Villa I Cipressi Brunello di Montalcino "Zebras"

Over the top. Don’t wait to drink now.

Black cherry, floral, earthiness and just a touch of vanilla on the nose. Remains between medium and full bodied with black cherry and deeper black raspberry upfront. I was impressed with how much brightness this wine still shows here; feels quite youthful. Mid-body is rounded and elegant with really impressive density and depth. This density contrasts well with the brightness upfront. Backside shows blackberry and tart black cherry with hints of red fruit, coupled with integrated spices, mineral notes, earth, …

Prior bottle was a bit over four months ago and it remains an impressive wine. A beautiful nose of black cherry, evolving towards red cherry and a mix of floral qualities. Between medium and full bodied and round, silky and elegant. Black cherry and black raspberry upfront with tart red cherry and wildberry behind providing contrast. The mid-body of this wine shows loads of fruit, but with the depth and precision that characterize the best brunellos. Should continue to hold …

Prior bottle was almost 13 months ago and this wine has developed almost exactly as I'd hoped. Identical nose of black cherry, floral, tobacco hints and light redfruit aromas. Full bodied (14% ABV), but even rounder and more elegant than my bottle from last year. Flavor profile also remains consistent with bright, but deep black cherry upfront, backed with black raspberry before adding tart redfruit notes behind (red cherry and wildberry). Finishes with fine grained tannins, good acidity, nice mineral …

This has improved noticeably since my last bottle almost two years ago (July 2014). It has better integration, is smoother and comes together more quickly. Black cherry, floral, tobacco and a hint of red fruit on the nose. Nearly fulled bodied, but smooth and round. Started off with deep black cherry with hints of raspberry behind. Then adds in some nice contrasting notes of tart red fruit (cherry and wildberry). Good structure on the finish with the tannins only slightly …

First bottle of this wine. Can't compare, but it does not seem to have aged much. Still lots of freshness. Delicious wine.

Started off on the lighter side of red in color, biased towards the red fruit end of the flavor spectrum and not showing a great deal of complexity. I was quite surprised and disappointed as this was a 2004 I’d really been looking forward to trying. But after letting the wine breathe for 90 minutes, it underwent as remarkable a transformation as I have seen a wine pull off. The color deepened considerably towards a much darker purple/black. The fruit …

A Casual Tuesday at Crush with some guys from Toronto (Toronto, ON) : To me, this is on the modern side of Brunello. It pours a very deep inky color. Nearly black. On the positive side this is fairly open and aromatic on pop and pour. Nose reveals: vanilla custard, nectarine, peach, dark cherry, plum, blackberry and coconut. Palate is dense, ripe, dark and extracted with abundant tannin and it is a bit low in acid for a Brunello. The …

Nice wine, lighter than expected but good grip on the finish. Tart cherries, with black tea and earth.

Fragrant light bodied Brunello, lacking structure.

Garnet color. Required aeration w Vinturi. Slightly acidic.

This will be one note for the 2006, 2005 and 2004 "Zebras". The 2006 is still very primary with juicy cherry fruits and somewhat drying tannin in the finish. The 2005 is a little more pleasant, probably because it had one more year of ageing compared to the 2006. There is also some drying tannin in the finish. The 2004 "Zebras" (called that way because the wall of the cellar is painted as on the label) has the most earthy …