2006 Pertimali (Livio Sassetti) Brunello di Montalcino- Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino (2/19/2012)
This one marks three winners in a row. I have had many Pertimali Brunellos reaching back to the 80s, but the 2006 is really the best Pertimali Brunello I have ever tasted. It is everything that I look for in Brunello. It is almost a wine from a bygone era. No over-extraction, no massive oak treatment, no non-sense winemaking. The fruit is wonderfully ripe yet restrained, the acidity is in perfect balance which is making it a wine that’s primed to be had with food, and the wine has soul. There is tons of plush cherry and plum fruit with a smattering of earth and dried herbs. Sage and rosemary aromas in particular seemed to crop up. The complexity of this wine is astounding, and even at this early age, the greatness of this wine, vintage, and appellation is crystal clear. 100% Sangiovese Grosso. This is a wine to own by the case.
Paul. My bottle was fabulous. That said, I posted the same note on ebob where Antonio Galloni came to my post and replied that he is advising all his readers to stay away from Pertimali because he has tasted the wine three times in the last year and all were qualitatively unacceptable. I have no idea what that means, so I have asked for clarification. If or when I get that, I will post it here, too.
He just posted on the other board in response to my questions. Since it’s a closed board and I have no permission from him to repost the content, I do not feel comfortable posting it here. But I will say that what he is describing based on what he tasted and on a recent visit to the Estate, does not sound good, although I am still trying to figure out if this is purely a recent phenomenon, or something that has been going on for some time…
Tanzer also found the 2006 to be subpar and he usually loves the Pertimali. “Stewy” and “ponderous” are two descriptors he used. I will get a bottle and taste for myself. Meanwhile, I have a 1999 on deck for this weekend.
Keith, I think it’s fair to briefly summarize – he has tasted several spoiled bottles of the 06, and he has concerns about the cleanliness and practices at the winery. He thinks the risk is too high to recommend people buy their wines at this point in time.
That would not contradict Steffen’s experience with a presumably non-flawed bottle, and I’ve always found their wines to be excellent.
Thanks Chris. Doesn’t make much sense to me why problems with cleanliness at the winery should result in some good bottles and some bad bottles, though. They all come from the same vats!
Antonio commented on cramped cellars and multiple bottlings from the same vintage that introduce errors. I own the '95 Riserva, '01 and '06. Hopefully my bottles are from a good bottling run!
Byron
Odd that so many drinkers could have had such good experiences with this estate over a number of years then all of a sudden they start producing flawed wines? Doesn’t make a lot of sense. I’d like to think that Steffen’s experience is the norm, rather than AG’s, since just today I pointed a friend to a good deal on the '06s and he picked up a few.