Castelgiocondo (Frescobaldi), Brunello di Montalcino

Opened at 6:30 am and into the decanter at 4:30pm. Cork was not even saturated. When I poured the wine into my glass it was so dark I couldn’t believe it’s 25 yrs old. Beautiful nose of dark cherries, toast, sage and cherry syrup. It is so smooth and embraces your pallet with torrent of dark blue and red fruits, orange rind, and finishes with a spoonful full of wild blueberry jam. Incredible drink tonight. Can see how an aged …

2001 vintage

Mieux que la précédente. Suave et assez fruité. Des prunes et des cerises noires. Des fleurs et des épices. Les tannins sont fins et la finale de belle longueur.

2014 vintage

2006 Frescobaldi Castel Giocondo Brunello di Montacino Cellared since release. PnP at dinner with friends on January 8, 2026. Brilliant ruby in the glass with no bricking. The nose showed red fruit, and a hint of earth and subtle floral scents. The mouth was immediately filled by a medium bodied wine with cherry fruit of great depth and purity, beautifully balancing acidity conferring freshness, with integrated tannins. There was mid-palate stimulation and spice on a 20 second finish to go …

2006 vintage

Enjoyed at a private wine tasting event sponsored by a local wine broker from Houston. Deep ruby, medium body. Very expressive aromas. Lots of juicy and savory red fruits. Still shows notable structure. Big mouthfeel and long finish. This can go another 10+ years. Excellent!

2001 vintage

Ready to roll, we can obviously see this was a tougher vintage by its lack of depth, but we managed to have so fun drinking this. Orangish rim, black olives and a sense of crushed tomatoes is what we’re having here. Med- lenght, lacks acidity. Had a hard time to keep up with the fondue.

2014 vintage

Decanted 1 hr. A lovely balance of fruit and fine tannins.. suspect it is in a peak plateau phase for next 5 years

2014 vintage

Tried this again and again plenty of fruit. Smooth tannins and gets better with time. Bold start and a smooth finish.

2001 vintage

Was super nervous that this bottle may have gone past its prime. However, pleasantly surprised still has plenty of fruit. Would not hold onto this vintage much longer. Will likely only get worse with time. Delicious now And balanced.

2001 vintage

Nuanced.

2014 vintage

Dark black cherry color, watery rim, substantial bricking Nose of dried plum - bordering prune, leather, coffee notes, vanilla pudding, Italian herbs Chocolate covered cherries on palate, fully resolved tannins, syrupy but holding onto balance with last legs of acidity, orange juice on finish Last if a 6-pack for me. Past its prime but still enjoyable. Drink now.

2001 vintage

This is a monster. Needs several hours of decant or several years more in the cellar. It’s decidedly closed and barely starting to open after an hour.

2006 vintage

Friday evening in Diessenhofen. Two hour decant. Medium purple colour. Dried red cherries, wet forest floor, black pepper, black olives and Mediterranean herbs on the nose. Med acidity, full body, high alcohol, med flavor intensity, dry tannins and med finish. Green touch, dried red cherries, nice salinity. A bit warm and slightly overwhelming alcohol. Overall rather nice and good QPR.

2014 vintage

Distinct taste throughout. Black berries, dark fruits and anis. Needs 1-2 hours aerate before drinking.

2014 vintage

Started off a bit clunky with its age showing in the form of some port-like and almond flavors but with air and time in the bottle, the fruit rose up to the occasion resulting in everything in harmony. Dark fruits, some blood orange, tar, earth, cedar and leather, resolved tannins, medium finish. Nice bottle at 25 years but at peak and probably starting to decline.

1999 vintage

A little surprising! Opened about 3 hours before drinking. Typical BdM characteristics, but more distinctive than expected. Well integrated acidity and tannins and a long, very smooth finish.

2014 vintage

Chef Danny dinner at Happy place. Drank in Spiegelau Definition Burgundy glass. Tasted blind. Appearance is clear, deep intensity, garnet colour. Legs. Nose medium+ intensity, with aromas of tertiary earth, mushroom, beef broth, tinge of soy sauce. Developed. On the palate, dry, medium+ acidity, integrated resolved high tannins, ful body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of savoury earth with mushrooms, beef broth, balsamic, dark plums, blackberries. Long finish. Very good quality, especially paired with the Australian wagyu beef strip loin. …

1999 vintage

Not showing its age. More modern next to the Altesino 95. An OK drink.

1999 vintage

Slow oxed for 10 hours then into a decanter for 2 more. First glass the wine showed a browning at the rim and the nose had dome bottle funk. After about 10 minutes the wine revealed its self. A nose of dry saddle leather, plumbs and muted red fruits. As it sat in the glass it evolved and gained strength. It became darker and showed beautiful deep red fruits, rust, strawberries jam compote and some leather. It kept evolving as …

2001 vintage

Notes written after about 1 hour of opening and decanting. The wine developed throughout the drinking period. The color is a deep, clear garnet. The nose has blackberry, blueberry, hints of leather and cigar box. The palate has cherries, blueberries, mushrooms, and leather. The body is medium+ with balanced fruit, acid, and fine tannins. A lovely wine, although not as nuanced as some other Brunelli. ABV 14.5%

2014 vintage

NobleRottersSydney - Sangiovese & Tempranillo (Glass Brasserie, Sydney) : {cork, 14.5%} [Graeme] A mix of floral, perfumed notes with dark cherry and plum jam characters underneath. Palate isn’t quite as fresh as the nose; despite medium acid and medium chalky tannins it finishes just a little short with a hint of astringency. Still OK, but time to drink up I’d say.

2014 vintage

At a restaurant, from a half bottle. Essentially PnP, although it developed reasonably over 30-60 minutes. These notes were taken at the end of that period. The wine's color is a medium+ garnet. The nose has red fruit (cherries+), a bit of tar, a bit of leather, a bit of earth. The palate has cherries, some forest floor, not a lot of complexity. The body of the wine is a solid medium with balanced acids and tannins. The tannins are …

2014 vintage

Drink up as probably on decline from here. Classic brunello nose of cherry and leather. On palate leather tobacco and muted cherry and cranberry. Still some grippy tannins and good acidity. Overall just lacking depth and tastes thin.

2014 vintage

Probably nearing its peak. Showed much more balance and fruit than the ‘99 I served next to it -

2001 vintage

Faint orange tint under dark cherry color; hints of ripe cherry and strawberry on nose; fairly light mouth-feel with a rather short finish. May be a bit past its prime.

2001 vintage

In my cellar since release. Still lively and youthful looking with medium dark garnet color and little bricking. Rich texture. Oak dominated nose though unobtrusive. Dark fruited, chewy. Modern and maybe just a bit too oaky on the palate for me. This seems more so than the previous bottle.

2001 vintage

No detailed notes taken. Company’s Christmas dinner. See my notes of 2022-07-14; Classic Brunello. This one is at its peak but no reason to rush.

1999 vintage

Great bouquet. Short tannic wall finish. Disappointing.

2014 vintage

Uncertain provenance, picked up from auction. Surprisingly very good within minutes of being opened. Improved for about an hour, plateaued for an hour and then began a bit of decline, which isn’t typical of Brunellos I’ve had before, but worked great for Labor Day BBQ. I don’t think this Brunello, even if well stored, are going to get better, though they probably still have time IF they’ve been treated well. Lot of good leather notes with some muddled fruit and …

1999 vintage

Decanted for 2 hours before enjoying with wood fire grilled steaks. Deep dark and rich. Fully integrated but distinct oak notes of spice, vanilla etc. Black berries, black plum, black cherry and tobacco. Enjoyable though international and modern in style.

2001 vintage

Tuscany July 2023; 6/28/2023-7/5/2023 (Tuscany, Italy) : Still reticent but not sure time will help it get better. Nice acidity to pair well with boar ragu. Ok

2005 vintage

Other than a fragile cork that broke apart, tbis exceeded my expectations. Vibrant, complex with a mouth full of flavor. Gave it 1 hour to breathe. Felt like it was at its peak drinkability. I aged this in my own cellar for 10 plus years. Very happy with the result.

2002 vintage

The last of a favorite

2005 vintage

not a great vintage

2014 vintage

With Jeff, Mary, Gayle, Sophie and Evan.

2005 vintage

This wine was medium bodied with medium tannins, the fruit was well balanced but the overall body was on the lighter side. This would be a good restaurant buy.

2014 vintage

Maintains it's deep dark color in slite of it's age. Still has some Black licorice and a trace of black fruit on the nose and palate. Nearing the end of it's drinking interval. Actually better on night 2. Then night 1 of consumption.

1999 vintage

Light ruby with orange hue, long slow legs, on 👃 red fruit first with raspberries , nectarines , cedar bark, wet forest floor, leather. Dry, light/medium body, really beautiful yellow nectarines & cherries, medium burn on throat, soft frontal tannins. Good to drink now.

1999 vintage

Allowed to breathe in glass 1 hour. Clear deep dark garnet color. Notes of dried black and red cherries and their liqueurs; leather, sandalwood, dark baking spices, porcinis, dried meat, stony soil, hints of balsamic, soy, and tobacco. Full body, seamless, good balance, pleasantly tart and tannic.

2001 vintage

Drank with Bob, seems like it might be on the downward slide.

1999 vintage

타르, 정향, 담배, 철분, 숲바닥, 이끼등 숙성향이 가득한 내리막의 BDM. 많은 양의 새디먼트 주의. 만족.

1999 vintage

Heavy on the dried fruits: prunes etc. Viscous. A little sweet.

2014 vintage

Favorite of the night.

2005 vintage

Cork broke so decanted an hour or so before drinking. Dark fruit (black cherry, slight plum), earth, a bit soft, slight herbal/ tobacco, slight spice. Good acidity. Fruit a little dissipated. Lingering finish. Really enjoyable.

1999 vintage

Somewhat tight initially but after 3 hours of slowly sipping wine became friendly and a balance emerged

2006 vintage

De mieux en mieux. Super dense et bien ample mais avec un éuilibre bien senti. Des prunes et des cerises avec du thym et du poivre. Les tannins sont encore charnus et la finale bien longue est sans accroc. Excellent.

2006 vintage

Coravin'd a glass. Initially a great amalgam of fresh earth, cedar & floral potpourri, and fresh red cherries. Really nice as all these transitioned to the palate quite clearly, leading to a strict finish. After a few hours of air it went well with food, but some of the fruit became more lean and structure took over. Likely better in a few years, but I'll be finishing the bottle as a pop & pour soon.

2014 vintage

This was a part of 1997 and 1999 Tuscan tasting including 3 Brunellos and 2 Super Tuscans, same producers from each year. Classic Brunello. Slightly less intense and softer structure than the 1997. The nose offers dark red cherry and violets. Moderate finish.

1999 vintage

2 hrs decanting ,earth but fresh… very nice Brunello Med Gui

2014 vintage

Yes please.

2001 vintage

Encore bien en forme. Bouteille relevée 2 jours avant son ouverture. Mis en carafe pour enlever le fin dépot et remis en bouteille laissez ouverte un bon 8 heures avant sa dégustation. Servi avec un Osso buco Milanaise. Des cerises, des mures, du girogle et de la canelle avec une pointe de menthol. Les tannins sont fins et bien enrobé du fruit encore bien gourmand. La finale est super longue sur de relents de réglisse. SUPERBE!

2001 vintage

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Castelgiocondo (Frescobaldi), Brunello di Montalcino

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