Antoni Galloni in the Wine Advocate of Robert Parker recently commented on the new release vintages from Montalcino.
2010 Rosso di Montalcino
As I wrote last year, 2010 is the next great vintage for Montalcino. The 2010 Rossi bear that out, as do the numerous 2010 Brunelli I tasted from cask. The year was characterized by a cold summer and a long, late harvest. The 2010 Rossi have great fruit, expressive aromatics and considerable structure to back it all up. The best 2010s are fabulous wines that deserve serious attention.
Vintage 2007 is a more than worthy follow-up to 2006. It’s hard to remember two consecutive vintages of this level in Montalcino. For most growers, 2007 was a warmer overall year than 2006. Temperatures remained above average pretty much the whole year, but never spiked dramatically as they did in 2003. Cooler temperatures and greater diurnal swings towards the end of the growing season helped the wines maintain acidity and develop their aromatics. Overall, the 2007s are soft, silky wines that are radiant, open and highly expressive today. My impression is that most of the wines will not shut down in bottle and that 2007 will be a great vintage to drink pretty much throughout its life. I tasted very few wines that were outright overripe or alcoholic. Many of the best 2007s come from the center of town, where the higher altitude of the vineyards was a critical factor in achieving balance. Overall, I rate 2007 just a notch below the more structured and age worthy 2006, but in exchange the 2007s will drink better earlier
Antonio has a BA from the Berklee College of Music and an MBA from the MIT/Sloan School of Management. He lives in New York City.
