Scopetone, Brunello di Montalcino

Still showed well but not as expressive of the last bottle I opened a few years ago, declining now.

Acid still there which kept this pleasant. But some overly aged or heat damaged notes (cork was elevated but otherwise was in nice shape). All leather, mushroom, forest floor, tar early on. As it opened up, some great aged cherry and blackberry eucalyptus notes came through. Still alive. Let it open for 30 mins.

Elegant tannins and delicate fruit after about 20 minutes of air. A beautiful expression of the Sangiovese grosso biotype. Drinking really well now but will go a bit further

Got this off of WineBid for $25/btl (before commission tax and shipping) because the lot it came from had slightly elevated corks, and it was well worth the gamble. Asked the restaurant to decant the bottle about an hour and a half before we sat and by the time we got into it, it was still incredibly tight. After 10 minutes in the glass, it opened up beautifully, with notes of dried tea leaves and a tight fruit on the …

Good, but possibly a little too overextracted. The 2006 is more balanced.

Decanted for two hours. Deep purple in the glass, starting to brick. Fantastic nose of plum, dusty pine, wet earth. Nicely structured on the palate, sweet black fruit, with some tart red berry that sneaks in and eventually takes over, some prominent minerality. Very long finish, with a lot of unresolved, rustic, tooth-coating tannins. Just at the start of its stride, will integrate a little better yet, although I doubt the tannins will fully resolve. Continued to improve over the …