”Four and twenty weasels?”
This may have nothing to do with opening this bottle, but I have found that some Italian bottles have a smaller aperture. No Ah So for Italian wines for me.
Rory,
no – Slavonian oak isn’t less flavorful. Its different. Thats all. I attended an oak seminar held by Taransaud where we compared the same wine aged in different sorts of oak and from different sizes of barrels. That was very educational. All types of oak taste different. The biggest difference is the quality of the oak (how long stored so the green tannins are washed out) and how big the barrel. Brunelli doesn’t rest in Barrique normally but in rather large foudres. Therefore the oak influence is not as strong as it is in Bordeaux i.e.
I recently successfully tasted Fuligni in a huge Brunello tasting (october 2017)
Rosso di Montalcino : Fuligni “Ginestreto” 2014
(100% Sangiovese Grosso)
A l’ouverture : DS15 - PR15 - AA14,5 - NH16
Un Rosso assez savoureux, digeste, rafraîchissant (griotte, fleurs, menthol, épices), signé d’une certaine sensibilité malgré son manque actuel de relâchement, avec quelques amers qui signent sa finale.
Après 5 heures d’aération : DS15,5 - LG16 - CDC15,5 - MS16 - FM1515.
Brunello di Montalcino : Fuligni 2012
(100% Sangiovese Grosso)
A l’ouverture : DS16,5/17 - PR17 - AA17,5/18 - NH18
Profil éthéré auquel nous sommes très sensibles… avec des parfums aboutis (fruits mûrs, presque exotiques, fleurs séchées, épices, orange sanguine, zestes), un corps gracieux, salivant, aux tanins fins conduisant une douceur subtile ; comme un grenache, la fraîcheur en plus.
Après 5 heures d’aération : DS16,5 - LG16,5/17 - CDC16,5 - MS17,5 - FM17
Well perhaps because it is less often toasted and typically in larger formats that we always see Slavonian Oak described as neutral by winemakers. As for barrique, I’m not sure what you are responding too. I’ve traveled and tasted quite a bit in Montalcino and while they certainly aren’t traditional, some producers do use smaller French barrels, I don’t like it but it happens. Fuligni is one of many who have (So I’ve been told) gradually reduced the % of smaller French oak barrels in their program in the past decade, though it was never over the top I felt.
Wine Advocate says 06 was the first that Fuligni reduced the french oak down to 25%, which could partly explain it.
To clarify regarding my “oak” preferences in Brunello, regardless of whether we’re talking about Slavonian, French, etc., I enjoy the spicy cedar notes from oak in Brunello (which I presumed were Slavonian characteristics only because I had understood that was the predominant oak used in Brunello). I really hate chocolate, vanilla and/or coconut layered on top of Sangiovese.
Didn’t see this as oaky at all. Just well judged from start to finish. In my past life worked in a winery where we used a bit of Slovenian oak. It is far more subtle than American and could be mistaken for some French Oak. Due to its price is more widely used than back labels indicate.