2004 Valdicava, Brunello di Montalcino

Robert Parker 94

The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino is simply beautiful. Now that the wine is in bottle it is even better than when I tasted it from barrel. Firm but silky tannins frame a core of ripe dark fruit as this powerful yet elegant Brunello opens up in the glass. Smoke, cured meats, earthiness and graphite develop in the glass, adding further complexity. Sweet roses and spices linger on the long, refined finish. This is a big, structured Brunello, and like all of Abbruzzese’s wines, it needs at least a few years of bottle age before it offers its finest drinking. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2024.

Valdicava has been somewhat of a controversial property over the last few years. The Brunellos are typically very concentrated and dense when young, which can make them hard to assess. Make no mistake about it though; these are very serious wines whose only difficulty lies in giving them a few more years in bottle than the vast majority of Brunellos. A vertical tasting last year going back to 1988 published on www.erobertparker.com showed that the Valdicava Brunellos age exquisitely.

Importer: Vinifera Imports, Ronkonkoma, NY; tel. (631) 467-5907 [Antonio Galloni, 30/06/2009]

Anticipated maturity: 2014-2024