Tasting Report: More Excellent 2007, 2006 Brunellos

I have tasted a lot of Brunello di Montalcinos this year, and it’s been a pleasure because most have been from the excellent 2006 and 2007 vintages. The two years are really excellent. In fact, the region has never had two such great back-to-back vintages. These are years not to miss if you love great Brunello.

I tasted most of the Brunellos at the beginning of the year. But a number of others came through my tasting room this summer. Thus, the tasting notes of the latecomers are below.

One that was particularly surprising that I tasted this summer was the 2006 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino Case Basse Riserva. What a disappointment. It was so unclean and funky – not the great wine one would expect for its reputation or high price.

However, there were some real stars as well, particularly the 2006 Poggio di Sotto Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. This is a wine with so much depth of fruit and character, yet it remains sublte and refined. Another wine to look out for is the regular bottling of the 2007 Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino. It shows lively and rich fruit. It’s delicious now but will improve with age. It’s a great value. I have seen it for sale in some stores in New York for less than $35 a bottle.

As I have written in the past, I remain most impressed with the 2006s. They have a little more freshness and subtlety than the fruiter and richer 2007. They are also more complex and structured. But this is really personal and some of you may prefer the more flamboyant character of the 2007s. It’s a great time to love Brunello. (Photo: Vineyards in Brunello di Montalcino with Mount Amiata in the background.)

I have included with this report two PDFs of all the Brunellos I tasted this year so far. One is sorted by score and the other is listed by winery alphabetically.

 

Also tasted, but not receiving marks of 90 points or more:

2007 Fortius Brunello di Montalcino Il Grappolo 2007 Piombaia Brunello di Montalcino  2006 Poggiarello Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2007 Socini Guelifi Brunello di Montalcino Le 7 Camicie 2006 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino Case Basse Riserva