Montalcino (Photo ©Tom Hyland) The 2009 Brunello di Montalcinos were released a few months ago and while a new vintage of this iconic Tuscan red should be great news for wine lovers, the results in this vintage reveal a year that while offering some very good, even excellent wines was one that was frankly a bit … Continue reading 2009 Brunello di Montalcino – Mixed Results
Plaque honoring the 2007 Brunello vintage in the main square of Montalcino (Photo by Tom Hyland) 2007 Brunello- Triumph of the Traditionalists I’ve just returned from Montalcino, where I attended the annual Benvenuto Brunello event along with several dozen wine writers from around the world. This is an anteprima tasting, where wines that will be released later … Continue reading Brunello di Montalcino – 2007 normale and 2006 Riserva
Here is my final post on the Best Italian Wines from the past year; this is the third entry on red wines. Again, this is a partial list, see the end of this post for more information on all of my selections. 2008 Grattamacco Bolgheri Superiore – The gorgeous wine zone of Bolgheri, located in … Continue reading Best Italian Red Wines of the Year – Part Three
Brunello bottles at an enoteca in Montalcino (Photo ©Tom Hyland) The new vintage of Brunello di Montalcino is 2006; the wines will be released over the coming months. I tasted several dozen bottlings last month in Montalcino and reported on these wines in a recent post. Here are a few thoughts on recent vintages … Continue reading Brunello Vintages
Montalcino landscape south of the town, as seen from the Il Poggione estate (Photo ©Tom Hyland) I have just returned from a week in Toscana, of which two days were spent in Montalcino. This week the Benvenuto Brunello tasting is held for journalists around the world in the town of Montalcino and is an event … Continue reading 2006 Brunello di Montalcino – First Impressions
Aging caves at the cellar of Elio Grasso (Photo ©Tom Hyland) Without further ado, here is a partial list of my choices of the best Italian red wines of the year. A full list (along with the best whites of the year and a list of the best producers) can be found in the … Continue reading Best Italian Reds of the Year
A few weeks ago in Chicago and New York, I tasted pre-release bottlings of the 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Riservas. I had looked forward to the regular bottlings of the 2004 Brunellos when they were released last year and was even more excited about these Riservas. 2004 was an excellent year throughout much of the … Continue reading 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
