nanson.ch non french red wine notes

Tasting Notes - Italy

1997 Della Robia, Brunello di Montalcino Annata April 2003
Very deep ruby colour. Slightly more subdued nose, some high tones against a little toast and meat. Rounder and less intense palate though still good fruit. The acidity is quite good with medium drying tannins. Compared to Ciacci's, this is an every-day Brunello, but very good value at 19€
1997 Giovanni Ciacci, Brunello di Montalcino Querceta April 2003
Concentrated garnet colour. A jump out of the glass nose of deeply black fruit. Excellent acidity, roasted, perhaps smokey fruit - blackcurrant. The tannins hide in the background, but pretty deep - there's that word again! This is excellent and should have a very long future.
1997 Castello Banfi, Brunello di Montalcino February 2003
Deep garnet colour. The nose has toasty aromas with very black fruits and a hint of black olive. The palate is smooth with good acidity and fine tannins. Nicely concentrated with good length. Whilst showing true Brunello character, I find this currently a little less involving than many other 1997's, so would look to leave for a while before opening another - still a very good wine though.
1996 Vignamaggio, Chianti Classico Riserva - Castello di Mona Lisa January 2003
Deep garnet colour with a hint of purple at the rim. Direct from the cold cellar the wine showed a subdued nose of sour black cherry and tobacco. Mouth coating tannins and very good acidity. Not quite as long as the Castellare but finishes with a trace of vanilla. Very good.
1994 Castellare, Chianti - I Sodi di S.Niccolo January 2003
Lovely ruby colour. Equally lovely nose of briary fruit and coal-tar soap. Red and black fruit palate of some intensity. Good tannic structure and acidity. Very long and very good.
1993 Pieve de la Santa Restituta, Brunello di Montalcino Sugarille January 2003
A wine that is unfortunately closed down right now. Medium-plus ruby red with just a little colour development at the rim. The nose is faintly sweet and brambly in character. The palate hasn't the obvious strong acidity of many Brunello's, shows both depth and tannin but very little in the way of flavour. Hopefully just needs time.
1995 Giuseppe Cortese, Barbaresco Rabajà October 2002
Medium garnet with a little brown at the rim. Nose is a lovely high-toned affair; roses with pronounced red and black cherry fruit, just tending towards black. The palate has excellent acidity and again very red cherry fruit, nice sweetness and tedium tannins. The length is medium plus with just a little orange fruit. I'm glad this wasn't served blind,as I would have guessed it to be a Burgundy - and a good one at that.
1990 Lungarotti, Rubesco Torgiano Rosso Riserva October 2002
Medium garnet with just a little brown at the rim. Nose starts with a waft of oak, this is replaced by nail varnish, leather and marmite over a sweet background. Palate is sweet with cooked plum fruit, still some tannin but perfect balancing acidity. After an hour becomes a little astringent, but for €24 not bad !
1998 Frescobaldi, Nipozzano Reserva Chianti Rufina August 2002
Deep ruby to the rim. Nose has sweet cooked fruit with some spice lower down. Good acidity, medium tannin, and again very cooked or macerated fruit comes through on the palate. The finish is of good length. A good wine here, but I’m not a big fan of the cooked fruit style.
1997 Silvio Nardi, Vigneto Manachiara Brunello di Montalcino July 2002
Deep ruby a colour, fading to cherry at the edge. Nose has toasty oak which blows off after15 minutes, supported by demarera sugar, cinnamon and supercharged black cherry fruit. The palate is thick and like all Brunello’s shows mouth cleansing acidity. Well hidden, though substantial tannins support fruit that is more intense than the ‘standard’ version, though is currently less obviously Brunello in character. This is an early phase while the oak is taken up – after all you shouldn’t really drink it until it’s 10+ years old. Excellent, silky wine and a perfect counterpoint to the ‘standard’ version – 12 of each in the cellar would keep me quite happy !
1996 Della Robia, Brunello di Montalcino Annata July 2002
Colour shows some maturity with garnet centre and brick rim. Nose is a leather and meat affair but sweet. The palate doesn’t have the concentration of the 97’s tasted to-date, but is still pretty good. Acidity is quite high, though this blends well with food. Tannins are quite subdued, with a decent finish length. An good and enjoyable wine – particularly with food, but perhaps the 1997 Brunello’s (tasted to-date) hold a little more interest.
1997 Le Chiuse, Brunello di Montalcino July 2002
Beautiful deep ruby colour. Nose has definite reductive odours of almonds, though this blows off after 20 minutes. Behind there is some satisfying red cherry fruit and lower coffee notes. The palate is extra silky and thick with superbly dense fruit, but the tannins finish a little astringent and the acidity also finishes in a sharp way. Given the finish, the reductive nose, a cork that had pushed itself out by a couple of millimetres and a very warm shop – I think this has already seen poor storage – so probably not typical.
1997 Silvio Nardi, Brunello di Montalcino July 2002
Beautiful deep ruby colour. Nose starts off very fruity – almost in a right bank Bordeaux way. Behind the fruit are some lovely high flowery tones. The fruity palate is very acidic – but with food is ‘just right’. Furry tannins and good length make this an excellent food wine – harder without.
1997 Frescobaldi, Brunello di Montalcino CastelGiocondo June 2002
Colour is garnet with already a hint of brick. The dense nose has 'to die for' sweet black cherry and damson, which becomes more subdued with time plus a slightly more persistent faint 'spice-market'. The palate has no oak induced fat, but still has a good feel with strong, though not aggressive tannin and fine lingering acidity. Perhaps hints of sour cherry amongst good density fruit coupled with excellent length, make this a 'drinker' from release, but surely no rush! Excellent.
1997 Lisini, Brunello di Montalcino June 2002
Colour is deep red cherry with some colour development at the edge. Nose is at first very expressive with tons of blackberry & blackcurrant and high tones like rose petals, follows on with more plumy fruit. Broad palate has really fine acidity and grippy tannin. This is very long and fine.
1997 Tenimenti Ruffino, Brunello di Montalcino Greppone Mazzi June 2002
Colour is much more developed than the above. Nose also has some plummy fruit but takes on a more spicy, leather effect in the glass. Again very good acidity, and tannins that only announce themselves if you look for them. Hard to put a name on the fruit, but there's plenty of it. This is not so polished as the Lisini, but very good anyway.
1997 Zenato, Amarone de la Valpolicella May 2002
This is almost saturated ruby in colour. Very sweet, heavy scent flowery nose, more like lilies than violets. High acidity but very well balanced with the fruit and alcohol. This is dense and mouth-filling with a long, almost liqueur type finish. Really good with food - or without !
1997 Feudi di San Gregorio, Taurasi – Selve di Luoti January 2002
Colour is deep black cherry with purple hints. The wide nose just pulls you in with its low notes of earth and sweet spice with perhaps a hint of vanilla higher up. This is a big wine. The palate is quite thick with strong acid and really furry tannin – nothing out of balance though as the black stoned fruit is up to the task. This is quite long with a sour cherry and bitter chocolate tinged finish. Great fun now, but you should probably wait a bit. Excellent.
1997 Luigi Pira, Barolo January 2002
Well developed deep garnet colour, brick at the rim. Nose has quite alcoholic (14%) high smokey floral tones. The palate is very smooth and thick with beautifully covered acidity and big tannins that give a soft coating. The fruit is hard to define, but sweet, though finishing more sour cherry, are you still with me ? The finish starts quite acidic, but is reasonably long with a liqueur type finish. A funny wine, all the parts are really good, but the whole didn't quite gell for me. Still pretty good though.
1997 Luigi Pira, Barolo Marenca January 2002
Deep garnet colour, hinting at brick at the rim. Nose has again quite alcoholic (14.5%) with cooking plum notes. The palate has way over the top acidity making everything else hard to judge. I left this for an hour and in a sympathetic move tried it with food – spaghetti bolognese ! Quite a transformation ! Whilst the acidity is still high, no longer is it unbearably so. There is mouth furring tannin, good weight and a long mainly black fruit finish. On this showing I preferred the basic bottling, despite a certain RP giving this 95.
1991 Fattoria dei Barbi, Brunello di Montalcino Reserva Vigna del Fiore Sept 2001
With dinner. The latest bottlings of this single (14 acre) vineyard no longer carry the reserva tag, but it's still their most expensive wine. Still very young looking with purple hints. Nose mainly of primary fruits plus some spice and liquorice. Medium tannins plus lingering acidity with plummy fruit. Given another 10 years, probably excellent.
1997 Fattoria dei Barbi, Brigante dei Barbi Sept 2001
An IGT wine, 50:50 blend of Sangiovese and Merlot. Deep garnet. Very fruity. Not completely serious, but would make a terrific bbq wine.
1999 Fattoria dei Barbi, Brusco dei Barbi Sept 2001
This is the big volume 100% Sangiovese wine from this estate. Lovely plum pie nose. Rich and fruity in the mouth. This would be a bargain at €8, but it's actually only around €5 !
1996 Fattoria dei Barbi, Brunello di Montalcino Sept 2001
Excellent deep colour. Nose is bright with high flowery notes. Tannic, good acidity but also great fruit so good balance. Very good
1995 Fattoria dei Barbi, Brunello di Montalcino Reserva Sept 2001
Looked a little more mature than the above wine, but with a similar nose. Felt much rounder in the mouth with more subdued tannins and similar acidity. Not sure that it is 'better' than the last wine.
1994 Fattoria dei Barbi, Brunello di Montalcino Reserva Sept 2001
With dinner. Garnet colour with a hint of orange at the rim. Bold tannin with excellent acidity. Not quite as smooth as the 1995 reserva but feels a bigger wine. Drinking better than the 1995 just now.
1993 Frescobaldi, Brunello di Montalcino Reserva Castel Giocondo Sept 2001
With lunch. Most mature looking wine so far - not sure about the storage here, however, a nice clean nose. A common theme developing here with medium tannins plummy fruit and good lingering acidity. Very good.
1996 Altesino, Brunello di Montalcino Sept 2001
At winery. Deep garnet. High toned but sweet nose. Robust but ripe tannins and mouth watering acidity supported by really expressive plum and cherry fruit. Brusque but fun. Very good.
1995 Altesino, Brunello di Montalcino Sept 2001
Half bottle with dinner. Good deep garnet. High-toned nose. It might have been the food (tagliatelle with porcini & creamy sauce) but this wine was just a bit anonymous. Not bad acidity, ripe tannins with good fruit. Good but . .
1995 Pieve Santa Restituta, Brunello di Montalcino Rennina (Gaja) Sept 2001
Half bottle with dinner. The great man himself bought this property in 1994, apparently a blend of 3 vineyards. Very different to anything tasted so far. Deep ruby colour, with a sumptuous creamy, fruity nose. Thick and silky in the mouth with cherry compote fruit. Well disguised tannic structure and good acidity. I only wish the wine stayed around as long as the creamy (Alliers?) aftertaste. Brilliant, it's Brunello, but is it Brunello di Montalcino? You won't taste anything like this from anywhere else. I paid an arm and a leg for the last bottle I could find (with a decent temp in the cellar) in Montalcino. Found some half bottles in UK since for cheaper (Armit).
1996 Pieve Santa Restituta, Brunello di Montalcino Sugarilla (Gaja) Sept 2001
With dinner. Apparently the premium wine from a single vineyard. Dark ruby. Nose takes time to develop. Eventually shows red cherry with background oak and white pepper. Very intense cherry fruit, medium tannins and high, but balanced, acidity. A very young wine that starts to show quite well after 45 minutes in the decanter. Will probably be excellent, but 95 Rennina is much better.
1999 Pieve Santa Restituta, Promis (Gaja) Sept 2001
An IGT wine, 90% Sangiovese and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, in theory for drinking younger. Inky purple colour. The ripeness of fruit is reminiscent of New World wines, but with a better lick of acidity. Thick but ripe tannins. Needs another year or two. But still very good now.
1995 Angelini, Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Spuntali Sept 2001
Tasted in Enotica. I was looking for a 'Rennina' look-alike. This wine has less dimension on the nose and is less thick in the mouth, but is similar in length. At only 90% as good as Rennina this is still a fantastic wine. I bought some.
1995 Fattoria Poggio di Sotto, Brunello di Montalcino Sept 2001
With dinner. Higher toned nose, less expressive than Rennina. Amazing mouthfeel, like silk, maybe even like a good Grands Echezeaux. Beautifully covered tannins with the lingering acidity prolonging the creamy (Alliers?) finish. Excellent.
1995 Tenuta Col d'Orcia, Brunello di Montalcino Sept 2001
The only 'suspect' bottle (apart from maybe the 95 half bottle Altesino). I opened this one and was not 100% sure about the smell in the neck of the bottle. My drinking companion, headwaiter at an excellent local eatery had a sniff of the cork and said it was fine (just shows!). The nose was subdued fruit, the colour was good there was good ripe tannin, nice acidity and cherry fruit - but. The wine disappointed. I'm sure mildly corked though no obvious faults, as this is supposed to be a very good producer.