Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Really rich, deep and powerful, with beautifully decadent dark fruit, toasty oak, milk chocolate and light raisin character. Full and velvety, with wonderful length. Best after 2011. 750 cases made.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The estate’s 2007 Pietradonice is surprisingly forward and fruity in this vintage. There isn’t a whole lot of varietal character, but attractive suggestions of strawberries and flowers framed by soft tannins follow through to the round, sensual finish. The 2007 Pietradonice should be ready to drink upon release. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2022.
Proprietor Giacomo Neri makes some of the richest, most textured Brunellos readers will come across. The house style favors a lush expression of fruit with a softness that makes the wines very appealing upon release. In recent years the wines have become more elegant, with less of the excessive heaviness that characterized prior vintages. Based on what I tasted from barrel, future vintages hold quite a bit of promise as well. This year, readers – especially those on a budget (who isn’t on a budget these days?) should focus on the 2005 Brunello di Montalcino (sometimes also known as the ‘white label’), which is an overachiever because it includes fruit from the Cerretalto vineyard, the source of the estate’s top wine, which was not bottled in 2005.
Legendary in Italy for its Renaissance art and striking landscape, Tuscany is also home to many of the country’s best red wines. Sangiovese reigns supreme here, as either the single varietal, or a dominant player, in almost all of Tuscany’s best.
A remarkable Chianti, named for its region of origin, will have a bright acidity, supple tannins and plenty of cherry fruit character. From the hills and valleys surrounding the medieval village of Montalcino, come the distinguished and age-worthy wines based on Brunello (Sangiovese). Earning global acclaim since the 1970s, the Tuscan Blends are composed solely of international grape varieties or a mix of international and Sangiovese. The wine called Vine Nobile di Montepulciano, composed of Prognolo Gentile (Sangiovese) and is recognized both for finesse and power.