Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona, Brunello di Montalcino

Black truffle, dust, dirt, leather, ripe strawberries and ripe red cherries on the nose. Beautifully divided between fruit and non fruit aromas, with a medium + intensity thereof. Anyone could call this Sangiovese blind upon smelling. Sadly, the palate doesn't fare as well, though it's still pretty tasty. My main issue is that the red fruit is more over ripe, though chocolate, chalk and fresh mint flavors add some nice complexity. It also loses the truffle from the nose. Medium …

2011 vintage

Classic tawny brown brunello, delicious w spice overtone..

2011 vintage

Fascinating to have tried this after a recent bottle of the 2010. This was still an undeniable joy, but by comparison, a far less transcendent one. A little warm and sharp, but still beautifully crafted. Did a particularly great job flattering a pork sausage and broccoli pasta.

2011 vintage

This bottle was not nearly as good as previous ones. Was too jammy with some funk.

2011 vintage

Deer

2011 vintage

cork fell apart resulting in decanting for plenty of cork and sediment. Minor bricking. Best yet of these, has come together in a classic style. Good maturing/dry mixed berry, earth, leather, good acidity.

2011 vintage

La sua evoluzione è evidente ma presenta piacevolezza senza dolcezza e eleganza da vendere. Curiosamente non c'è stato bisogno di decanter. A me questo stile piace. 15 gradi, ma diresti che sono 13.5.

2011 vintage

i can see the amber rim due to ageing. dark, full bodied, sweet on nose, blackcurrant, medium-long finish. Maybe better when consume young.

2011 vintage

Tawny, very slight brownish color. Pale rim and medium light body. Dust, spice and raspberry nose, medium intensity - modern and not Brunello, whiffs of alcohol. Ripe pallet, cooked fruit and plumb. Acidity is medium but comes as a secondary note, more prominent on the finish. Peppery finish, some heat and a little rasin. Tannins are present but secondary to the fruits - medium at best but still drying. No alcoholic heat despite 15% abv. Hard to read: either destined …

2011 vintage

Total success!!

2011 vintage

92 Bought on a trip to Italy in 2016 with friends including Chuck and MaryEllen. Took this bottle to a great restaurant in Detroit, Oak & Reel. Bottle drank great. Smooth, balanced.

2011 vintage

Love it.

2011 vintage

Sadly my last bottle. Still in an awesome place. Took this one on the road to an awesome Italian BYO in Philly. Bricking as you would expect from a Brunello at this age. Smooth, integrated tannins with mushroom, truffle, strawberry and plumb notes. Med-full bodied and spectacular all the way through. Drink now.

2011 vintage

The 15% heat is really overpowering at the moment. Lots of other lovely elements, but the burn is not working for me.

2011 vintage

Brunello di Montalcino 2011 (Zoom!) : South, 240-360m, big botte 30 mos. No riserva this year so everything went into the main Brunello. Quite a dark wine, and with plenty of dark fruit and spice on the nose and the palate, and verging on truffle and undergrowth with time. If #2 was Sangiovese meets Nebbiolo, this wine shows some Merlot-type character: it’s warm and smooth though again delicate despite its high alcohol. Tasty raisiny finish. Tannins smooth out with a …

2011 vintage

This has improved in the past couple of years. Ruby core with slight browning at the edges. Initially a somewhat non-descript nose but builds weight over time, eventually with signature Brunello profile. Not overly complex or distinctive, but does the basics reliably well. On the palate, good fruit expression, bright acidity and very fine / dissolved tannins. Better than I remember a few years ago and easily set for another 5+.

2011 vintage

Decanted this wine as it was shut down when we first tried it. Even after decanting, it's restrained. Not much on the nose and on the palate, dried rose petals, black cherry and some cinnamon. It has a round mouthfeel with med tannins and medium acidity. Our sense is that it's not going to get better with aging, so drink now.

2011 vintage

tart cheery/cranberry and earth; some spice; good stuffing albeit a bit disjointed; good typicity

2011 vintage

This wine is much improved since the last time we tried it. We opened this about 10-15 minutes before dinner and poured about 3/4 glass each to sit and air. The color is quite purple, almost opaque at the center, fading to purple-red at the edge. Some savory, vegetal aromas mix with some alcohol heat, red fruit, dry pipe tobacco, dirt, dark berry. At times it feels like the nose closes in on itself and needs swirling to pull back …

2011 vintage

Was still youthful and needs a few more years.

2011 vintage

Sweet and spicy...ok for $31.00. Wouldn't pay more.

2011 vintage

Ultra young. One of my favorite wines

2011 vintage

rounder and sweeter (with a saccharin component) than i prefer on day one. Calmed down and more like a brunello on day two. Goes down easily,

2011 vintage

Well balanced at its peak long finish great value

2011 vintage

Delicious. Sour cherry, wonderful acidity. Excellent

2011 vintage

Brunello di Montalcino tasting (Riga, Latvia) : 🏅Rating 90+/100 (4,05⭐) Raisins, cinnamon. Muted. Not intensive. Smoked meat. Not concentrated. Good fruit on the palate.

2003 vintage

Med+garnet color with orange brick meniscus but deep ruby/garnet core. Med+ intensity nose, all secondary and tertiary featuring a bouquet cedar, eucalyptus, dead flowers, walnuts and tar. Med+ intensity flavor of kirsch, leather and tar. High acid and tongue coating high tanins. Long finish. Last of a case and while I preferred while younger and still primary aromas, this is a wonderfully complexi and well structured wine.

1995 vintage

Nose had tobacco, earth, herbs, smoke and plum fruit. Palate showed dark currants and plum. Rich but light on its feet with an ethereal finish. Not very complex but very enjoyable. At peak.

1995 vintage

This drank very well with significant air. Very ripe on opening but really mellowed in to a well rounded seductive sangiovese

2003 vintage

Well, we pushed the age on this, but we were not disappointed. The tannins have matured to supple silkiness. The nose has fig and dried prunes dominating. The palate has strawberries, hay and tobacco. A well crafted wine that still shows well after all this time.

2003 vintage

Popped and poured with penne & amatriciana sauce. Aroma is strawberry and tobacco. Taste has those two flavors as well, along with some cocoa and a bit of oak. A lot of acidity on the mid-palate and finish - too much for my taste.

2003 vintage

Dark colored with a nose of dark cherries, leather and earth. The palate consisted of just a hint of dark fruit with lots of tar, leather and earth. The wine was smooth and classy showing the Brunello source. There wasn't much fruit so, if that is what you are looking for, check elsewhere. The finish is a little short but not overly abrupt. A well made wine obviously not made in California.

2003 vintage

At first tart, with ilttle perceptible fruit, and relatively simple. But a beautiful, silky texture. After opening up awhile, though, it gets a bit more attractive, with just enough fruit and earth and oak to balance the acid. I like it!

2003 vintage

Decanted 90 minutes before service. In the glass, deep red with a subtle shade of auburn. On the nose, dark cherries, rose petals, and a hint of tar. On the palate, a nice mix of cherries, oak, and tea, and a bit of burnt tar on the short finish, not enough to detract from the wine, but it's right at the edge...

2003 vintage

This is a good producer (i usually like the Vigna Pianrosso), but nothing really exciting about this wine. Not that it was over extracted or had too much wood, but it was a bit boring, lacking a bit of acidity and with some extra alcohol. (blame it on the vintage, maybe). Esse não agradou muito. Não que seja ruim, pois não tinha excesso de madeira nem fruta exageradamente extraída, mas faltou um pouco de acidez e sobrou um pouco de …

2003 vintage

Upon open - and breathing for about 30 minutes, the nose was quite promissing. Dark fruits, leather, earth - certainly picked up cedar from the oak. Decent mouthfeel - but the fruit was just not as "there" as the nose suggested. Disappointing. Waited another 30 minutes or so and it never really evolved. Maybe too soon - but I don't think so. It was a gift, and appreciated for that, but for my $, there are other wines that will …

2003 vintage

good drinking but not close to pianrosso

2003 vintage

Opened by Otis. One of 3 BdM he opened at his party. This was a fine wine but was my least favorite of the 3. An earthy wine with tar and black fruit notes. 91 points.

2003 vintage

Uncoked for about 30 minutes prior to consumption and it was up against heavy Tuscan competition from the 1990 and 1997 vintages. It is still not showing its full dimensions but paired really nicely with the food. I think it is not ready yet.

2003 vintage

Excellent wine. Beautiful rust color. On the nose plum, cedar, leather, and earthiness. The bouquet is awesome. On the palate the plum and dried cherries are well integrated with the leather and cedar. You also get a nice tea component. Good mouth feel, silky and smooth after an 1 1/2 hour decant. There is still a lot of tannin structure in this wine for it to develop in the future. I think this will be a monster wine in another …

2003 vintage

There is a fairly strong oak influence so the wine needs some air and time in the glass to open. Medium to full bodied texture. Dark ruby to garnet color. As it begins to open there are aromas of vanilla cherry cola and some spice. Noticeable but balanced tannins on the palate which leads to a lingering finish of dark chocolate. From only a "good" vintage this wine is very polished but a bit pricey at $70.

2003 vintage

Interesting process on drinking this bottle. I opened it and decanted it. Not a whole lot of sediment. Then I took a taste and thought it a bit tight and edgy. I recently had acquired an aerator funnel and used that (with another funnel) to pour the wine back into the bottle. The wine was greatly improved and drank beautifully. It was dark and full of earthy fruits... so much so that I wondered it had received a boost from …

1995 vintage

After a 2+ hour decant this was showing very youthful qualities with very bright dark fruits and sour cherry on the nose and palate with the addition of some cocoa and leather on the palate and a rich chewy finish.

2003 vintage

After 2 hours decanted and some roasted veggies it is just starting to open up, but the nose is still closed. The palate is showing a hint of dark red fruit and nicely integrated tannins with a spicy, but short finish. I need to stop drinking these for a few years because I do believe these will fully materialize in a few more years. Brunello's are famous for these ups and downs as they approach maturity.

2003 vintage

frangrance on nose, v clear and vivid red colour. sweet cherry fruit, slight white peepper bite, wafting of oak coming through. still some tannin underneath. thought young burgundy, or maybe kiwi pinot. wrong!

2003 vintage

Aromatic nose seems at first to promise more than this wine delivers. Color is a light brick red. Nice dried, dark cherry notes on the front, and at first, a thin follow thru and an astringent finish. No mid-palate whatsoever. However, it seems that this wine is like a painting where it builds one sip at a time until the final effect is reached. This wine does have a very long finish, and the next sip seems to build on …

2003 vintage

Last bottle didn't go out with a fanfar... I was disappointed in how blend this wine was. I hade expected to be more impressive by now but it was quite closed on the nose. Not much happened after sitting in the glass for hours - perhaps the competitiion was to stiff... I am not sure this wine will get better because although there is a backbone in the structure I just feel the fruti just died and there was very …

2003 vintage

Smelled of tart cherries and a hint of leather. Gripping tannins still, which was to be expected for this wine's youth. There was some good fruit in the beginning, including some plum, but it did not last too long. I will wait a few more years to pop open the other bottle of this. Probably give this 2 out of 5 stars in terms of value.

2003 vintage

Not impressed. Decanted only 30-45 minutes. Maybe should have decanted longer.

2003 vintage

Good but not great; maybe in a couple years. I recommend decanting for at least 3 hours. Aromas of dried flowers, plum, cola, and spice. Flavors are quite compact and hard to separate. That said there is plenty of substance with notes of plum, dried cherry, cola, roast meat, and spice. Fairly tannic, but not excessive. Most surprising was the balance and high acidity given the much talked about Extreme ripening that seems to be the general myth about 2003. …

2003 vintage

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Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona, Brunello di Montalcino

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