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2017 La Gerla Brunello di Montalcino, 3-bottle Lot

Not Currently In Auction

Latest Sale Price

March 10, 2024 - $115

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2017 La Gerla Brunello di Montalcino

750ml

RATINGS

93The Wine Advocate

...silky and polished...manages smooth integration with none of the rougher spots that can sometimes occur in hot and dry growing seasons. The bouquet shows nuanced detail with wild berry, forest floor, grilled herb and wild rose.

93James Suckling

...cherry, mushroom and stone aromas and flavors. Medium body. Firm, lively yet fine-grained tannins. Bright finish.

93Jeb Dunnuck

...ripe with the musky cologne of worn leather, red cherry liqueur, macerated strawberry, and damp earth. Up front, it is generous with silky fruit and medium bodied, with ripe red plum, sweet balsamic, sanguine earth, and blood orange.

92Wine Spectator

Round, evoking plum, dried cherry and earth flavors framed by toasty spice accents.

92Vinous / IWC

...raspberry sauce and violet candies plus black tea, blood orange and clove...soft, round effort that impresses with cool-toned red fruits and salty minerals and acids that tug at the cheeks as they work their way across the palate.

92Wine Enthusiast

Elegantly structured, this offers balsamic aromas of camphor that mingle with new leather, forest floor and blue flower. The taut, polished palate features mature Marasca cherry, blood orange and star anise before closing on a hint of mocha. Fine-grained tannins provide support.

16Jancis Robinson

Maraschino cherry and sour cherry with a little lift on the nose and hints of cardamom pod. Hints of dried fruit but plenty of energy on the palate and with gorgeous, rich tannins.

PRODUCER

La Gerla

La Gerla was established in 1976 by Sergio Rossi, an advertising executive who had been a director of top European agencies. Rossi bought the historic 30-acre estate from the Biondi Santi family, long-time makers of Brunello. Rossi re-named the estate La Gerla and started offering La Gerla Brunellos in 1978. Rossi died in 2011, but his wife Donatella Monforte continues to run the estate. Winemaker is Vittorio Fiore. About 75,000 bottles are produced annually. All the wines are made with estate Sangiovese grapes. The wines earn praise from reviewers and ratings in the mid-90s.

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.