2010 Brunello di Montalcino
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Tasting notes
I had previously reviewed this wine upon its commercial release three years ago, but a wine like this merits frequent return visits. The 2010 Brunello di Montalcino remains youthful and tight and has hardly budged since I last reviewed it. This classic vintage will be remembered for its elegance and its power, two seemingly contradictory traits that come magically together on rare occasions. This wine shows tightness at its core with snappy freshness and stacked aromas of forest fruit, violets and freshly tilled earth. I have expanded the drinking window with this second review of the wine.
Critic scores
Average Score
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
Andy Howard MW, Jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
Biondi Santi’s 2010 Brunello di Montalcino is one of the more controversial wines of the night. Some tasters admire the wine’s classical austerity and potential, but for others the wine is too tight to deliver real pleasure. There is little question the Biondi Santi needs time, but it is in my view impressive on this night, even if it is not as sexy as many other wines.
Vibrant cherry red colour. Strikingly aromatic without being confected, right on the cusp of ripeness: strawberry and raspberry fruit alongside their respective leaves. Some tobacco and spice in the background. Then firm, taut, notably dry in the mouth with its comparatively low alcohol. Poised and noble, built for the long haul with few if any concessions to the modern style. This is conviction winemaking. (AH)
Intense mid ruby. Very tight and closed yet showing depth of fine-perfumed, earthy cherry. Embryonic Sangiovese palate that is Burgundian in stature and weight. Precise and perfectly balanced. Really sleek and fine and with fine powdery tannins, but not ready by far. (WS)