Two years ago our visit to Fontodi was my first experience with their 100% Sangiovese Flaccianello, and I've since become a huge fan of their wines. I was also able to visit the winery last summer while in Tuscany. This visit was another excellent one, as we were able to taste their entire range of wines. We began with the 2007 Chianti Classico, followed by the 2008 Chianti Classico, the first vintage where the wine is certified organic. Next we had the 2007 Chianti Classico Riserva Vigna del Sorbo, before moving on to both the 2007 Flaccianello and the 2008 Flaccianello. We then had their two international varietals, the 2008 Pinot Nero and the 2007 Syrah. Overall, the 2007 vintage is definitely superior, and while I enjoyed the 07 Flaccianello (which I had last summer too), it may be a hair behind the 06 vintage, and also slightly behind some of the other great 07 Sangioveses we ended up tasting.
Our second stop of the morning took us to Montepulciano for the wines of Boscarelli, once of the great producers from this area just to the northeast of Montalcino. We began with a pair of young new releases, the 2009 de Ferrari IGT and the 2009 Prugnolo IGT. Moving up, we then had the 2008 Vino Noile di Montepulciano and the 2006 Vino Nobile Riserva. Finally, we wrapped up with the 2007 Nocio Vino Nobile and the 2006 Boscarelli IGT. The entire lineup from this winery is really quite impressive, and a great representative of an area that tends to get a bit overlooked in the US.We returned to Chianti with our next visit, San Giusto a Rentennano. While the Chiantis here are excellent, the stars again are Supertuscans. We began with the 2009 Chianti Classico, followed by the 2008 Chianti Classico Riserva. We then followed those with the 2007 Percarlo (100% Sangiovese) and the 2008 Ricolma (100% Merlot). I thought the Percarlo was excellent, possibly a shade better than the '07 Flaccianello.
At this point, we were close to our appointed time to visit with Mario once again, but now to finally taste all of his wines from Terralsole. We began with the 2006 Brunello, which Mario thinks is one of the best he's made. That was followed by the 2005 Brunello Riserva, the 2006 Solista (a 100% Syrah IGT which we'd had at dinner the night before), and finally the 2005 Brunello. All of the wines were excellent, as was our time with Mario, who is always a great host.
Now firmly back into Montalcino again, we tried to make the most of our time until lunch, visiting some of the heavy hitters of the area. Up first was Poggio di Sotto, where we had the 2008 Rosso and the 2006 Brunello. Not surprisingly, this was one of the stars of the week, and took my vote for the best 2006 Brunello we tasted. It was incredibly elegant and balanced, as I've come to expect from this producer.
Next we went for a more modern style, but a critical darling, Casanova di Neri. We began with the 2009 Rosso before getting into the Brunello. We had the 2006 Brunello, which I thought was the best bottling of this cuvee I've had, before trying the 2005 Brunello Tenuta Nuova. We than had the 2006 Brunello Tenuta Nuova before closing out with the 2007 Pietradonice IGT and the 2004 Cerretalto Brunello. Overall, these are very well-made wines, though I hold a preference for the more traditional style of Brunello.Our last stop before lunch was at one of the more traditional-styled producers, Talenti. Here we had the 2009 Rosso followed by the 2006 Brunello, which was superb. One of my top 2006 Brunellos for the week, it is also extremely affordable and thus earns high marks from me.
At this point, it was time for lunch once again. We had one more key Brunello producer to visit after lunch, but after that the plan was to make out way to Piedmont and taste the latest Barolos and Barbarescos.
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