Brunello di Montalcino

Great showing for this.  In a really nice place right now.  Deep garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cherries, spice, dust and tea leaves.  Medium to full bodied.  Great acidity.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, nice cherry fruit with forest floor underneath.  Long finish.  This is delicious but also has plenty of complexity.  It is pretty close to peak but should provide another ten to twelve years of great drinking.  A nice match with pasta with a meat based tomato sauce.  

Drinking well at age 17.  Pop and pour.  Deep ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cherries, slight black cherries, and some wet tea leaves.  Medium to full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this has a nice texture.  Cherries and black cherries over forest floor with some roasted herbs.  Good acidity.  Long finish.  Drink over the next five to seven years.  Pretty much at peak.  This drinks well on its own but will work better with food.  A nice match would be Rosticciana (Tuscan pork ribs with rosemary).  

Ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is dusty with nice cherries.  Some forest floor.  On the palate, this has a lovely texture.  Light tannins.  Black cherry fruit.  Long finish with some anise notes.  Drinking well but will improve from here.  Drink over the next ten to twelve years.  A nice wine with Pappa al pomodoro (a tomato bread soup).  

Garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is cherry cough syrup with some anise, in a good way.  On the palate, this is tannice.  Full bodied with good acidity.  Cherry and black cherry fruit with underlying acidity.  Nice finish.  This could use a few more years of cellaring then be good for another eight to twelve after that.  A nice match would be Malfatti which is a kind of Sienna Spinach Gnocchi.  

Ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is dusty with black cherries, spice and tea leaves.  On the palate, this is medium bodied.  Nice cherry fruit with some underlying forest floor.  Medium tannins.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  It does seem tight and in need of more cellar time.  Hold for another three to five years and drink for ten to twelve after that.  Plenty of upside with proper cellaring on this.  A nice match would be a stew like the Tuscan favorite Spezzatino.

Deep garnet in color, shimmering bright.  The nose is interesting with iodine, black olives, rosemary and also a nice amount of fresh cherries.  On the palate, this is a bit thinner and lighter in testure.  Nice fresah cherry fruit.  Some black cherries.  Drinking well now.  Light tannins.  Moderate finish.  This will make nice drinking over the next five to seven years.  This would be a nice wine to work in with the classic Panzanella Bread salad from Tuscany.  

Ruby with garnet (darker) swirls, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is dusty with spice.  WIth air some black cherry fruit emerges.  Medium bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, black cherries and cherries.  Great texture.  Very ripe.  Not a lot of depth though.  Easy drinking right now.  Drink over the next five to seven years.  Will work well with Ribollita, a Tuscan soup.  

This is an outstanding wine, but it didn't deliver what I was looking for on this evening.  The folks I was drinking it with felt otherwise and it was there favorite wine (tasted blind).  Ruby in color with dark swirls, mostly clear and bright.  The nose hasw black raspberries, black cherries, baking spice and roasted herbs.  Full bodied with firm tannins.  On the palate, this has black cherry fruit.  It seems deep but not giving up much.  With air some black raspberries and even blueberries emerge.  Hard to get past the tannins.  Firm finish.  This needs some time to come together and open

Ruby in color with blacks swirls, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is very deep.  Spices, black cherries and slight cough drop notes.  On the palate, lots of black cherry fruit and firm tannins.  Good balance.  Nice finish.  This needs a few more years to develop and come together and should drink well for another ten to fifteen after that.  Lots of upside on cellaring this.  It will work well with heavier meat based dishes such as Pappardelle al cinghiale (Pasta with wild Boar).  

Ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is dusty with some cherries.  Some wet tea leaves come out with air.  On the palate, cherries and black cherries over some damp forest floor.  Good balance.  More "traditional" in style.  This should improve with some short terms ageing.  Drink over the next ten to twelve years.  This would work well with chicken liver pâté (or is that chopped liver).