Valdicava: Brunello di Montalcino 1988-2004

Valdicava makes some of most intense, richly-flavored Brunellos coming out of Montalcino today. Proprietor Vincenzo Abbruzzese speaks in a surprisingly soft-spoken voice, but his lively sense of humor hints at the extroverted style of his wines. The Valdicava Brunellos have at times been controversial because of their massive concentration, but as this vertical attests, the only thing these wines need is time. To be sure, Abbruzzese favors small yields and his newest vineyards are planted to very high densities, but the wines are aged in cask and ultimately represent an intriguing intersection between traditional and modern styles. Valdicava releases two Brunellos; a normal bottling, and the single-vineyard Riserva Madonna del Piano.

Valdicava is located on the slopes of Montosoli, perhaps Montalcino’s most renowned site. Visitors expecting to see a high-tech facility will be sorely disappointed, as this small, family-run property is as stripped down a winery as readers are likely to encounter anywhere. The estate traces its history back several generations. Abbruzzese’s ancestors once worked this land as sharecroppers. Later they did well enough in a tanning business to buy 300 hectares of land for what were largely sentimental reasons. It was 1953. Montalcino was a backwater town in those days, with little economic vitality and none of the prosperity that is in evidence today.

In 1967 Abbruzzese’s grandparents began producing Brunello and became founding members of the producers’ consortium, the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino. Abbruzzese began working full-time at the winery in 1987, hardly an auspicious beginning considering the poor overall quality of that vintage. From the outset Abbruzzese enlisted the services of Attilio Pagli, the talented consulting oenologist who remains on board to this day. Unlike some of his peers who allow their egos to take center stage, Pagli prefers to remain in the background, yet there is no mistaking that over the years the presence of his experienced and steady hand has helped fashion these unique wines.

This tasting of Valdicava Brunellos traced the arc of the estate’s development over the last two decades and provided fascinating insights as to how the wines age. Although the tasting was focused on Madonna del Piano, we also sampled a few vintages of the regular Brunello as well. All the bottles came directly from Abbruzzese’s personal collection, eliminating any issues of provenance.

The 1988 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano reveals gorgeous, sweet aromas of tobacco, roasted coffee beans, menthol, prunes, licorice and spices. This is a splendid, fully mature Brunello with refined tannins that support a full-bodied expression of fruit. Abbruzzese describes his 1988 as a wine from the “old generation.” The 1988 saw 30 days of maceration on the skins, and Abbruzzese says the wine was hard as nails until age 10-12. Today it is quite beautiful, though at peak Well-stored bottles might keep for another few years, but there is no further upside to be had by holding onto this Brunello for too much longer. 93/Anticipated maturity: 2008. The 1990 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano comes across as rather rustic. It is also a wine of contrasts in that elements of opulence and over-ripeness are accompanied by surprising freshness and vibrancy. Today it is hard to say how this curious inner tension will resolve itself, but at present it appears that other vintages of Madonna del Piano have aged more gracefully. Abbruzzese calls the 1990 his first wine that captures a move towards a rounder, softer expression of Sangiovese, so it is perfectly understandable that this initial foray into a newer style comes across as a work in progress. 91/Anticipated maturity: 2008-2013.

The 1993 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano is awesome and shows significant progress. To be sure, this is a smaller scaled Madonna del Piano than the1988 or the 1990, yet the wine reveals tons of harmony in its dark fruit, spices, tobacco, plums and prunes. This structured, elegant Brunello is simply beautiful. The wine continues to improve and grow in the glass in a sensual expression of Sangiovese from Montalcino. 93/Anticipated maturity: 2008-2013. The 1995 is a fresh, vibrant Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano that is just entering its prime drinking window. Expressive, open aromas meld seamlessly into a palate loaded with ripe, perfumed fruit. This full-bodied, delineated wine offers notable inner sweetness and a long, resonating finish. Abbruzzese calls 1995 a “sister vintage” to 1993, but comments that he was better prepared to capture the best qualities of the vintage. 94/Anticipated maturity: 2008-2018. The 1996 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano reveals advanced aromas and flavors, with suggestions of spices, tobacco and game. 1996 was a challenging vintage. The vineyard was harvested on October12, after extensive rains in September. Pagli describes 1996 as one of the worst vintages he has seen at Valdicava. All things considered, the fruit has retained good freshness. Although this is a decidedly smaller-scaled Madonna del Piano, it is still capable of providing enjoyable drinking over the next few years. 90/Anticipated maturity: 2008-2012.

The 1997 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano is a sweet, opulent wine packed with generous, super-ripe fruit. It is hard not to admire the wine’s youthful personality. Still, warm vintages often mute varietal and vineyard character, as is the case here. Admittedly this big, brawny Madonna del Piano lacks some complexity and delineation, but the wine has also aged admirably and should drink well for another decade or so. 93/Anticipated maturity: 2008-2018. Valdicava’s 1998 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano is a lean, somewhat austere wine of modest structure. Pretty notes of sweet herbs, spices dark fruit and tobacco emerge from the glass, but ultimately the wine comes across as best suited for nearer-term drinking. 91/Anticipated maturity: 2008-2012.

The 1999 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano is everything a great wine should be. This is an expansive, spectacularly ripe wine endowed with layers of perfumed dark fruit, sweet tobacco, new leather and spices. A brooding, structured beauty, the wine needs some serious bottle age to show at its best, but it is already pretty stunning. According to Abbruzzese 1999 represents another step up in quality as the estate’s vineyards had begun to acquire some age at this point. Certainly this seems true in the Riserva, but I don’t perceive as marked a difference from previous vintages in the regular Brunello (see below). 96/Anticipated maturity: 2009-2021. The 2001 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano is another remarkable wine. It is a ripe, ample Brunello with tons of fruit. Compared to the broad-shouldered 1999, the 2001 possesses a touch greater detail and more finesse in its tannins. This is a beautifully delineated, chiseled wine of the highest level. 96/Anticipated maturity: 2013-2023.

The 2003 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano is a super-ripe, opulent wine that resembles the 1997 in its generous, full-bodied personality. The tannins are surprisingly well-balanced within the context of this challenging vintage. The 2003 should drink well relatively early for this Riserva. All things considered, this is a superb effort. Production was down sharply in 2003. The estate bottled just 13,000 bottles of this wine compared to the typical production of 23,000 bottles. 93/Anticipated maturity: 2011-2021. Valdicava’s 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano is still in cask. This is an incredibly nuanced, refined Brunello made in a less obvious style than the 1999 or the 2001 although it shares some stylistic similarities with those vintages. Today the wine presents a weightless, almost Burgundian personality, although it should fill out over the next few years. This is an utterly convincing, spellbinding Madonna del Piano that relies more on elegance and finesse rather than sheer power. (93-96)/Anticipated maturity: 2010-2026.

The 1991 Brunello di Montalcino is remarkable for how gracefully it has aged. Although a small-scaled Brunello, it also possesses notable clarity in its elegant, perfumed fruit. This gorgeous, feminine Brunello is a great choice for drinking over the next few years. 90/Anticipated maturity: 2008-2016. Valdicava did extremely well in 1993, as the Brunello di Montalcino attests. The wine reveals stunning harmony and proportion, as sweet notes of leather, spices, licorice and dark fruit emerge. Everything is in the right place here, and the wine has enough freshness to continue to drink well for at least another five years or so. 92/Anticipated maturity: 2008-2013. The estate’s 1999 Brunello di Montalcino is a touch more slender than I would have expected in this vintage. Gorgeous aromas meld into spiced dark fruit, spices, leather and menthol in a pretty style of Sangiovese. 92/Anticipated maturity: 2011-2019. The 2001 Brunello di Montalcino was one of the most talked about wines of Montalcino when it was first released a few years ago. The black color the wine had in its youth has begun to recede, yet this remains a rich, almost Amarone-like expression of Sangiovese that achieves an incredible level of density and sheer concentration. According to Abbruzzese the early spring hail reduced yields dramatically, which accounts for the wine’s super-ripe style. I am not sure if yields alone can produce a wine that is this extreme, my guess is that decisions taken in the cellar had an influence as well. Nevertheless, the simple fact remains that this wine is a freak. There is no other wine in the estate’s history – before or after - that even remotely resembles the style of the 2001. This is an outstanding wine, but one that needs to be considered on its own terms. 92/Anticipated maturity: 2011-2021. Valdicava’s 2003 Brunello di Montalcino is a fat, super-ripe offering that flows with masses of opulent fruit. The difficult vintage has yielded a wine with limited complexity and finesse given what this estate is capable of. 91/Anticipated maturity: 2014-2024. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2019.The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino, tasted from tank, could not be more different than the 2003 in its personality and sheer class. This vibrant, aromatic Brunello possesses terrific length in its perfumed fruit with ripe, sweet tannins that are beautifully woven into its frame. The 2004 Brunello shows tons of detail and clarity in a compelling and utterly irresistible style. (91-94)/Anticipated maturity: 2014-2024.

 --Antonio Galloni