Succinct alcoholic nose, full of stewed dark fruit and gobs of tertiary leather, smoke and tobacco, deep brick lending patina to what initially was closed in and rather austere, but eventually opening to a candied reduction of molasses and intense mineral working alongside the obvious volatility. Dark pie cherry and mascarpone bring savory ideas–without oxidation–to something not quite pruny, but dangerously approaching.

In the mouth, all that gorgeous patina falls rather flat and fruitless into an acidic tincture shallow on fruit and still ridiculously tannic and bitter-briary. Where do you want this wine to be? Well, that’s your call. A beautiful aged dealio if you don’t scrutinize it too hard, but under close consideration, a wine slightly past its prime and getting more astringent with the passing days. And doing all at quite a young age.

If tertiary is your jam, this thing excels in strides. But if fruit is paramount, drink up, as the burn in nose and finish drives everything at this point. There are two kinds of people with wines like this: those who consider it a dried, nuanced masterpiece and classically-aged brilliance, and those who find it a clunky, dusty shroud already magnifying its flaws and suffering from time, exemplifying vapidity.

2010 CASANOVA DE NERI Sangiovese Brunello di Montalcino Montalcino Italy 14.5

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