Brunello Di Montalcino, 2006
A mid to light but very clear colour belies the wine's intense, explosive flavours. A wonderful Brunello of exuberance ripeness but great overall harmony, warming flavours of juicy ripe bramble, strawberry and damson infused with hints of rock salt and dried flowers. The Cortonesis describe 2007 as more "open and elegant" than the tight-knit 2006s. It is certainly a sunny, brilliant and heart-warming Brunello that has you coming back for more. A blend of vines with various exposures and soils centred on Castelnuovo del Abate on the south-east side of Montalcino. The wine undergoes both fermentations in steel tank, followed by ageing for 36 months in a mixture of oak barrel and larger casks, then an additional eight months? finishing in bottle.
critic reviews
(15% on label): Good deep red. Black fruits, licorice, black pepper, spices, underbrush and minerals on the nose. Dense and sweet but also nicely structured, offering good energy for such a creamy wine. A bit unwieldy today owing to its high alcohol, but the wine's powerful tannins are nicely supported by ripe, deep fruit. Give this at least four or five years to come into harmony.