1997 Brunello di Montalcino
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Tasting notes
Robert M. Parker, Jr. originally awarded this wine a smashing 96 points when he tasted it before its release in 2001. (You'll find it listed under the name "Le Potazzine Gorelli - formerly Due Portine" in our database.) He compared it to Pingus from Ribera del Duero at the time. That doesn't make much sense today, but it did back then when winemaking styles prized extraction and thickness even with Sangiovese. Parker also closed the wine's drinking window at the year 2016, and that may have been about right. The 1997 Brunello di Montalcino is redolent of dried rose, smoked meat and old spice. The aromas are evolved for sure, but you get a good glimpse of the dark concentration and tannic firmness at its core. The mouthfeel is dry and smoky.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 1997 Brunello di Montalcino is an awesome effort. It presents heady sensations of spice, black pepper, smoke and scorched earth along with masses of densely concentrated fruit that open onto the palate with extraordinary length. Though highly atypical for Brunello it is a highly nuanced, compelling wine that should drink well for another decade. In 1997 most of the fruit for the Brunello came from rented vines that had been poorly tended to by the owner and thus gave abnormally low yields. Anticipated maturity
Quite deep crimson. Intensely mineral. Tense and concentrated. There seems to be a future here, though it's verging on overripe. Maybe very slightly overoaked on the finish. Shame. (JR)