TN: 2006 Fanti (Tenuta San Filippo) Brunello di Montalcino

WINE TALK
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  • 2006 Fanti (Tenuta San Filippo) Brunello di Montalcino - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino (9/13/2012)
    Well…Fanti just isn’t one of my favorite Brunello producers. His wines always seem a little “fat” with slightly too much fruit and a hint of bitter chocolate that I find distracting. The fruit is thick black cherry and dark plum and comes with dark chocolate, earth, and tree bark. A very “clean” style of Brunello that lacks finesse and complexity right now. The wine certainly got better over the course of 3 nights, but it never showed just right, which I find potentially problematic for a Brunello since Sangiovese usually responds pretty well to air. I think on this one, I would urge caution if you like a more traditional style of Brunello.

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Agree with your assessment, especially in this vintage. I DID have the 2004 a couple of months ago and it seemed to be significantly more red-fruited and expressive (without the richness, toasty chocolate, etc.) than either the 2006 or bottles ofthe 2004 tasted 3 years ago. I wondered whether the bottle (or vintage) was an anomaly, or whether a few years of bottle age noticably helps this wine. Previously I would have assumed it was best as a drink-early type of wine, even though I haven’t really enjoyed it much…

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With medium-term aging, their Brunellos come into better balance, but it’s definitely not one for the fans of the traditional style (even though I think this is a pretty historic and important estate in Montalcino).

With medium age, these are pretty crowd-pleasing and impressive for wine drinkers that aren’t Brunello purists or AFWEs, though – last time I opened a 1999 for a group of very experienced tasters in a mixed Italy tasting a couple of years ago, it was received well, as well it should have been.