The Italian Wine Masters: 2007 Brunello di Montalcino

When word of the Italian Wine Masters tasting hit my inbox, I was quick to hit the reply button. In the years I’ve been writing and attending tastings, I don’t recall ever attending a more comprehensive tasting of Sangiovese-based wines from Tuscany. Everything from Chianti Classico, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Brunello di Montalcino are all on display. Many of the faces you see are easily recognizable, yet each time I attend, I’m always happy to find new producers and interesting wines that I have never tasted before.

A massive crowd descended upon the
tables of 2007 Brunello di Montalcino

One of my first priorities at this year’s event was to taste 2007 Brunello. The hype over this vintage has been unavoidable. Already the pundits of wine criticism are weighing in and waxing praise upon the vintage. However, I had to wonder if it was truly worthy. Brunello has seen a string of amazing vintages with 2001, 2004 and 2006. However, many people are still recovering from the recent controversy unearthed regarding foreign varietals being added to this wine by a number of Brunello producers, a wine that is only supposed to be 100% Sangiovese by law. Even though the accusations have subsided, Brunellogate, (which this controversy has coined) left many Brunello drinkers feeling betrayed and looking to other Sangiovese-based wines from Tuscany. On top of that, further exploration of pure Sangiovese-based wines in Tuscany has shown that remarkable value can be found outside of Montalcino. Brunello as a brand has continued to rise in price, and many feel that the quality in the bottle no longer outweighs the cost.

In the end, Brunello needs a vintage that it can reinvent itself with, and 2007 may be that vintage. But does that mean that it is as good as the ’06? It really depends on what you want from your bottle of Brunello.

At this time last year, when tasting ’06 Brunello, it was nearly painful to work my way through the tasting simply because of the massive structure found in most bottles. The fruit was clean, pure and deep but not fleshy. The finish was often drying or angular. Yet, on the nose, the wines were highly expressive and layered with masses of fruit, spice and earth—everything a young Brunello should be. We will be enjoying the ’06 vintage for many decades to come, and as they mature, they will only get better.

However, the ’07s are the exact opposite. I don’t recall ever tasting young Brunello that was so vibrant and juicy on the palate. The noses on most of the wines were highly expressive and very ripe. On the palate, they were juicy and opulent, yet not overripe. Their structure could be found in the close or on the second sip, as a build-up of tannins would remind you that this wine has the capacity to age. Yet, through it all, you’d find yourself simply wanting to drink it, and that’s where I believe the ’07 vintage will really find its nitch. These are big and beautiful wines, but it’s almost impossible to keep your hands off them now. However, the ’07 vintage will not outlive ’06, and if it’s classic Brunello that you love, you will not find it here.

My top 5 picks: 2007 Brunello di Montalcino

Azienda Agricola Capanna

The Capanna farm is located north of Montalcino in the area of Montosoli. It’s a family-run operation with help from consulting enologist Paolo Vagaggini. The grapes are hand-selected and harvested, with four years of aging in Slavonian oak cask for the Brunello and five years for the Riserva. The Brunello of Capanna is traditional in style and truly speaks of its Tuscan terroir.

2007 Capanna Brunello di Montalcino – The nose showed black cherry, plums, sweet and spices with savory notes of brown sauce and mountain herbs. On the palate, it was at first lean with mixed berries and herbs, but it filled out with time as the fruit turned darker yet focused with incredible depth, balance and with a fine tannic structure. It’s remarkably more open than expected at this young stage, yet its balance and structure promised a long life ahead. (93 points)

Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Donatella is a large operation and it produces wines in multiple styles, both in and outside of Montalcino. The vineyards are located in the northwest from Montalcino. The Brunello is made at Casato Prime Donno in Montalcino, a winery known to be the first in Italy to be staffed only by women. The base-level Brunello is an enjoyable yet more modern style of Brunello. However, it’s the special selection “Prime Donne” that I love, which is made in a more traditional style with aging in large oak barrels.

2007 Donatella Brunello di Montalcino Prime Donne – The nose was finessed and classic in its performance with dusty red fruits, herbs and old cedar box. On the palate, it showed high-toned red berry fruit with an airy and fresh quality. The finish was long and pure with tannins peaking through at the close. (93 points)

Tenuta Oliveto

Located in Castelnuove dell’Adate, the extreme south of Montalcino, Tenuta Oliveto was a new name to me at last year’s Italian Wine master’s event. However, this year, their wines sang. I actually found it hard to move away from the glass. Vinification takes place in Slavonian oak vats with a maceration of 18 – 20 days. From there, the Brunello sees 30 months in French oak tonneaux before being bottled and rested for another 30 months. Their Brunello is an elegant and wistful wine with soaring aromatics.

2007 Tenuta Oliveto Brunello di Montalcino – The refined nose showed red berries, airy herbal notes and powdered sugar. On the palate, it was velvety yet structured and focused with juicy black cherry and herbs. On the finish, sour berries lingered yet were turned juicy by this wine’s zesty acidity. This wine was a joy to drink. (93 points)

Il Poggione

Father and son team Fabrizio and Alessandro Bindocci make some of the best Brunello from year to year, with the belief that the secret of producing great red wines lies in tending the vines. Rigorous green harvesting is done throughout the vineyards, and selection of the grapes is done by hand. The Brunello is aged in large French oak barrels. Il Poggione is one of the largest estates in Montalcino, with 125 hectares planted with vines, yet the size of the estate never hinders the quality found in the bottle.

2007 Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino – The nose showed ripe strawberry, cedar and minerals with a hint of caramel. On the palate, it was soft and mouth-filling with dark red fruits, baker’s chocolate and a fine structure that was nearly masked by its ripe, focused fruit. The finish was long, long, long. (92 points)

Col d’Orcia

Col d’Orcia is one of historic properties in Brunello and one of the largest producers. The vineyards are located on the southern slope of Montalcino with 106 hectares planted to Brunello. The Bozzolino vineyard produces their Brunello di Montalcino. Aging of the wine takes place in Slavonian and selected French oak.

2007 Col d’Orcia Brunello di Montalcino – The nose showed vibrant, lush red fruits, spices and herbs. On the palate, it was round yet focused with intense ripe cherry and spice notes. The finish was cut short by youthful tannins yet showed much promise. (91 points)

Other Brunelli tasted for this article

2007 Donatella Brunello di Montalcino – The nose was earthy yet elegant with ripe red berries and forest floor. On the palate, it was velvety with underlying structure and intense yet juicy red berry fruit. The finish was long and clinging to the palate. (92 points)

2007 Campogiovanni (San Felice) Brunello di Montalcino – The nose showed black cherry, floral notes, sweet spice and the slightest hint of barnyard. On the palate, it had a velvety texture with ripe red berries and cinnamon spice. The finish showed its tannic structure yet still managed to carry red fruits into the close. (91 points)

2007 Uccelliera Brunello di Montalcino – The nose was classic and earthy with ripe red berries, soil and minerals. On the palate, it was lean yet focused with strawberry and cedar box. It appeared smaller in scale than most of the ‘07s I’d tasted yet finessed, pure and likely able to mature into something beautiful. The finish was long, showing massive structure. (91 points)

2007 Azienda Agraria Lisini Brunello di Montalcino – The nose showed red berries and spice with pepper and floral notes. On the palate, it was balanced with ripe fruits and a fine elegant structure. The finish was firm, and when placed against it’s intensity of fruit, showed good potential. (90 points)

2007 Fanti (Tenuta San Filippo) Brunello di Montalcino – The nose showed ripe red berries with herbal tea and floral notes. On the palate, it showed intense red fruits and herbs that lingered through the finish. (90 points)

2007 Pian Delle Vigne (Antinori) Brunello di Montalcino – The nose showed ripe berries, wood tones and spice with a hint of undergrowth. On the palate, it was lush with sour red berries and mountain herbs. The finish was long and mouth-coating. (89 points)

2007 Pertimali (Livio Sassetti) Brunello di Montalcino – The nose showed strawberry fruit with undergrowth, soil and herbs. On the palate, it was soft and enveloping with red berries and spice. The finish showed a tight structure with soil and red fruit tones. (89 points)

2007 Frescobaldi Castelgiocando Brunello di Montalcino – The nose showed vibrant red fruits and menthol. On the palate, it was lean with sour red berries, leading into a drying, structured finish. (88 points)

2007 Tenute Silvio Nardi Brunello di Montalcino – The nose showed sour red berries and sweet spice in a bittersweet performance. On the palate, red berries and herbs were on display, yet it came across and one-dimensional and ultimately disappointing through the finish. (85 points)

2007 Fattoria dei Barbi (Colombini) Brunello di Montalcino – The nose showed sour berries and herbs but it was marked by a server aroma of hay and stable. On the palate, it was soft with strawberry fruits but turned bitter and dry into the finish. (84 points)

2007 Capanne Ricci Brunello di Montalcino – The nose showed dried red fruits, funk, manure and old wood. On the palate, it was juicy, showing sweet strawberry, which lasted into the finish. (84 points)

Do you come from a land Down Under?

As much as tourists love them,
kangaroos are a major pest for
Australian wine makers.

Today I am venturing to a location that I seldom touch upon: Australia. It's a wine-producing region that I've formed something of a love-hate relationship with. Don't get me wrong, there are many unique and stunning wines produced throughout Australia. The problem is, in my opinion, that the value wines are usually good, but whenever I want to reach up to the mid-priced or top-shelf bottles, it's a minefield. Also, it seems that whenever I find a bottle I love (Penfolds St. Henri comes to mind), it tends to go up so high in price that any value associated with the wine disappears. And so, like many Americans have done over the last two years, my attention turned away from Australia--until recently.

I've always known that Riesling is grown in Australia, but it took a trusted wine merchant putting the wine in my hands to get me to take the plunge.

Springvale Vineyard

Grosset, located in the historic township of Auburn at the southern tip of the Clare Valley, is now on its thirtieth vintage. It’s led by Jeffrey Grosset, whose emphasis is on purity of fruit and wines that represent the place that they come from, with meticulous care in the vineyards and all handpicked fruit. The wine that really turned my head was the Riesling from Springvale vineyard, located in the northeastern corner of the Clare Valley 's Watervale subregion. I guess what truly made me take notice was how pure yet intense and mineral-driven the wine was. We all make assumptions, and the wrong assumption I had made was that Riesling from Australia would be as big and explosive as many of the other varietals that the country is producing. Instead, I found myself stepping back from the glass, in amazement of how much I truly enjoyed the seamless intensity and layers of citrus-tinged fruits and earth that wafted up from the glass. It was beautiful, and will find a place in my cellar.

2008 Grosset Riesling Springvale Watervale - The nose was gorgeous and pure, showing grapefruit and lemon rinds with wet stone, woodsy funk and hints of green grass. On the palate, it was focused and intense with cleansing acidity, mouthwatering citrus fruits and sour apple that lasted well through the staying and refreshing finish. (91 points)

Find it on Wine-Searcher!

Marcarini Barolo: The Secret Is Out

A bottle I would have
loved to buy upon release.

There was a time when Barolo was cheap, at least by today’s standards. The escalation of Barolo prices was not just the result of inflation. The fact is that there was a time when the wonders of Barolo were only known to a small group of in-the-know wine lovers. Those lucky few built cellars full of some of today’s most collectible wines, and they did it with far less than what you need to stay in the game today.

Nov. 30th 2003 issue
of Wine Spectator

Much of this is due to the growth in popularity during the nineties and Wine Spectator declaring the 2000 vintage of Barolo, “Perfect.” The hype over the vintage in 2000 has now been shown to be unjustified, but the damage was done and the secret was out; Piedmont is producing some of the worlds most remarkable, ageworthy and collectible wines.

However, through all of this, there have been a small number of producers whose wines managed to fly under the radar, and with it, their prices remain very fair. Over time, the dividing line between quality and value has widened, but the conscientious wine lover can still find cellar-worthy, top notch Barolo at a good price. I just don’t know how much longer it can last.

Marcarini Barolo 1964 through 2007

This brings me to Marcarini and their Barolo Brunate. If you drink Barolo, the name Brunate should stand out to you, as it’s one of the most prestigious vineyards within the appellation. It is located at the southern boundary of La Morra with a small portion spilling into the commune of Barolo (the commune, not the wine itself). The Marcarini family is fortunate, as are we, that they have owned a portion of the Brunate vineyard for generations. When I entered the market six years ago, these wines were released at $35 a bottle and they were worth every penny. Now, at an average of $50, they are still a great buy, and a recent retrospective tasting of 12 vintages is all the evidence I need to show why.

Over time, little has changed at Marcarini. It’s a winery that is now run by its fifth generation. The winery itself is modern, but the winemaking is still very much traditional, with four-week long macerations on the skins and aging in medium-sized oak barrels of 20/40 hl. In the vineyards, the yields are low, and composting is organic with a strict selection of the grapes at harvest. Other than a replanting of the vines between 1980 and 1986, and the introduction of temperature-controlled fermentation, these wines are very much the same as what you’d receive in a bottle from 1964. Think of this as you read the notes below; I can’t think of a more ageable, traditional Barolo that I could recommend to you at a better price.

On to the notes:

1964 Marcarini Barolo
Brunate

1964 Marcarini Barolo Brunate – The nose showed sweet dark cherries in soil with crushed fall leaves and dank, moist undergrowth. On the palate, it was lively and clean with dry red fruits, minerals and citrus rind. The finish clung to the palate and left me in awe as I considered the age of this bottle and how well it performed. (94 points)

1967 Marcarini Barolo Brunate – On the nose, I found a bright expression of dried red berry with copper penny and a note raw beef. On the palate, it was lively with inner floral notes and light red fruit until a mineral metallic note took over, which wrapped the palate through the close. (86 points)

1969 Marcarini Barolo Brunate – The nose showed animal musk with strawberry, undergrowth and minerals. On the palate, it showed subdued, lean red fruit, a slight metallic note and old cedar. The finish was drying with sour red fruits. (89 points)

1970 Marcarini Barolo Brunate – The nose showed vibrant cherry, smoke, potpourri, fall leaves and old cedar. On the palate, it was finessed and balanced with zesty acidity, showing red fruits, pencil wood and hints of rust. The finish was medium-long, pleasant and clean with focused dried fruit. (90 points)

1974 Marcarini Barolo Brunate – The nose showed animal musk with earth and crushed cherries in a buttery tartlet shell. On the palate, it was airy and lifted with good acidity, showing red berries and earthy minerals. The finish was staying and wrapped the palate in dried red fruit. (91 points)

1982 Marcarini Barolo Brunate – The nose showed rustic red fruits, musk, crushed fall leaves and a hint of spice. On the palate, it was elegant and still lively with deep, fresh red fruits. This finish was medium-long with silky balance. (93 points)

1985 Marcarini Barolo Riserva Brunate – The nose was vibrant and appealing, showing dried flowers and sweet dusty strawberry. On the palate, I found dark red fruits, with cedar, sweet spice and lively acidity. The finish was clean and fresh with hints of lingering tannin. (92 points)

1989 Marcarini Barolo Brunate – The nose was classic with cherry, airy floral rose, menthol and tar. On the palate, it was smooth as silk with fine tannic structure pulsing through its core, yielding intense, yet focused red fruit and hints of spice. The finish brought more of the same and coated the palate is silky tannin. It’s amazing how young the bottle seemed and even more amazing to think what it may be in another 5–10 years. (94 points)

1990 Marcarini Barolo Brunate – The nose showed rich red fruits, dark wood, crushed fall leaves and a hint of varnish. On the palate, it was clean and focused but ripe with red fruits and lacked the depth of greater vintages. The soft finish melted away from the palate leaving a hint of drying tannin. (89 points)

1995 Marcarini Barolo Brunate - The nose showed dark red fruits and moist earth with sweet spice and cedar wood. On the palate, I found a full-bodied expression of ripe, sweet cherry, cedar and herbs against a balanced structure of tannin, leading to a pleasant finish that turned the sweet cherries to sour berries. (92 points)

1996 Marcarini Barolo Brunate – The nose was massive and brooding with dark red fruit, herbs, rose and tobacco, which closed up quickly in the glass and refused to coax back out to the front. On the palate, smooth dark red fruits caressed the senses but were quickly ushered off as its structure took over the palate. The finish showed mouth-coating tannin with an airy, herbal lift. With time, this may be absolutely gorgeous but on this night, it was a bruiser. (93 points)

2007 Marcarini Barolo Brunate – The nose was sweet and pungent with confectionary fruits, tartlet shell, dark chocolate and plum. On the palate, it was juicy with ripe fruits, spice and mint with a smooth sheen; yet a twinge of burning heat marred the palate into the finish, where tannins took center stage. (89 points)

Find Marcarini Barolo Brunate on Wine-Searcher!

If you made it this far, I’d like to take a moment to make one more recommendation. I seriously urge you to consider some of the other wines from Marcarini as well. Marcarini is well known for the Brunate bottling, yet the Barolo La Serra is another excellent Barolo for the money. La Serra is another single vineyard bottling from the commune of La Morra. While known to be more accessible earlier than the Brunate, it’s still an excellent bottle of Barolo that can provide mid-term cellaring and a great deal of value. Lastly, it’s worth checking out the Dolcetto d’Alba “Boschi di Berri.” In Piedmont, Nebbiolo is king with Dolcetto and Barbera receiving real estate in lesser-known locations. This is not so with the Boschi di Berri, a dolcetto that is made from vines that are literally over 100 years old and planted on native root stocks. It is a wine worth seeking out and should be on the short list of anyone who is looking to explore the wines of Piedmont.