Some of the great producers use all their material for Brunello in many vintages. That makes it hard
Still a Brunello fan - I buy Stella di Campalto virtually every vintage, and also like Conti Costanti and Salicutti as well. But I do see the merits of buying some Rosso as well - same grape, less elevage, earlier accessibility - and as someone has already mentioned, some of the Rossos from better producers can actually handle some aging.
John - I came to that conclusion a while ago too. Interesting that you brought it up - must have had some off bottles recently!
Mastrojannis from the 1990s were good and actually still are. I still have about a case.
Lisini too. Sometime Altesino but their rosso is why I started buying those in preference. They come out earlier and if it’s good, you know the Brunello will be good but somehow I never get around to picking those up any more.
I do like them and never cared much about the scandal of secretly using forbidden grapes, but I’m happy with the rossos and haven’t bought a Brunello in quite a while.
I continue not to connect with the de rigueur bagging on Brunello here on WB, and especially the thing where everyone proclaims that Chianti (and I guess now RdM) is a substitute for it.
I think there are a lot of good producers making delicious wines at prices that are quite reasonable compared to wines of similar quality from most other places around the world, and you can often find discounting and bargains that push you into the $30-50 price range for good wines from good vintages. Lisini, Uccelliera, Ciacci Piccolomini, Il Poggione, Pertimali, Fuligni, Casanova di Neri, Valdicava, Talenti. You can often find wines like that for the price of the low end appellation blends by California and Oregon pinot and chardonnay producers, low end Napa cabs, unclassified Bordeaux, supermarket Champagne, and so forth.
But everyone should drink what they like. If you’d rather spend your dollars on Chianti, Rosso, or whatever else, definitely do so. I think I’m rather fortunate to really enjoy Brunello at a time when it’s out of fashion - the pricing and availability are great. And while others may consider this a negative, I like how unfussy they are in general. Most seem to drink well younger and older, I don’t have to plan out which one I’m having weeks ahead because of sediment, I don’t have to open them and start decanting them at breakfast or lunch.
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For some of us who may not be so familiar with Soldera, here is a great writeup:
A strong +1. Brunello has really knocked it out of the park in that price range recently.
i’m with you. but I do love some good Rosso as well. Had a great il Poggione rosso the other day. im not giving up brunellos, but the price typically makes a rosso a weeknight wine and the brunello gets reserved for a weekend.
I enjoyed the il poggione recently as well but certainly light and not nearly as complex as most bdm. Fun to drink nonetheless.
Me too. 40 some years ago, my first wine book was Hugh Johnson’s Encyclopedia of Wine, and he made a statement that really stuck with me. That Brunello, Barolo and Barbaresco rarely improve after 10 years in the bottle, they just hang on for dear life. So I have always started popping corks at ten years of age on most Brunello (and Barolo) that I purchase. Now of course I have had some magical bottles of 20-30 year old Brunellos and Barolo/Barbarescos, but I do prefer a little bit of youthfulness in the wines, so I like them at and soon after 10 years of age (and I’ve grown to love that austerity they still show at that age).
I’m not sure if that says more about (1) the excessively long aging in tanks for some wines in that era or (2) the ignorance of Italian wines on the part of British wine writers of the day.
In the “olden days”, all the Broadbents, Johnsons, Peppercorns and Waughs etc were so enamored with Bordeaux, that nothing else mattered. If it wasn’t Bordeaux, then there is no way they could age. The next generation of writers “righted” this odd prejudice, but in the meantime, I developed a palate for half aged Barolo/Barbaresco and Brunello. Of course, nowadays with so many new world styled wines coming out of these districts, 10 years seems to work pretty well with them -
publications still do this. the furthest date I ever see on a wine spectator recc is like 20 years from now. Some Bordeaux, Barolo, Barbaresco, etc, havent even hit their stride at that point yet. I think a publication would much rather risk a wine being too young than say it’ll last x number of years and have it be over the hill.
Drinking the 1999 Fuligni Riserva BdM right now With dinner, and there has never been a RdM that comes even close…This is a profound wine. That said, I agree that there are a lot of disappointments when it comes to BdM, and I typically do NOT find Riservas to be as good as the Normale. Consistent exceptions are Fuligni and Il Poggione. (By contrast, Livio Sassetti makes one of my favorite BdMs, but their normale is always better than their Riserva…
Definitely (2), maybe some (1). They haven’t caught up much, as far as I can tell.
Now, I think you’re out of date.
And I assume you’re not talking about the Italian wines.
I think you are correct on both.
The 25 years rule also applies for (the best traditional) Brunello
Some 2001 are still babies
Again, we can not dismiss Brunello as Rosso is not produced in many vintages by the best producers as all material from their vineyards go into Brunello only
Right, I’m agreeing with your point about English wine writers (and the trade, as far as I can tell). Even Jancis Robinson’s site has some rookie errors in the Italian coverage.
It’s been a rough day, despite taking the day/week off from the usual office grind, so I needed a drinkable Italian to go with a crock pot sauce that has been bubbling away all afternoon. The 2007 Canneta [Brunello di Montalcino] was pulled, with a glass consumed before supper. This orange rimmed 14% abv wine has complexity on the nose, but lots of strong tannin. The wood, and years, have not tempered that aspect. The bouquet is minty, leathery, sandalwood – the palate has cherry fruit, candied orange peel, with a touch of iodine at the very end. Overall, I find it delicious. The estate neighbors the well known Pertimali (Livio Sassetti) but I was unaware of that, without a certain #1 Jets Fan retailer promoting the wine. Nomenclature seems variable: on the interweb it seems to be known by Podere Canneta as well as I Mori Canneta. Conventional, possibly serially numbered cork.
Maybe it was a hot year and the wine won’t last, but this 2007 is a credit to the DOCG. I liked its mild/low acidity and it gets an A- in my ledger. Typically I’m satisfied with CCR level wines, but this meatier example grew on me. If this experience was more reliable / consistent / predictable, it would be easier to step up for the BdM prices vs. Rosso, although I rarely ever buy the latter, sticking to CC/CCR to address sangiovese cravings.
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