Brunello (Part 3)

This tasting of the WFCC featured some fine wines, which with 2 exceptions scored above 89 points. Wines were not decanted prior to the tasting since in previous tastings I did not think the tannin in most of the 2001 Brunelli interfered with my ability to assess the wines. In fact I was wishing there was more firmness to the wines. After tasting blind they were re-tasted with food and over the next two days.
The Menu:
Pumpkin Gnocchi with Coconut Curry and Tomato Sauce
Roast Chicken with Dried Fruit Sauce in the Catalan Style
Soy-Ginger Marinated Butterflied Leg of Lamb, Broccoli Rape and Baby Carrots
Selection of Cheeses: Pecorino Trufato (Beltrami), Pecorino Manciano (Maremma) and Orella (cow's milk cheese from Cuneo)

Poggiarellino: Medium dark garnet with an orange edge; faintly spicy, leathery and herbal notes are discernible; on the palate the brisk attack with red fruits leads to a focused middle where the fruit spreads out and leads to a warm, fairly rich finish. Not particularly tannic nor very complex, this wine surprised and charmed all of us at the tasting with its understated profile. 89 points

Tenuta Friggiali Donna Olga: Very dark; not much of interest on the nose with awkward aromas of vegetable bouillion ; on the palate the wine begins with fullish dark fruit but immediately gives way to a herbaceous, young viney flavor; even after tasting it 3 more times I find it is a wine with no grip or breadth. Disappointing in context of the vintage. 85 points

La Poderina: Dark; polished nose with barrique characteristics; in later retastings it took on jasmine and rose aromas with a touch of talc, which I usually associate with grenache ; palate is quite full, and though it starts of quite tannic it softens after an hour revealing notes of black balsam & ripe plummy fruit; somewhat international in style it, however, does not morph into a formless, low acid wine. Quite good. 89 points

Collelceto: Medium dark garnet with an orange edge; very Italianate nose emphasizing herbs, olives ; fine young fruit all in the red spectrum; sleek, rich at first but there is an expansive middle and a delicious long silky finish. This maybe delicious now but there is enough reserve for this wine to age well. 91 points

Il Poggione: Dark fruits-quite polished yet high toned nose with minerality; crisp bing cherry flavor on the palate, with hints of other dry fruits but not of tropical kind. Very much a snapshot of what great sangiovese can be; lovely, complex wine which was controversial with the group. Some hated it . My favorite -- I characterized it as “near sangiovese perfection”. 93 points

Innocenti: Broad and muscular nose which does not reach for excess; olives and floral notes of jasmine and roses create an interesting intermix; not as broad on the palate as expected. Tight and muted on the first pass it opened up and showed its best only on the third day when it revealed rich plummy fruits against a balanced structure; warm and crisp at the same time with just a touch of dilution in the finish. Otherwise a very fine wine. 92 points

La Fuga: Dark garnet; voluptuous nose with some port-like quality–luckily it is subtle enough to not mar the otherwise lovely nose which also has some mint and black olive scents; also expansive and broad on the palate it has dense ripe fruit with an exotic quality. Intense and rich finish. Initially I marked it lower for its lack of character but over the next 2 days there was no mistaking its very Italianate core. Almost ready to drink now. 90- 92 points

Fanti : Inky; aroma hints of everything ( cola, confiture of fruit, muscat-like grape scents etc) that I would not expect in a sangiovese wine; full and broad but essentially dull without much acidity and backbone. More like an Argentenian Malbec– admittedly I was in the minority since others found it balanced and rich ( even scoring it among the top 3) whereas I thought it flat and too garish. Easy quaff. 85 points

Le Macioche : Garnet rather than ruby; deep, hi-toned nose which is mostly unevolved and restrained with some woodsy notes; sleek and stylish rather than broad and muscular; cool, chewy it features ripe and finely etched fruit. Long finish . Classic Sangiovese. 91 points

Argiano: Garnet with orange glints; lovely brick and gravel mineral tones to the plummy fruit; explodes on palate and like melted butter spreads out to touch all taste buds; sleek, stylish and though slightly international, it never feels out of balance. Still some tannins to resolve. Delicious and long on finish. This is a wine of restrained power. 91 points
Note: In Part 2 I scored it lower at 86 points and though my verbiage was somewhat similar, this time around I was more favorably inclined to its "international" thrust. Maybe after tasting the Fanti this seemed less flaunting.

Scopetone: Very dark; intense nose with lots of black fruit and chocolate character; a broad and strapping wine with very intense rich flavors (cassis and blueberries); chewy and very long finish. This too trends international but unlike the Fanti this is not at all clumsy and the entire package works, at least for me. Impressive wine. 93 points

Le Gode: Less analysis went into this wine but my notes show that it is deceptively rich wine with excellent fruit , which is not necessarily broad or voluptuous but focused with thrilling balance. Feels like young vines, or just wine made from high altitude vines because of its marked acidity. This has still some excess tannin which when resolved should add to greater overall complexity of the wine. 90-92 points