Thanks for sharing and great report. 2019 Brunello will definitley be the majority of the wine budget this year for me. Did anyone in the NY area go to the Zachy’s tasting on Friday ?
I’ll probably end up buying a half case to a case based on board reviews and value. Sitting on a bunch of 10s, 15s and 16s.
I like Sangiovese, but haven’t collected much Brunello, my concern being I have had limited experiences with aged Brunello that were positive. And I’m not talking long aging, I’m talking 2000s - 2010. Vinous did a 2010 Brunello dinner in October of last year, and I’d say ~half the wines did not appear to be aging well. The few standouts still didn’t seem that attractive relative to price (Biondi Santi Riserva, Stella Riserva). The 2010 Madonna from il Marroneto was also really good, not a cheap wine either but a bit more reasonable. The two Brunello 2010 I personally collected, Mastrojanni and Conti Costanti, were very highly rated on release but have not aged well and seem past peak in my experience. On the other hand, when I’ve tasted through 2010 Barolo recently, producers at every price level, the results have been ~uniformly outstanding.
More recently, I went to a il Marroneto dinner and the recent wines were mostly very promising, but the wines from 1999 - 2010 did not show well in my opinion, and the provenance of the bottles was as good as possible.
Basically, while I wasn’t around to taste the 2010s on release vs. 2019s now, I don’t trust that the wines showing well young will evolve positively in the cellar for 10-20 years. Hopefully they will - Sangiovese is certainly capable of it based on tasting great aged Chianti.
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Rob, I agree with you. I only trust traditional Brunello producers to age in the cellar, not modern producers. As an example, I’ve recently enjoyed the ‘07 and ‘08 Livio Sassetti and ‘01 Caprili Riserva. I’ve also had the ‘10 Mastrojanni and I agree with you that its best days are behind us.
The notes I’ve read recently on the 2010 Conti Costanti tracked with a lot of what Rob said here as well
Any suggestions on where to find a list producers that make Brunello in a traditional style?
For Barolo, I often consult the Traditional vs. Modern Barolo / Barbaresco thread, but I don’t think there is a similar thread for Brunello.
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What wines have you had that you’ve liked? Knowing your favorite producers is a good place to start.
Chiuse
Potazzine
Fuligni
L’Aietta
But, all based on trying the wines young (which I have loved) . Very limited experience with aged brunello so I am hoping the posts on not holding up does not end up being my experience. Above list are favorites after trying a wide range of young brunellos
Il Marronetto have never tried because of the price, though it looks like the rest of Brunellos are catching up on that front m
not sure what you’re referring to about wines ‘not holding up?’
Of those Eric says go long on Potazzine if you like more pure fruit. Older Brunello drifts into leather/tobacco secondary flavors as they age, and as anyone knows until you’ve had a bunch of properly aged wines it’s hard to say whether or not your palate even likes aged wine so it’s always hard to recommend how long to hold things. Generally though a Brunello from a top producer in a top vintage can go 20 years easy before they start to approach tasting ‘old.’
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Simply referring to the multiple people on this thread who are saying in their experience that brunello didn’t age as well as they expected. Obviously, I don’t know their experiences and/or why they were disappointed - just saying hopefully doesn’t happen to me. I greatly enjoy brunello as well as the vineyards I mentioned
After 10-15 years of aging, I start to get more misses than hits 
I am very curious for those who have misses… which vineyards?
There are so many variables: producers, sub zones, modern vs traditional, vintage year, etc that I find it a bit hard to form a point of view based on high level comments. Also, we’re bad bottles before or after the brunello scandal?
A 2007 Fuligni that I had was spectacular. Same with a 2013 Chiuse riserva.
Just opened a 2001 La Fuga. Bought upon release and properly cellared. Cork was fine. Rich garnet color with no noticeable bricking. Beautiful tertiary aroma of cigar box and sweetness without being syrupy on the palate. Nice long finish. I’m confident that this could go another 10 years without being over the hill.
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The 2013 Chiuse Riserva (Diecianni) was just released early last year, so might not be the best example even if it has been 10 years since the vintage. Just my 2 cents. I agree though, it is an excellent wine and was happy to have tasted it when I visited.
Count me in the camp that happily buy brunello for aging 20+ years. Two weeks ago I served a flight of 2004’s:
Il Poggione
Fuligni
Cerbaiona
Salvioni
Poggio di Sotto
Soldera
All sang and was just entering their drinking window IMHO. All bought on release and this was in most cases the first bottle I pulled from case purchases.
I have no doubt that the 2019’s will age well as well.
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I’m currently opening a lot of the 2012 brunellos right now. All have been in a very good drinking window but some are declining.
2012 Casanova di neri: on the decline drink now
2012 casa raia: could use 3-5 more years but very delicious now
2012 Altesino reserva: needs 5 years
2012 Le Ragnaie: drink now or wait 2-4 years
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Similar to you I had it while visiting Chiuse and it was phenomenal
So yes, not an example for a 20 year wine, but for a ten year wine it was mind blowing (cellar tracker notes pretty high as well). I have two saved for the future
Recently had the 04 Poggione - slightly past where i like it, but by no means over the hill. Starting to think 15 years might be the sweet spot for me for a lot of the more traditional.
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2012 is definitely in the drink now zone as a vintage
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It really depends on the producer. Stylistically, the more oak driven, the less they age, but this is far from a certainty and I believe that is more the intent of those producers that correlates with the oak.
As for some examples of where this rule of thumb is wrong, on Easter I had 2004 Poggio Antico Brunello Altero and it was certainly not past it. This was aged in medium sized French oak, possibly toasted. More oak than I personally prefer but the wine was in very good shape and still very enjoyable.
Talenti, is another modern producer I trust to age. I will be getting into there 2004 Brunello Pian di Conte sometime soon. The last I had was in 2020 and it was remarkable.
Ucceliera & Il Poggione are 2 others that age well for modern style.
Argiano in the past (pre 2012ish) was very oak driven. I recently had the 2004 and the 2006 Argiano Brunello. Both performed very well. Today their Brunello are more traditionally vinified, but their other wines are still modern.
I think the key is knowing the producers, knowing the style is helpful, but not enough imo. Knowing their intent tells you more. And the oak becomes just a preference thing.
There are also other Brunello that age much longer too. Biondi Santi Riserva will consistently go 40+ years, and apparently in some cases perform well over 100 years.
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