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tonyt

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This past weekend I opened some very special wines in celebration of Easter with my kids and their families in town.
The cast of characters:
Vintage 1999 Fanti (Tenuta San Filippo) Brunello di Montalcino, my wife, kids and I purchased this (along with 18 asst other Brunellos and Amarones) in Florence Italy in 2004. The 1999 vintage Brunello was just released and rated as a benchmark vintage for Brunello. It was now 14 years old and apparently unfiltered as it was a bit cloudy. There was some sediment but far less than I expected. Decanted for six hours. Bouquet was evident but took another 3 hours to really develop. Taste was very dry, more than I expected, moderately tannic, lightly oaked and fruit that continued to develop over the next few hours. The initial taste was very hot with alcohol, checking the bottle it was 14.5 percent. It cooled down as it opened up more. The finish was short at 6 hours and much improved later. I still have about 6 assorted 1997 and 1999 Brunello and Amarone and usually open one each Christmas and Easter. These will have to be decanted the night before drinking.
Bottled 2009 Brunello WE limited, this was the second to last bottle of the FIRST kit I ever made. Decanted for 6 hours and had a small amount of sediment stuck to the side of the bottle from laying down but no loose sediment. Color was nicely clear and very dark (not filtered). Bouquet was evident but the taste outstanding, fruit out the kazoo, nice background oak and supple mouthfeel. Finish was noticeably long. As it sat for a few more hours there was no noticeable change.
Bottled 2010 Petite Verdot WE limited, another second to last bottle L. Again decanted 6 hours but showed no sediment in or on the bottle. It was very clear with pretty purple color. Very nice bouquet at six hours. Taste was excellent, fruit and berries with stiff tannins but was by o means overly tannic. The oak was spot on, I checked my notes to find this was one of the first kits that I augmented the provided oak with spirals. Mouthfeel was soft and round but moderately lingering.
Supporting characters:
My wife, myself, Grown son and daughter and their spouses, all wine lovers and reasonably wine educated. Also two relatives who are very wine educated and experienced one of which could be classified as a sine snob (but in a nice way).
The plot:
BLIND TASTING, without them knowing I labeled the decanters 1, 2 and 3 with the numbers not visible to them or me. We casually tasted each wine and I asked for comments and opinions. After all had tasted the wines I informed them this was a blind tasting and I asked them to re-taste and rank their preferences. I did the same.
The final chapter:
From the eight tasters the WE LE Brunello received 5 firsts and 2 seconds. The Petit Verdot received two firsts and 4 seconds. The 1999 Fanti Brunello received one first place from the “wine snob” and two seconds. Towards the end of the evening several of the tasters noticed how the 1999 Brunello continued to open and blossom and evolve while the others were good initially and remained but didn’t evolve. I offer this report as a testament to the value of allowing our kit wines to age past two years. How sad it is that I only have one bottle remaining of these. One day I’ll get there!
Note: I am posting this on two different forums so please excuse me if you see it twice.
 
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Nice summary Tony!

I may be preaching to the choir but I think the real secret to success to aging wines gracefully for say 10 years is proper temps. I know you live near Houston and have warm/hot temps for the most part year round. You didn't mention the storage conditions for the 1999 Brunello. If it was at room temps the whole time you owned it that may have aged it at 8X faster than had it been stored at 55 degrees. Wine fridges are very important especially in warmer climes if you want to hold on to your wines for more than just a few years. Glad to hear that the WE Limited kits are showing so well at two years. I am (finally) able to let things sit easily for 2 years before opening them, I am sure you will be there soon if your not already there by now.

Blind tasting are always a blast. Thanks for sharing your results!
 
TonyT, I am not a bit surprised that your wine finished first. Having had some of your wine, I would not have expected less. Sounds like you had a great Easter holiday.
 
Nice summary Tony!
You didn't mention the storage conditions for the 1999 Brunello.

I am sure you will be there soon if your not already there by now.
Thanks for the kind words Mike.
My "special" high dollar (60.00+) commercial wines are kept at 60. I an drinking my wines at one year in bottle with at least 6 montjs of carboy age, so about 18 months. I really hope to get to 2 year total on all I drink. But this padt weekend we went through eight bottles and I sent my kids home with six bottles each plus gave two bottles to others. But I'll get there with more time on task.
 
TonyT, I am not a bit surprised that your wine finished first. Having had some of your wine, I would not have expected less. Sounds like you had a great Easter holiday.

Comments like that will get you another bottle! Thanks. It was loads of fun. I love when my kids are in town. Thankfully they only live 90 miles away.
 
My very first wine was a Wine Experts Selection International Merlot, in 2010. It was quick --like all kit wines; and the LBHS told me it will probably age and improve for about 18 months, and that will be about as good as it gets.

And it did taste good -- not madly complex, but really good -- after only about 3 months in the bottle. I drank 'em all over the course of 18 months, save for one. That one I hung onto, just to see.

I opened it last weekend -- 3 years old -- and it was amazing how good it had gotten. Complex and delicious! I wish I had kept the others longer (although they went to a good cause!)
 
Tony,

Bravo on your selection. Shows just how much of a serious winemaker you are. IMHO, a good Brunello de Montacino kick the you-know-what out of most other great wines.

Given your wine tastes, is there any way we could arrange a bottle swap?

johnT.
 

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