1997 Argiano Brunello Di Montalcino 750 ml

• - April 26, 2007

  i just cannot agree more about "silky" in texture, "harmony" on the palate of the wine review above. It was uncorked around an hour ago. It's coming more layered now. At the very beginning, very bordeaux (left- bank) like...it's now more plummy and more fragrant/ perfumed. I have had many 99 and 01 before, they were much more "macho" (thick, jammy, and so forth). this 97 is very elegant, and i am very surprised. In short, I "feel" I finally found my "lady brunello".

• - August 31, 2003

  Tasted several times over the last six months with consistent results. Always reticent at first with healthily high acids and a hint of almost chocolate on the nose, but over hours it opens up into a gloriously sweet-scented beauty. Ravishingly cherry-berry and treacly in a way only Sangiovese can be, with layers of aroma and flavour reminiscent of caramel-coated apples, spice, leather and that amalgam of flavours I call Tuscan. A standout with a seamless texture, velvet, with a satin sheen on the perfumed mid-palate, all ending in a flourished finish of evolving flavours. A delight to taste, but only in several years will it be a true delight to drink. My guess is if you have some, don't touch it for another three or four years. The more I see this at tastings, the more convinced I am that it must be (along with Silvio Nardi's) one of the Brunello bargains in 1997, certainly a finer wine (albeit a different style) than the Pian delle Vigne (at almost half more) and the Pieve di Santa Restitutas (at three times the price).

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