a good estate.
I am a big Pertimali fan and did love the 01. I even bought heavy on the 03’s at a great price and it is a delicious wine, not needing a ‘for the vintage disclaimer’.
Also bought a half case (also at a nice price) of the 01 Le Chiuse based on the board reviews. Still a couple left, very good wine, but, prefer the Pertimali.
Thanks. Just large oak botti, huh? That’s what I like to hear and Signore Sasseti must be a very good viticulturist/winemaker indeed to obtain such high quality in his tannins.
Do they go for the full 36 months maturation?
I’ve been a big fan of Pertimali since the 1985.
The 1988 and 1990 are still excellent so they have a track record of ageing and improving.
While a big fan I will say their wines are never WOW but almost always very satisfying.
I’m still not clear why they don’t indicate “Montosoli” on their wine.
Does anyone know if they blend fruit from other Brunello areas ?
When Galloni was still with the Advocate he expressed concern about issues with some bottles he hd tasted. Other reviewers didn’t seem to have a problem.
Anyone have any follow-up on the Galloni concern ?
My recollection is that Antonio voiced his concerns about some more recent vintages - I seem to recall him being critical about the way the 2006 performed, but I may be mistaken there. The '88 remains my favorite vintage of the Pertimali, still drinking nicely at 25 years of age.
My wife actually preferred the Le Chiuse last night for it’s “cleaner”, more red-fruited nose. I liked the “smoked meat funkiness” of the Pertimali, but both wines drank well (and the Pertimali definitely has a lot of time in front of it).
I bought the 01 Chiuse way back when on Dean Gold’s recommendation and enjoyed several bottles from Wine Library at the amazing price of $33 before cellaring the rest. I never had a bad one but saw notes from others who did. The property is owned by a Biondi Santi relative through inheritance from the original estate, and it used to go into Biondi Santi Brunello, so this is as true Brunello as it gets.
I don’t know why Pertimali doesn’t label Montosoli but they’re not the only one. Baricci is another. My heresy: I’ve yet to be convinced Montosoli is anything special. Pertimali is actually the only one that does it for me.
Big Pertimali fan here also. The '99 has been showing well for a few years, and a bottle of the '01 opened earlier in 2013 suggested to me that its time has come.
Pat, my recollection is that Antonio did not give a favorable review to the 2004, which, given the accolades for the 2004 vintage at that time, Antonio’s reaction to the 2004 Pertimali was a disappointing surprise.
As for the 2001 Chiuse, I bought that wine based on the initial wine board praise years ago. I opened a bottle on release, and it was really excellent. Every single subsequent bottle, however, has been a dud.
Not sure if it’s OK to copy & paste a whole post by AG on Ebob so here’s an excerpt from a long post of his:
and from a different thread:
…The Brunello is bottled in more than one lot, which I am not a fan of. I also saw a barrel of 2004 Brunello which I was told was for topping off the other casks. Most producers top their barrels with the same wines whenever possible. I have never seen a 7 year old wine used to top barrels…
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