Albino Rocca Barbaresco Vigneto Brich Ronchi 1999

Made of 100% Nebbiolo, the viticultural practices at Rocca are strict: organic fertilization, short pruning and green pruning. The very low production per hectare results in remarkable concentration for these wines. Aged in 90% new French barriques. Deep garnet red in color, the Bric Ronchi has an intense nose packed ... more

Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino 1999

The 1999 Brunello di Montalcino is the best regular bottling the house has yet released, a full, blackish ruby-garnet with a lovely tarry, mineral, plummy nose endowed with intriguing notes of leather, solid, dense, and long on the palate with complex flavors of plums, tobacco, and underbrush on its sweet, ... more

Luciano Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne 2000

The 2000 Barolo Le Vigne is structured, powerful on the nose with notes of licorice, tar, and macerated cherries, dense and solid in flavor, more muscular than usual and slightly tough on the finish. Time may help these tannins, and the wine can best be drunk between 2006 and 2018., ... more

Le Macioche Brunello di Montalcino 2001

Only 665 cases were made of this superb Brunello that spent 36 months in very large oak casks; a more traditional approach to barrel aging which gives the wine roundness, fullness, and softness with the characteristic spicy bark notes and high toned floral/fruity aromatics. "Le Macioche’s vineyards are among the ... more

Pertimali - Livio Sassetti Brunello di Montalcino 2001

Almost Burgundian in style, Pertimali Brunello is seductive in its aromatics, silky in tannins, and balanced with beautiful fruit flavors. This can be at least partly attributed to the Montosoli hill on which the estate's vineyards are sited; the cru is famous for producing wines that are a perfect balance ... more

Collosorbo Brunello di Montalcino 2001

Brunello (the little dark one) is a Tuscan dialect name for a particularly fine strain of Sangiovese grown in Montalcino, south of both Chianti and Siena. In this dryer, hotter, and more Mediterrean climate of southern Tuscany, the limesone and sand soil produce a muscular grape capable of making a ... more

Enzo Tiezzi Brunello di Montalcino 2001

Only 800 cases total of Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino are produced each year at this small estate, which began bottling in 1989. Since that time, extensive renovations and improvements have taken place, including increasing the size of the estate to a total of 12 hectares. Enzo Tiezzi makes his ... more

Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 2003

Ample, sweet and expansive, the 2003 Sassicaia offers generous notes of sweet dark fruit intermingled with notes of spices, herbs, earthiness and smoke in a full-bodied, opulent expression of this wine. It is an outstanding effort for the vintage. Some cellaring is suggested although with air this wine is drinking ... more

Giacomo Borgogno Barolo Classico Riserva 1997

Bartolomeo Borgogno founded this historic estate in 1761, and the family officially established themselves as an independent producer in 1848. The family has vineyards in many of the best sites in Barolo including Cannubi, Cannubi Boschis and Brunate, as well as the lesser known but locally reknowned Liste, Rue and ... more

Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino 2001

Castello Banfi is a family-owned winery that is dedicated to producing high quality, authentic Tuscan wines. They favor a natural, organic approach, and have even pioneered clonal research on the Sangiovese vine to produce a more consistently excellent Brunello di Montalcino. more

Mocali Brunello di Montalcino Vigna delle Raunate 2001

The single-vineyard 2001 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna delle Raunate is darker and weightier than the normal bottling, with powerful suggestions of scorched earth and tar on the nose followed by plenty of dark, backward fruit interwoven with toasted oak and chocolate flavors. It shows greater concentration and length on the ... more

Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Ornellaia 2004

The gorgeous 2004 Ornellaia is a great way to start this tasting. A lively dark ruby, it is a vibrant effort bursting with expressive aromatics and layered, well-delineated fruit, showing much purity on the palate and closing with a long, finessed finish. Readers hoping to catch this wine's full array ... more