Saw this in an email today and thought of this thread. This is the type of nonsense I think a lot of this thread is debating over and I think most people here would agree that this quote below is useless.
“They have more in common with the legendary 2010 vintage and are most like the 2004s, a harmonious and gorgeous year for Brunellos.”
-Suckling on the “Rockstar” 2012 Brunello Vintage
However I am stocking up on 2016 Brunellos, because of my experience with the rest of 2016 Tuscany and because of the comments of producers, along with those who I find to be more reliable critics.
The 2016s generally haven’t arrived in West Coast retail stores yet. So I guess I don’t have to decide yet.
I’m a big fan of Brunello (had a 2008 Uccelliera over the weekend which was gorgeous), and the vintage sounds great, but the pricing leaves me wondering if I’ll buy many of them, or maybe buy from earlier vintages on the shelves where I find favorable pricing.
One nice thing about Brunello is that there is usually a good amount on the shelves, and they don’t disappear or shoot up in price quickly, so you aren’t pressured into some “gamble on it now or else you’ll miss your shot” situation. And even if that should happen with this vintage, it’s okay, there are lots of other good vintages before and yet to come.
So I have been digging in a bit further but still yet to try anything.
12x Cortonesi Brunello di Montalcino La Mannella
5x Cortonesi Brunello di Montalcino Poggiarelli
excited for both and will hopefully try each in 1-2 months.
I had the La Mannella the other evening. Very nice. Fragrant nose of juicy black and red fruits with hints of cardamom and Sulphur (which is actually quite interesting) Somewhat reminiscent of a very beautiful Cabernet Sauvignon. Palate shows a nice chewiness and tannic grip that seems to interplay with the fruits very nicely. Perfect balance with buoyancy and verve; deeply layered and just … beautiful. Finish is long, remains fresh and holds its vibrancy. Pure and honest, this is one hell of a bottle for $34. 94 points
I went back for 4 more so 6 now are resting in my cellar.
I purchased 2 of the 2016 Poggiarelli earlier today.
I enjoyed the 2012 La Mannella, liked the 2013 much more and the 2015 blew me away for the price so I was ready to jump on a bunch of these 2016. I have never actually had the Poggiarelli though.
Here’s the dirty little secret on Brunello. They make a lot of it. It’s not like Barolo. All the hype in the world, they won’t sell through for quite a while. You can take your time.
I could be wrong, but I think significantly more Barolos are produced each year than Brunellos. I saw data showing 9 million vs 14 million in recent years. I think the name Barolo is much more hyped up among Italian wines. Maybe Brunellos sit on the shelf longer because not enough people outside of wine enthusiasts know what they are?
My guess is that’s because there is so much more buzz around Barolo for so many years. Many people know lots of the bottles they want from all of the publicity, but when it comes to Brunello, most people really dont know much besides a few big names. Just my theory. Great for us though it keeps the cost down and the bottles available.
I cant quite understand how so many people are playing it down. It seems like an overcompensation for the overhype, especially because many playing it down haven’t actually drank any of it, so they don’t really have any thing to go by, but the knowledge that things get overhyped more and more.
You’ll need a membership to view. If you don’t have one, you can get one hour temporary access by signing up. I’d wait until next week to use it as 200 tasting notes will be getting posted.
Anyone finding any preferences among the 2016s? I’ve tried 7 so far… happy with all, but think I had a slightly better feeling for the 2015s. Only La Mannella have I had both vintages though so might not be a fair comparison. Ive only opened stuff to sample to see if I wanted to go back and buy more, so the wines I was confident in, havent been opened yet, but my favs so far for 2016 were probably these below
2016 Caprili Brunello di Montalcino
2016 Fanti Brunello di Montalcino
I am loving a few.
The latest is amazing: 2016 Fossacolle Brunello di Montalcino
Liked this one quite a bit:2016 Bellaria di Bernazzi Gianni Brunello di Montalcino
Enjoyed this one:2016 Cortonesi Brunello di Montalcino La Mannella
I just grabbed a couple 16 Caprili today to go with the 2 2015’s I got.
Haven’t tried yet.
I have a feeling you are getting your in NJ in the same area I am??
I also grabbed and tried a Mocali Rosso di Montalcino 18
It was better the 2nd day but I just need to decant these for a few hours.
Hard to have that kind of patience.
I think I’ll grab a couple more of the Caprili’s 2016
95 WS
96 WE
Love Sangiovese
Got lots of 2012 stuff…and a couple Terrasole Riserva 2010’s
2012 Renieri’s a few
(1) 2010 Renieri…praying that this is close to below.
The 2010 Renieri Riserva I had at a party in 2017 was the best wine I have ever had.
La Serena 2012
Fanti 2012
Caparzo 1995 and 2013
Am I in for a treat with that 2016 Caprili.
I like Jancis Robinson.
High praise what she said about the vintage.
This is a vintage where I really feel if one knows what they like, they will be extremely happy campers for a very long time. I’m not one to favor modern producers, but I’ve even enjoyed a few like Talenti. It’s really hard to go wrong at all if you love Sangiovese!
Vivino has a bunch of attractive looking Brunello deals (esp with the 20% coupon). Together with WTSO, seems like there are a ton of really good 2015/16 Brunellos out there in the $25-35 price range…not sure there’s a better region for that level QPR with great aging potential?