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1997 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino

Not Currently In Auction

Latest Sale Price

January 28, 2024 - $91

Estimate

RATINGS

92Stephen Tanzer

...scents of plum, mocha and tobacco regale the nose. Sweet on entry, then nicely delineated, with flavors of plum jam, licorice, mint and tar. Plushly textured, with full fuzzy tannins, this medium-to-full-bodied wine...

91Robert M. Parker Jr.

...aromas of creosote, new saddle leather, figs, plums, dried herbs, and white flowers. It is a meaty, complex, accessible, concentrated yet still young, vigorous Brunello with good underlying acidity and moderate tannin...

91Wine Spectator

Wonderfully floral aromas, with plenty of ripe fruit and hints of minerals and spices. Full-bodied and chunky, with well-integrated tannins and a long finish. Fresh and refined. Best after 2003.

17Jancis Robinson

Dense, well graduated, very healthy colour...Autumnal...Explosive...Very classic. Chewy. Brunello for the long term. Dry tannins at the end. Dry (rather than sweet) which makes it quite distinctive in this line-up. One of the most youthful.

REGION

Italy, Tuscany, Brunello di Montalcino

Brunello di Montalcino is regarded as one of Italy’s best appellations. Located in south central Tuscany below Chianti, the wines of Brunello di Montalcino DOCG are made of a Sangiovese clone called “brunello,” which means “little dark one,” a reference to the brown tones in the skin of the grape. Unlike some Tuscan appellations that allow other grapes to be blended with Sangiovese, Brunello di Montalcino is entirely Sangiovese. Montalcino itself is a picturesque, hill-top town not especially well known for wine production until the mid-19th century, when a local vineyard owner isolated the brunello clone and planted it. Other growers followed suit. Nevertheless it wasn’t until 1970s that wine enthusiasts started paying attention to Brunello di Montalcino, which by then was becoming an outstanding wine. Today there are 120 estates in the DOCG, up from about 25 estates in 1975. Brunellos in general are bigger, darker, more tannic and more powerful wines than Chiantis or most other Sangioveses. By law they must be aged for four years, and two of those years must be in wooden barrels.