It’s Great to Share

As with breaking bread, it is also very encouraged to share wine with one another. In fact, wine tastes better when you enjoy it with someone else or someone elses.

Tonight I was fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of a 2003 Brunello di Montalcino brought over from Italy by a customer who just returned weeks ago.

It was a Brunello he tasted during his travels and became quite fond of. I was ecstatic to be able to enjoy a sip of something special.

The year 2003 was a scorcher in almost all of Europe. In fact, it was the summer of the heat wave where some people died because it was so hot. In the vineyards, the grapes became extremely ripe, and in central Italy, Tuscany, to be exact, the Sangiovese Grosso grape got super ripe and super concentrated. The end result was big Brunello with lots of alcohol, packing a great deal of heat.

Six years later, these wines are still going strong with loads of flavor and incredible intensity.

This particular Brunello from a producer named Caprili whom I had not heard of made my knees weak with concentrated aromas of pepper, black cherries, raisins and anise. A brilliant red with plenty of personality, I found it very approachable and insanely delicious. It made me realize how well the 03s are drinking at this moment, and it’s inspired me to open a few on Thanksgiving Day, if I can wait that long.

If you’re reading this and you have a few of the 2003 Brunellos, pop some corks and let the good times roll. It will definitely not be a disappointment.