Score: 92/100
This Brunello di Montalcino DOCG wine by Villa al Cortile is made from 100% Sangiovese grapes, that went through 24 months of ageing in oak, before a further 6 months ageing in bottle at the winery prior to release.
Tasting Notes
This Tuscan Brunello wine comes in a dark red color of medium intensity. It is dark to the core but not overly dense, and filled with orange hues particularly visible on the rim, although it still looks bright red overall.
The nose is intense and fragrant, on a sweet savory feel.
Plenty of fruity richness comes out of the wine glass, prune and date, sour cherry liqueur, raspberry jam, a lot going on as far as fruity aromas are concerned. These though, come with a distinct earthiness providing depth to the profile, and plenty of sweet spices, nutmeg, clove and the likes, adding joyfulness like spices add magic to the fruity richness of Christmas pudding.
Add some black olive scents, like tapenade (pickled black olive puree, a traditional dish from Provence) and black pepper, and you’ll get a mental picture of how broad the aroma spectrum is on this wine. Captivating and intriguing!
The palate is smooth at first, and a surprisingly-dense and opulent body for a Sangiovese wine. This is a ripe vintage, with powerful bursts of dried fruit flavors, like detected on the nose: date and prune eau-de-vie. Yes, this ripe fruit goodness comes with warmth from the alcohol as well.
From the mid-palate on, you also get an explosion of sweet spices literally taking strong control of your senses and attention like fireworks, but in your mouth.
Round and oily body, soft tannins at first, turning velvety and a little granulous towrads the finish.
Talking about the finish, it is powerful and layered, providing some delightful and elegant sweetness underlined by layers of fruit and spices.
Overall
A ripe and lively Brunello wine, powerful and filled with dried-fruit expression strongly underlined by a wealth of sweet spiciness. Sweet and savory, yet with plenty of sweet fruit flavors, it adds huge complexity with many notes all reminding of Italy (or should I say Tuscany to be more specific): truffle, tomato leaf, olives, cured meats, and many more.
You can’t fail to be transported in an exploration of what some of the best Tuscan wines have to offer with this Brunello. Character, personality, sophisticated exuberance, with affirmed yet controlled power.
A wine to experience then it is…
Enjoy 🙂
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