Brunello di Montalcino "Pian delle Vigne" Antinori 1998 (750 ml)

Ova rijetka berba Brunella iz 1998. godine sada je potpuno zrela, i da nije bila tako vješto napravljena od samog početka, vjerovatno bi već bila iza svog vrhunca. Umjesto toga, predstavlja predivan primjer kako ovakvo vino može dostojanstveno stariti. Uživanje u ovom vinu danas je jednako intelektualno iskustvo koliko i čisto zadovoljstvo.

Kažu da kada vino postane ovako staro, više pijete bocu nego berbu, jer uvijek postoji određeno odstupanje od boce do boce. To je posljedica sitnih varijacija u zapušaču (čepu), koje nakon skoro tri decenije mogu imati značajan uticaj.

Ipak, ovo vino i dalje odiše prelijepim aromama kuvanih šljiva, pečenih malina i divljih pečuraka, uz dodatne slojeve moke, začina i duvana. Izneneđujuće je svježe i posjeduje divnu mineralnost u vidu grafita.

Preporučuje se da bocu ostavite da se smiri prije otvaranja. Nema potrebe za dekantiranjem, osim ako ne brinete zbog moguće male količine taloga koja se prirodno mogla nataložiti. Vino treba konzumirati odmah nakon otvaranja, idealno samostalno ili uz jednostavnu suhomesnatu platu ili zreli sir.

This rare 1998 vintage Brunello is fully mature, and had it not been so well-crafted to begin with, it might already be past its prime.  Instead, it is a wonderful example of how gracefully a wine like this can age.  Drinking this is now as much about intellectual excitement as it is about sheer pleasure.  

When a wine is this old, they say that you are drinking the bottle, not the vintage, as there is always some divergence from one bottle to the next.  This is due to the tiny variations in the cork, which over nearly 3 decades can start to have a significant impact.  Nonetheless, this is a wine with beautiful cooked plum, baked raspberry and wild mushroom aromas, complemented by mocha, spice and tobacco notes.  There is still a surprising amount of freshness and a lovely graphite minerality to it.  

Allow the bottle to settle before you open it.  There is no need to decant, unless you are worried about a small amount of sediment that may naturally have settled in the bottle.  It should be consumed right away, and ideally on its own or with some simple charcuterie or mature cheese.