Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2011 San Filippo

The 2011 Brunello di Montalcino is a little shy at first, but as the bouquet opens it reveals some ripe tones of blackberry preserves, cured meat and used leather. In a blind tasting you might guess the wine is older than it actually is. It shows a luminous garnet color, but the bouquet doesn't offer the tonic freshness or definition that you should expect from a new release. My fear is that this Brunello will disintegrate faster than it should. It lacks complexity and depth.

The 2011 Brunello di Montalcino is fleshy and forward, with plenty of sweet red stone fruit, macerated cherry, tobacco, spice and plum fruit. The extracted style and accompanying imposing tannins are a bit much for the wine's mid-weight structure. The 2011 is quite ripe and intense, yet the tannins are not fully mature, which suggests heat stress may have been an issue during the torrid second half of August. I would prefer to drink the 2011 sooner rather than later, as the fruit is likely to fade before the tannins soften. Hints of crushed flowers, sweet tobacco and red flowers add the closing shades of nuance. The 2011 was aged in a combination of tonneau and 30-HL casks.