One of Italy’s finest wines, and one of the few Italian wines which improves with cellaring beyond a couple of years. Our bottle of Brunello di Montalcino 2012 from prestigious producer Poggio Landi is now ten years old and ready to drink in the evening cool after this weekend’s summer heat.
The smell immediately after opening was full, strong and complex with depth. The colour in the glass was a delightful and unexpected tawny. As expected for a rosso from a particular strain of Sangiovese grapes. it tasted dry, slightly tannic but very pleasantly balanced and maintained this equilibrium for the duration of our bottle, unlike a lesser Tuscan rosso. We enjoyed this in Terry’s garden in Preston Park, Brighton, with his home cooking of the traditional Tuscan meal, Cinghiale in dolce et forte con Tagliatelle alla Castagna, wild boar with chestnut pasta.
The Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore D.O.C.G. from the producer Bolla is an Extra Dry, the liquid from the Glera grapes is almost colourless; so a light sparkling wine but with a very full flavour, ideal as our aperitvo with a selection of Bruschetta con tapenade di olive.