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Piccini Villa al Cortile Brunello di Montalcino 2010

Piccini Villa al Cortile Brunello di Montalcino 2010

A classic, the 2010 Piccini Villa al Cortile Brunello di Montalcino unfurls slowly, revealing her bountiful aromatic charm—underbrush and brambly forest berries, tart pie cherries, forest floor, leather, wild mint, and decaying rose petals. It’s nimble on the palate, furnished with soft, fine tannins and a vein of marly limestone running through the center. Sour […]

Palazzina Le Macioche Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Le Macioche 2007

Palazzina Le Macioche Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Le Macioche 2007

The 2007 The Macioche, tasted in a vertical was the oldest vintage we were treated to a very impromptu tasting at the winery. It’s the color of brick dust, and it feels like it’s on the nose, along with layered aromas of purple, incense, anise, menthol, iron. It is quite nimble the mouth, with well […]

Palazzina Le Macioche Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Le Macioche 2011

Palazzina Le Macioche Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Le Macioche 2011

Virtually unknown in the US, Le Macioche is in the same neighborhood as Biondi Santi—their stylish 2011 Riserva is a study in lightness and complexity. Aromas of menthol, incense, pomegranate, leather, mushroom, and forest floor give way to an understory of well-integrated, ultra-fine tannins. The acid here is quite pretty, too—it crescendos mid-palate, and softly […]

Silvio Nardi Brunello Di Montalcino 2008

Silvio Nardi Brunello Di Montalcino 2008

The Nardi Brunello Di Montalciano 2008 evokes a warm, still afternoon in a deciduous forest, the sort where you can hear twigs snapping under your feet. Splendid, woodsy aromas of forest floor, brambles, dried leaves, mushrooms, and dried black cherries. Silky and voluptuous on the palate, with firm, polished tannins that plunge into the substrata—densely […]

Soldera (Az. Agr. Case Basse) Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 1999

Gianfranco Soldera Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 1999

One of the most profound Brunellos I’ve ever tasted, the Soldera Riserva 1999 has a nose that is both infinitely complex and pungent. Alluring aromas of dried rose petals, dark cherries, game, saddle leather, damp tilth, decaying leaves, anise, and sandalwood waft from the glass. Truly, it’s the iron fist in a velvet glove—incredibly intense […]

CHRISTINE HAVENS
McMinnville, OR

christine@christine-havens.com