Best Brunellos

[Tim_Heaton]

No mentions on Stella di Campalto???

shhh, dreadful stuff

[Lorenzo_F]

Biondi santi riserva 1975/soldera 1999
Pietroso/baricci/il pino
Pian dell’ orino bassolino 2012

[Sean_Corbett]

le potazzine gorelli
donatella

[Mattstolz]

At the cost of alienating myself - even further - from this board, or even producers, I’d offer that every year I taste Altesino, or Caparzo, for example (there are many examples listed here already), is just another year I’m hoping for more; a let down of one degree or another most years. Certainly, Montosoli fruit is an exception. Each year I walk away feeling like Altesino is the Pio Cesare of Montalcino - there’s so much room for improvement. SMH.

I agree with you on Altesino. I do like Casanova (granted, I’ve only had them with a decent amount of age), but Altesino is a little too modern for me.

[Frederico_L_e_e]

Uccelliera Riserva '10

[Keith_A_k_e_r_s]

No mentions on Stella di Campalto???

these are not the droids you’re looking for

[KeithM]

CdN Tenuta Nova–the 2006 is an amazing wine
Fuligni
Livio Sassetti Pertimali–especally the 2010
Valdicava

[David_Baum]

Lots of great names and I’ll throw a few my favorites on the pile

Campogiovanni
La Fortuna
Biondi-Santi
San Filippo Le Lucere
MastroJanni
La Serena
Constanti
Il Poggione
Valdicava Riserva Madonna del Piano
Altesino Montosoli
La Fiorita particularly enjoyable as I got to drink through the line-up with the proprietor

I checked in on my 10’s and still very early on most. 06’s still hard as nails while 04’s are starting to drink very nicely.

Ive had a bunch of older BdM but favorite still was a 99 Madonna a couple years back. I also learned not to decant brunello as it is too much air, too quickly for it. Best to open a couple hours in advance, pour off a few ounces so its down to the shoulders and slow ox.

[Ian_Dorin]

No mentions on Stella di Campalto???

these are not the droids you’re looking for

Wines are already pricey

Hope you are doing well!

[Anders_G]

My best was a 1988 Biondi Santi (I think it was the normale but might have been the riserva).

I’ve had a number of great Solderas and some very, very good Ciaccis. After reading some of Tim H’s notes I would very much like to try Salvioni but have hesitated over the pricing.

1988 Biondi Santi is a spectacular wine. 1988 was a great vintage for Montalcino. I tasted recently the 1988 Biondi Santi normale together with La Casa (Montòsoli) from Caparzo and Ciacci Vigna Pianrosso (also in the tasting were 1988 Percarlo and I Sodi di San niccolò from Castellare).

The Biondi Santi was head and shoulders above the other wines. It was the only wine that seemed to have the potential to improve with further ageing. Unfortunately it was my last bottle.

[Anders_G]

1991 and 1999 Soldera Case Basse, 1988 Biondi Santi
Baricci, Canalicchio (Franco Pacenti)
2010 Piancornello
Honorable mentions of Lisini and Talenti near Sant‘Angelo in Colle, Sesti/Castello di Argiano in the South West, Mastrojanni and Uccelliera/Andrea Cortonesi in Castelnuovo dell‘Abate, all worth a try

If you drink a Brunello younger than 10 years of age you might as well choose a good Rosso di Montalcino, but that‘s just me. On the other hand, I have seen very few Brunelli improve after 20 years+.

[Troy_Stark]

Valdicava, La Gerla, and Biondi-Santi are some of my favorites

Wow, those are all pretty divergent wines, but I guess that’s one of the great things about Brunello!

[Jeff_P]

Valdicava, La Gerla, and Biondi-Santi are some of my favorites

Wow, those are all pretty divergent wines, but I guess that’s one of the great things about Brunello!

Yep agreed. I enjoy the different styles with some producers rising to the top for me. Granted, have only had 2 of my BS bottles since the rest are '10 and '12 and are sleeping

[Thomas_Keim]

If you drink a Brunello younger than 10 years of age you might as well choose a good Rosso di Montalcino, but that‘s just me. On the other hand, I have seen very few Brunelli improve after 20 years+.

Or a top notch Chianti Classico Riserva - most Rosso’s don’t see oak (or see very little), so it’s a much different flavor profile.

[Joseph_Grassa]

Thank you for the tips everyone. Some good insight. Hoping to stock up a bit on the 15s and 16s!

[David_Cooper]

In the early part of this decade I took a pretty deep dive into the wines of Montalcino. O’Keefe’s quite useful but opinionated book had just been published and the 06s were being released. I looked at CT this morning and found I have 152 notes from Brunellos I have drunk, mostly from that time period.

I am sure that the great paradigm wines that others have mentioned are fantastic but for the most part they have elluded me. The one great producer I have discovered in the last couple of years is Sesti from Castello Argiano. Very traditional wines that emphasis the floral side of Sangiovese. As of yet I have only had the 08 normal and the 03 Phenomena.

Overall the wine I love the most is Baricci. Again traditional and elegant. I have had a few different vintages and all were fantastic. I also love Agastino Pieri and I’ll Poggione. Both of these producers lean towards a bit richer fuller bodied Brunellos. They also seem very well priced.My highest scored Brunello was a Luce from 07 but I think I was a bit drunk after tasting over 40 wines at a Brunello tasting.

The one conclusion my decade of Brunello drinking led me to was, I prefer Chianti. There are so many great Chianti producers. I still have a case or so of different 06 Brunellos and look forward to drinking them. I moved on when everyone was pitching 2010 and then 2013 as the greatest Brunellos ever. They sounded a bit like the Bordelais, a region I lost interest in years ago.

Still I think the market has calmed down and a lot of these wines are decent bargains for now.

I’d highly encourage you to re-explore the region a bit as a lot has changed since 08. The tendency to over oak, extract and generally ‘spoof’ Brunello throughout the 90s and 00s culminated in the Brunellogate/Brunellopoli scandal, and I feel starting in 2010, and even more so 2013, the region has really shown a return to more traditional styles. Obviously lots of exceptions still, but that’s been my overall impression.

Thanks Rory. I took your advice and picked up a few 2013s on sale. 5x Col d’Orcia at $45 cdn, 2x Agostino Pieri and 2x Caparzo.

[Markus_S]

Still trying to figure out the sangio chameleon. I swear, this grape has led me down divergent paths that have reached to no conclusions, or ones different from what they were. Frustrating grape!

I haven’t had (any) of the top priced wines, so have no idea how they perform, but have had good ones from Costanti, Ciacci, Lisini, Fuligni, Baricci, Chiuse, and others. Overall the winemaking here is high, but it may be difficult to know what you are getting in bottle without first tasting or having an understanding of their style.

As for aging, well they already have 5 years under their belt when released, so I would add 7-10 years to that depending on what the vintage was like. For instance I wouldn’t touch an 06 now, but the 08’s/07’s/09’s can be quite nice.

[John_Kight]

I’d nominate Livio Sassetti’s Pertimali as one of the better ones, especially if you consider price. But this is a traditional producer and I have no interest in Californized, oaky, 15% alcohol “Brunello”.

The '99 Sassetti is drinking beautifully right now.

This, along with Il Poggione, are probably my two favourite Brunello bottlings in terms of consistency of style and quality, and considering price. I buy both in most decent (or better) vintages. There are others that are close (Lisini, Costanti, Ciacci Piccolomini, and on the more modern side, Uccelliera). When something as consistently delicious as Sassetti is available for $50-$60, I have no interest in chasing some of these $90-$150 Brunellos that are not objectively any “better”…