Brunello di Montalcino Madonna delle Grazie 2010 75cl

The purest and most profound expression of Sangiovese on the market today, the 2010 Brunello di Montalcino Madonna delle Grazie is a monumental achievement. It represents the pinnacle of varietal perfection from one of the best vintages on record in Montalcino. The wine opens to a beautifully saturated ruby color with vibrant crimson highlights. It shows an enormous sense of inner energy and vitality characteristic only of the best quality grapes. It continues to deliver crisp tones of small forest berry, pressed violets, wet earth, white truffle, licorice, balsam herb and all the other lovely aromas that are so distinctive in wines from this stunning part of Tuscany. The tannins are firm and linear, adding a great sense of support at the back and lingering persistency. The wine is profoundly beautiful today and shows all the criteria necessary for 20 years or more of cellar aging. Brunello Madonna Delle Grazie represents the enormous promise of Montalcino.<br/>Every once in a while, along comes a wines that rocks your foundations. My new year opened with one such a wine: Alessandro Mori's 2010 Brunello di Montalcino Madonna Delle Grazie. In a single sip, this wine restored my confidence in Sangiovese, Montalcino and in my favorite Tuscan wine appellation that has recently experienced so many awkward growing pains. I felt like I was drinking liquid Sangiovese in its most divine incarnation. The wine is permeated with energy, purity, luminosity, elegance and power. Il Marroneto is one of the historic estates of Montalcino and in fact the 2010 vintage represents its 30th year of only-Brunello production. I have tasted its wines regularly for the past 20 years and have not always been this enthusiastic about its results. But the magic of the iconic 2010 vintage seems to have blessed the special Madonna Delle Grazie vineyard cru, fittingly located near a 12th-century chapel on the hills not far from the northern wall of Montalcino. The vineyards were planted at 350 to 400 meters above sea level in various phases from 1975 to 1984 and are in their prime production years right now. The wine making philosophy is traditional with a focus on large oak casks (2,500 liter or 660 gallons) made from Slavonian oak for 41 months. It spends an additional ten months in bottle before release. This is what the great wines of Montalcino aspire to be.<br/>Published: Feb 28, 2015