Let's face it, Brunello basically sucks.

[JimHow]

Sipping on a 2006 Brunello Altesino, paid like over $60 for it. Ridiculous. I can get better quality in Bordeaux for like 35% of the price. Thin, acidic. Like the Nardi from last night. "Acceptable" wines, but grossly over-valued. Suckling-like. I'd buy this wine if it were priced around $15-19. Okay, probably better than the basic supermarket Mondavi cab bottling at $20ish, but not much more. Brunello... A supermarket-level wine.

[Claudius2]

Jim
I think Brunello is over-priced for what it is but it is still often a nice wine.
I am a bit surprised re: the US price.
I can get the same wine in Singapore for less than that.
Are italian wines relatively expensive there??

Maybe just buy Chianti Classico from good producers like Fonterutoli, Monsanto, Antinori, Isole e Olena, Carpineto etc.

These wines cost about $US15-18 in Italy.

cheers
Mark

[dstgolf]

Jim,

We drew that conclusion years ago. Sitting with Italian wine lovers sipping on astringent often mouth puckering juice that turns to tea with age at a price point that began to sting. The Altesino here is $99 at the LCBO!! Not all Brunellos are in the same boat flavour profile wise with many enjoyable bottles over the years but certainly felt all were over priced.

We cut our teeth in wine collecting in the early 90s on mainly Italians with Barolos,Barbarescos and Super Tuscans. All highly rated and most over priced. Ended up selling my last 150 bottles because we were no longer enjoying the wines to justify the value.

[JimHow]

I've liked Argiano and Ucceleria a few times but they are indeed overpriced. Indeed, they are astringent, acidic, and mouth-puckering. They can be good, but not in the same universe of profundity as Bordeaux and Burgundy.

[Gerry M.]

I agree that Brunello is indeed wayyyyy overpriced for what it is. In it's youth it is usually tart and astringent and even with some age it really does not develope much nuance or complexity compared to Piedmont or Bordeaux.

I stopped buying after the 1999 vintage when the prices really shot up for no good reason. I remember Banfi was a $30 wine and overnight the price doubled. I could understand the increases due to the Euro but the sheer nerve of the price jump was obscene.

[Jay Winton]

disagree. I like the 2006 vintage for Brunellos and have found many good ones in the $30s and sometime less. All the ones I've tried need time as well so I've compiled a nice variety of 06s and a few 07s for future quaffing. Not a primary part of my cellar but occupies a nice niche. Board member Daniel Posner (Grapes the wine co) has offered several at good prices.

[finner]

Yep. Why not go with the baby brother - a good Rosso di Montalcino young when it has plenty of fruit.

[Nicklasss]

Common Jim. Just go down to LA and pay yourself an asian escort. You<ll forget everything related to Brunello for few minutes/hours.

Nic

[hautbrionlover]

I enjoy Brunellos a lot, even though there's no question that Bordeaux is my first love in wine. I tend to have them with Italian food, where the acidity of the tomatoes (as in Osso Buco or various pasta sauces) are a good platform for the more acidic Brunellos to shine.

[Claret]

I enjoy Brunellos a lot, even though there's no question that Bordeaux is my first love in wine. I tend to have them with Italian food, where the acidity of the tomatoes (as in Osso Buco or various pasta sauces) are a good platform for the more acidic Brunellos to shine.

Thanks for the suggestion HBL. I am not a huge Italian wine lover and find the wines to be best enjoyed with foods. Earlier this year I scored some 2000 Casanova de Neri for $5.69 and enjoyed one with a dry aged steak. I am going to pair the rest with some winter braised meat dishes.

Jim, you probably just don't like Sangiovese. To me Brunello is Sangiovese at its highest level.

[Comte Flaneur]

That was my impression ("Brunello basically sucks") after we did a tasting of mainly 2001 Brunellos in Westport CT in Jan 2011. A lot of them were flabby, some lard-arsed, low in acidity and lacking in grip. Many of them were anodyne, anonymous internationally styled wines specialising in high alcohol and low acid - in other words rather tedious.

I think the problem is partly to do with with Rosso which is so much more vibrant when young -in bygone days much more accessible - so the Brunelli compensated by dumbing down when they knew they could not compete with the Rossinieri and the result was a mess - wines which drooped helplessly between two stools.

But to say Brunello basically sucks is to deliver an injustice to some of the wines fashioned in the distant past, some of which are reaching fruition. Two weeks ago we drank a simply marvellous Costanti from the unheralded 1994 vintage, it had tremendous cherry stone complexity. Last night after six days on the wagon I opened up a quite thrilling Caparzo 1997 (green label). My only regret was that I ddn't wait a few more years. It was rather thrilling and complex, but only just getting into its stride.

I don't know how the recent - compromised?- Brunellos will stand the test of time but many fine wines are emerging from the 1985-1999 era.

[Winona Chief]

I like Brunello okay but after the red wines from: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Chateauneuf, Hermitage, California (Cabs, Zins, Pinots, Merlot), Barolo, Oregon, Valpolicella, Loire, Virginia, Washington, Chile, Argentina and Tuscany. I think I may have one or two bottles of Brunello in my cellar.

Chris Bublitz

[PaulF]

I haven't bought a Brunello in years. If I want Sangiovese I grab a Chianti. Many just as good. Not as pricey.

[Blanquito]

Trying a Brunello tonight (I've had so few), the 04 Pieri with its 94-point Galloni rating... will report back.

[stefan]

I love Brunello, but they require almost as much patience as Bordeaux.

[Blanquito]

Favorite producers, Stefan?

The 04 Pieri was, not surprisingly, primary but it had a beautiful core of ripe cali Cabernet fruit (yes, it tasted like napa cab), but the finish was Italian with telltale puckering acidity. With air, some intriguing balsamic notes emerged.

I wouldn't pay much more than $35-$40 for this wine, but it was highly enjoyable and seemed promising for future improvement. Perhaps a bit international in style, but very well done nevertheless.

[JimHow]

But how can it be highly enjoyable if it has telltale puckering acidity?

I mean, I'm not questioning your judgment, but isn't "puckering acidity" a big negative for a wine?

[DavidG]

Some people like puckering acidity. Some thrive on it, though I occasionally wonder which end they're taliking about.

Jim, I want to thank you for this thread. It gives me a good reason to completely ignore a whole category of wine. Could you convince me that Rhones basically suck? I'm having a tough time resisting the urge to buy a bunch of Rhones that I "want" but don't really "need" right now.

[Blanquito]

That Pieri wasn't bad at all last night... young, young, but with a lovely core of fruit, it reminded me of a classy young Bordeaux...

[Blanquito]

Nothing particularly Sangiovese about that Pieri, though, so maybe traditionalists find such Brunellos too international, too nondescript to love.

[stefan]

Tonight we drank an '03 San Felice Brunello Campogiovanni with a chicken & eggplant Fettuccine Bolognese (that's what Lucie calls it). Acidic, of course, but not overly so; it is soft and tasty in the mouth. There is some leather even if the wine is lighter than it would be in a better vintage. I don't remember what I paid, but probably it was more expensive than a Bordeaux that is comparable in quality. Usually this is a good wine for the vintage, but generally not a bargain. I would say that it is intermediate in style between the traditional and international Brunellos, which makes it a good choice for vacillators like me.