V Sanjay Kumar opens several bottles of Brunello and arrives at the happy conclusion that he has a decent cellar
In my early experience with wine, vintage wasn’t a factor when I bought a bottle. I wasn’t aware of the importance of the “drinking window”, a special time when the wine showed its true colours It was a lack of awareness, a kind of innocence. Then came a 2014 Brunello di Montalcino that changed everything.
2014 is said to be a bad year for Brunello. How bad? Well, the famous Brunello producer Biondi-Santi did not make any wine that year. It rained a lot in 2014 and the grapes in most vineyards weren’t worthy. Some vineyards managed a few cases but they did not produce their Reserve wines that year.
I had with me a bottle of the 2014 Castel Giocondo Brunello. Every time I opened my chiller its embossed golden emblem glittered. One rainy day I thought ten years in the bottle was good enough and pulled the cork. My better half likes Brunello. She likes Sangiovese; period. Fragrant lean juice made from red berries improves her view on life. I decanted the wine for a good two hours, swirled it, and poured her a thimble. She sniffed and she frowned as she sipped. There were two minutes of silence. I raised an eyebrow.
“Tannins are standing at the door and barking,” she said.
“And?”
“Acidity is biting my shins.” She took another sip. “Where is the fruit?”
I poured myself a shot. She was right. Ten years in the bottle, a long decant, and yet the harsh tannins overshadowed everything. We had a hard time finishing the bottle. It wasn’t undrinkable, it was unfriendly. There was a lot of oak on the nose and palate and its trademark tobacco was present but in the battle between oak and fruit, fruit had lost.
“Tastes of over-brewed black tea,” said my better half. It was a perfect description. I was apologetic, I felt I had to make up by opening another. “I have the 2015 as well,” I said.
“Should I open it?”
“Same producer? Serve it to your friends,” she said. I don’t give up in these matters. I checked my cellar for other Brunellos. I unearthed another from the 2014 vintage from the vineyard Podere Le Ripi in Montalcino. I had visited that vineyard and I was impressed.
“By what?” asked my better half.
“For one, it has the densest planting of vines in the world. The normal density in Montalcino is 4,500 to 6,000 vines per hectare, this vineyard has 11,200 per hectare. There is also a special wine called Bonsai that comes from a vineyard planted with 62,500 vines per hectare.”
“So what? Was Bonsai any good?” I wasn’t very impressed by the Bonsai.
“Podere Le Ripi also has a circular underground cellar, an architectural beauty made from 75,0000 hand laid bricks. It conforms mathematically to the Golden Ratio.”
“Can complex mathematics save a bad vintage?” asked my better half.
Luckily, my cellar had another Brunello from the 2015 vintage that was rated 100 points. I tried telling my better half that we should open it. 100 points meant something.
“Who gave it 100 points?” she asked. “James Suckling,” I said. She laughed. “You are not having a good day, are you?”
She knew. I was surprised she knew that Suckling ratings were more generous than others.
James Suckling tastes a lot of wine every other day. He and his team are relentless. His ratings are generous in comparison to others and these days it is fashionable to poke fun at them. The man deserved a chance. I hosted an evening a few days later that I titled, ‘Judgement of James Suckling’.
There were so many Judgements making wine headlines. There was the Judgement of Paris which everyone touts, especially those who prefer Napa and find the French snooty. Then there was the Berlin Tasting organized by Eduardo Chadwick from Chile, admittedly for selfish reasons. It had his premium wines Sena and Vinedo Chadwick pitted against Bordeaux’s best. And more recently there was an old-world vs new-world face-off called the Judgement of London which muddied the importance of such distinctions.
My humble attempt had two Wine of the Year (WOTY) bottles that Suckling had chosen in 2021 and 2022. And there was the 100-pointer that I had wanted to open, the Renieri Brunello 2015. In 2021 the WOTY was the Kumeu River Mate’s Chardonnay 2020 from New Zealand. The benchmarks for chardonnay come from Burgundy, that terroir produces exalted wines. Kumeu has gained a considerable following with its single vineyard wines that cost a fraction. The Kumeu River Mate opened up with intense notes of lemon, apple, and some toasted elements. It had intensity and great balance, and it was plain delicious. Sumptuous, said someone. Like Meursault, said another. We all agreed.
The 2022 WOTY was the BV Georges De Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 from Napa. It was full-bodied as Napa usually is but it had restraint and character. We found a host of notes on nose and palate, like dark fruit, subtle earth, violet whiffs, cocoa, and vanilla. It was juicy and approachable despite its youth. A Bordeaux heart hidden in Napa fruit, was the consensus. My better half who comes from the Stag’s Leap School of Napa, was nodding her appreciation.
Guests were in a good mood and it was time to pop open the 100-pointer, the Renieri Brunello 2015. It came smoking out of the gate like a Spanish bull, pawing at the earth. There was dark cherry to the fore, black tea on the finish, and notes of liquorice spiced the affair. Its bracing acidity and lively tannins infused life into the evening. Someone said it was like aged rum. Years in the bottle had helped this Brunello come together, something that Suckling had possibly foreseen. Brunello done right, said my better half.
Fair to say that going beyond numbers James Suckling picks good wines and I, despite everything, have a decent cellar.
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