The 2012 Brunello Argiano has been uncorked....

[JimHow]

Translucent purple/ruby, friendly, fruity nose at the outset.

[marcs]

I have never had a good Brunello, or at least one worth the price.

The entire region of Brunello to me is like Grand Puy Lacoste is to JimHow.

[JimHow]

lol I chuckled out loud on that one, marcs.
I somewhat agree with you, Brunello is not worth the price.
I find them a nice change of pace every now and then though, I like the fruit with a nice steak... and whoopie pie.

[JimHow]

Yeah, not real exciting. I literally think I'll fill my cellar only with Bordeaux from here on out. Why? Because, after all these years, I remain... a Bordeaux Wine Enthusiast. Whatever I paid for this wine, I could get a Bordeaux counterpart at the same price of much higher quality. I'll give this 90 points, but it is certainly by no means a thrilling wine. Lovely fruit, yes, perhaps more on the elegant side than the 2010, as they say these 2012s are, but nothin' special. Give me Bordeaux!!!

[AKR]

Brunello is this strange scam they play on Americans.

It's like woody Chianti, that you pay 2x or 3x for.

But I'll grant I've had some ok/good ones, and it is a nice change of pace at times.

Although if I want something lighter, a regular Chianti is often a better call anyways.

Funnily enough I was actually pondering a 2010 Brunello offer I got today.

I'm not sure if its actually true but if I had to pick out wine categories with the biggest divergence between initial offering prices, and where it seems like they end up on secondary (used!) markets, I'd put Brunello in that group, right up there with Port and New World Pinot. This is for the typical "nice, but not allocated/rare" group.

[Nicklasss]

Hey, a 96 from JS.

My bro will be in town tomorrow. We'll call Jim and let him know about some funny Bordeaux wines. Or maybe not, the court, the trial, the fusion of cities, and who knows what keep the BD busy.

Nic

P.s. "Let's go crazy" Prince

[Racer Chris]

I've got no experience with Brunello per se but I'm with Jim in this regard: Whenever I try wine from another region I always go back to Bordeaux as my preference.

[AKR]

Excluding Tuscan expressions of Bordeaux varietals, I think Brunello will generally be satisfactory for the BWE.

But its $$$ and oaky. And I don't think there's any point in cellaring it yourself.

One can generally still pick up 1997 or 1999 all these decades later for not much over release prices.

[jal]

You guys can't generalize on Brunellos just from tasting Argiano. It is at best, an easy drinking quaff, at its worst, an insipid, by the numbers, for the masses Brunello, and the two definitions coexist every vintage.
Try Caparzo, Fattoria dei Barbi, Poggio Antico, Siro Pacenti, Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona, Salvioni or if you want over the top extraction, then Casanueva di Neri.
Of course if want to spend the dough, Biondi Santi and Soldera, but these go for ridiculous prices.

[AKR]

Chiuse is worth a try too. It's a vineyard that somehow got chopped off from Biondi Santi, and given to the granddaughter to make on her own. Not sure why but some strange Italian family/tax issues might have been involved.

That one is good.

When I mean 'satisfactory' I mean that the general flavor profile is comparable to Bordeaux

[Blanquito]

Best brunello I've had has consistently been from Lisini especially the Ugolaia vineyard bottling. There's other good ones like Il Poggione, and Uccelliera,

But I'm with Arv-- I usually prefer good chianti to Brunello and once price is factored in, fugetabotit!

[jckba]

Back in April I attended a free midweek Zachys Tuscan tasting where they were showcasing the arrival of the 2012 Brunello's along with some 2010's as well as some 2013 Super Tuscans. I wasn't particularly impressed with any of the 2012's on show which included the Argiano (though I did prefer its style compared to some of the others) and as a result I did not buy any. Now I don't know or taste enough to say whether they were too youthful or what exactly, but I am able to tell you that I do not agree with the praise or hype that is being associated with this vintage. And based off the small sample set of 2013 Rosso's I have tasted, I would either tell you to wait for the 2013 Brunello's which will be hitting our shores next year or continue backfilling the 2010's as 2010 was an extraordinary vintage across Europe and most of the world.

[Comte Flaneur]

I have a lot of hope for the 2004 Brunellos. I bought some Il Poggione and the first few bottles went down a treat. Still quite young and strict with proper cherry stone Sangiovese fruit - easy to differntiate from a Bordeaux or a South American deceased llama merlot/Malbec blend.

[AKR]

I've been sipping on a 2007 Argiano [Brunello di Montalcino] the last couple of days, tapping this note up while I soak lamb in Worcestershire for tonite. It's 100F+ today and I'm dreading standing by the grill, which is needed when cooking lamb, due to fat flare ups. (The family vetoed my suggestion of Insta-Pot lamb stew, which can be done on the veranda, keeping heat outside the house ... and me inside). I double decanted and aerated this Brunello, as I assumed a teenage wine would be ready to drink now. 14% abv, with a complex nose of saddle, torn mint. On the palate its showing cherry fruit on day #2, with resolved tannins, and balanced acidity. I was inclined to be negative on this, but its more likable than I expected. I only drink BdM a few times a year, and as noted above, think the whole DOC is scammy. (To me the most damning indictment is that Italians don't really go ga-ga for it, and it mostly gets exported, especially to Americans) This 2007 is medium bodied, and ok to drink on a hot day, without the heavy tannin/earth that my more typical afternoon kitchen sipping wines might have. It seems to me that there is some constraints around the appellation that are like the Gran Reserva system in Rioja, but they manage it better in Spain, or maybe they are less reliant on pumping out G-R each & every year, unlike Brunello. It seems if the producers had more flexibiity, the wines could be made in way that adapted to conditions.

I'd slot this into the B+ category, and poor QPR. It seems to get much higher regard from the industry. In the $35-45 zone, there's a lot of competition.

[Claudius2]

Guys
I only occasionally drink BdM and for the most part, see it as rather expensive for what it is.
I checked the cellar manifest and I have one vintage of BdM - 2010, with a handful of wines from each of Il Poggione, Banfi, Fanti, Caparzo, Il Marroneto and Talenti.
So I hope some of them turn out well. I don't think they age much beyond 15 yrs so I will try them soon.

The appeal to me of Italian wines is simply that they are different than anything else.
I generally prefer Bordeaux, Burgundy and Rhone to anything I have had from Italy, but there is a place for Sangiovese at the table. The savoury characters go well with Italian food.
Yet I am just a happy with a decent Chianti Classico from a good producer, and some Riservas are I think at least as good as BdM.

I can't really understand how these wines get huge points from the usual tasters these days, but at the same time, I think points have become totally inflated - and have been that way for some time.
Yet silly points seem endemic in many regions. For example, last night I drank Wynn's Coonawarra Cab Sav Black Label 2016. It got scores of 98 from some reviewers and I thought 90-91 was more likely. Oh well.