Ciao tutti!
This past Saturday was my sweetheart’s birthday, so after a busy day of baseball and lacrosse tournaments we we able to wind down the day with a relaxing dinner at a local Trattoria. What’s more, it was a gorgeous night and we were able to dine al fresco.
With various appetizers of crab cakes, sweet and spicy calamari, zucchini fritti, and rosemary focaccia we uncorked the 2001 Lisini Brunello di Montalcino. What a gorgeous wine! You are struck immediately by the richness of the nose, and the bottle sweet bouquet from cellaring. The wine is dark garnet still, with ruby at the rim. Aromas of leather, dark cherry, dark chocolate, spices and flowers spring from the glass with intense precision. The wine is rich and ripe in the mouth. Persistent flavors of dark cherry, chocolate covered espresso bean, leather, warmed earth and flowers assault the palate in waves. The tannins are still evident but ripe and contribute amazing structure. Un utterly remarkable Brunello from a producer that is tops on my list. Note: Wine is throwing a large sediment. 98 points, about $45 on release.
When the entrees came we began tasting the second wine, which had been opened along with the Lisini. The 2006 Tenuta di Sesta Brunello di Montalcino was also compelling. Very different stylistically from the Lisini, apart from the difference in age, the wine displayed an intense perfume with asian spices, cinnamon, and clove to the briary, piney underbrush aroma of the berries. In the mouth, the wine is delicious. While the Lisini was richer, this wine was more rustic. Crushed wild berries, dried herbs, slight red licorice and an herbal infused earth component are framed wonderfully by zippy acidity. This wine was delicious with short ribs, seafood risotto, black linguine with crab, four cheese tortellini and gnocchi bolognese. 92 points, $39.
Two great showings…….
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| Birthday Brunello |
John, sounds like this was your birthday! Does you wife like wine as much as you do?
Were these wines in your cellar?
Dennis,
I'm fortunate that my girlfriend enjoys wine as much as I do. It does enhance the pleasure of a fine bottle when it's shared. The 2001 Lisini was in my cellar since release, it was my last bottle. The 2006 Tenuta di Sesta was a recent acquisition.
The 2006 Lisini is going to be a must purchase for the cellar. I rated the one bottle I had of that vintage 98 points as well. Truly gorgeous stuff.
Dennis,
In addition to my remarks below, I should add that there was about 1/3 of the "Sesta" leftover that got finished Sunday evening. It may have been even better then. Bodes well for cellaring.
Today I saw the 2003 Lisini BM, but declined to buy (You don't know how its been cared for all these years). Instead I bought the 2006 Salicutti Piaggione BM, but if the Lisini had been the 2006, that would have been different. Still haven't seen a single 2007.
I keeping looking for that 100 point wine David Boyer talks about, but alas my highest scoring wine was 96 points; one day I'll find that perfect wine; it sounds like you were close with this one.
Again, the label on the Sesta is quite attractive, with the Lisini being somewhat regal.
Dennis,
The Salicutti should be exceptional. What's the Piaggione designation? It sounds like it's a single vineyard wine, in theory better than Salicutti's "normale". What are you referring to with the 100 point David Boyer wine?
J
2006 Podere Salicutti Piaggione, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Italy
David (Maybe the first wine critic to encourage me)thought that it would be an education in itself for me to find a wine I scored 100 pts. and was consistent with other wine critics; to taste such a wine is the converse of tasting trash wines, so as to rightly calibrate my own sense of the parameters of wine. I think that's what he was driving at, and it makes sense to me, though I haven't bought two-buck-chuck either. So, I've got some distance to go on both ends of the scale. I do have a few wines rated near 100 points (e.g.2007 Hillside select), but that's as high a price as I'm willing to go to take that test.
Sure would like to find a 100 Pt. BM! Seems you're close.
John, I read this quote today and thought how profound it is, and maybe why we love Italian wines as much as we do; could this be part of that equation of why you love Italian wines so much?
"But fine wine is consumed mostly at the table, and the demands on wine are very different in that context. It is nearly impossible to guide consumers here when there are so many variables at play that have little to do with the wine itself. Here, wine must be viewed as serving a greater good, being a team player with its surrounding foods and environment, being shared with others at the communal table while providing its unique brand of conviviality. This style of wine serves the meal and must be fairly evaluated not just as an entity onto itself, but how well it integrates with the function it is being asked to perform.
If a wine is to accompany dinner or to serve as a refreshment, acidity must be much more forward than wine made to be consumed as a cocktail. Evaluating wine in a lineup of wines will nearly always favor wines with more weight, not necessarily what you need for dinner or refreshment."
I've had BdM's that I've rated 100 points. (by the way, you gotta have the "d" in there or it conjurs up images of…well….you gotta have the "d" in there.
The 1990, and 1985 Castello Banfi Poggio All'Oro Brunello Riserva were both 100 point wines for me. They are wines that transcend beverages – they are almost small parcels of Tuscany, the land, wine, hands of the people, the sun, the fruit, the rivers, the flowers, that have been extracted and bottled. They are, vini di medatazione. Wines of Meditation.
Awesome quote, and I completely agree. Where did you see this? I've always looked for Italian wines to be at the table. Sure, Napa Cabs are great with steak, and on their own at a tasting room – but sometimes they're awkward with dinner. This is what I was getting at with some of my questions during the Tim Bell interview. And really, I blame Parker for a lot of this, at least where Napa is concerned. Anyway, it really is a great synopsis.
John, I'm learning: BdM and vini di medatazione!
thanks,
dennis