From the cellar: Striploins at half price at Whole Foods. Time to bring out the big guns. This weekend we had a red meat extravaganza and paired dinners with, first, a Brunello that had been gathering dust in the “cellar” along with two cabernets, which I’ll post later this week.
So very hard to review this. 90% of what we drink is young and over-the-counter. Thus a big, beautiful Brunello, rajah of Italian reds, well that’s pretty sweet. And it was.
Had a rich, deep, dark, smooth texture. Nescafe! Just kidding. But there was a note of coffee. Some spice—the label said anise, but we got something a little more like pepper, clove and cinnamon. It was very nice. No complaints. Just didn’t wow. Maybe even a little past. Good, yes, like a bestseller. Think Tom Wolfe’s Bonfire of the Vanities; what a great beach read, page turner, couldn’t put it down, but once it was over I moved on. Easy. And the book went back to the library. Sure it far exceeded the everyday plonk we can afford on a daily basis given our entrenched governmental system which extracts every last after-tax penny. But classic? Nah.
Tanzer, apparently, gave it 91 points. How do I know? It’s on the friggin’ label! There is something both immodest and insecure about a vintner that feels the need to parade their points, but there you go.
Price: I lost my notes, but I think around $25-30 in 2004 or 05 at BC Liquor if indeed a Brunello in BC could ever cost so little.
Market Liquidity: You always have such high expectations for something kicking around in the cellar and this was a treat but not brilliant.
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