Brunello di Montalcino 2007

Concentrated but evolved ruby with broad, orange rim. Beef-stock opening. This herbal streak also has an initial grip on the fruit, but there is more concentration on the finish. Rather dry. (WS)

Mid ruby with broad orange-tinged rim. Quite mature and rich nose ever so slightly stalky. Good concentration but still compact and backward. (WS)

Mid ruby with broad orange rim. Subdued nose. Rather closed on the palate too. Very slow. Powerful, grainy tannin. So slow! Brooding concentrated fruit on the finish. Long. Monolithic. (WS)

Mid to pale ruby with orange tinge. A bit weedy and unfocused on the nose. Mellow, round palate without a lot of tension. More like a modest Rosso than anything else. Special supermarket cuvée? (WS)

Concentrated, mid ruby with slight orange tinge. Compact, subdued and very backward. Won't allow itself to be pulled out of the glass even when swirled energetically. Clever oak management, good balance. Lots of sweet fruit seems to secure a bright future. Big. (WS)

Medium ruby starting to mature. Hint of forest floor and spice. Gentle and elegant palate and with the right dose of tannin. Ever so slightly bitter on the finish, which lets it down. (WS)

Deep ruby with orange-tinged rim. Quite sweet, and with almost a hint of coconut. Shows a core of sweet fruit with contrasting drying tannin. Very sweet finish. Piles it up high. (WS)

Deep ruby just beginning to get lighter on the rim. Soft, round, sweet and a touch creamy. Impressive, sweet length but needs more complexity. (WS)

Mid crimson. Very stubborn and slow. Rich and very concentrated sweet fruit and muscular fine tannin. Great stuffing and ripeness. Just at the beginning of its development. Very concentrated, almost rich finish. (WS)

Visually almost Pinot Noir-like. Chalky and minerally, but not giving a lot away on the fruit side. Very elegant and compact, polished even. Fantastic elegant mouthfeel too. Persistent powdery tannin. Wonderful stuff. (WS)

Deep, maturing ruby with orange tinge. Very straightforward and ripe with fruitcake notes. Could be a bit fresher and more complex. (WS)

Concentrated ruby with small orange rim. Immediate, sweet dried fruit kept in check by acidity. Undeniably very ripe, but not too dense. Popular appeal seems secured. (WS)

Medium concentrated dark ruby and orange rim. Hints of very ripe fruit but surprisingly closed to the point of being numb. Seems hugely concentrated, but a bit rustic on the finish. (WS)

Medium concentrated, evolved ruby with broad orange rim. Sweet dried-fruit hints. Bit one-dimensional because of that. Lacks the stuffing to make it a real Brunello. (WS)

Deep, concentrated ruby with orange tinge. Richness backed up by big tannins. Undeniably concentrated, but lacks finesse. (WS)

Deep ruby with orange rim. Savoury, full bodied and with quite substantial tannin. Not the most subtle, but long. (WS)

Mid ruby with broader orange rim. Seems slightly evolved on the nose with the first signs of tar. Quite Sangiovese, though. Nice richness and acidity. Stalky, persistent finish. (WS)

Deep, evolving ruby. Stewed fruit nose spells a short life. (WS)

Mid ruby with broad orange tinge. Sweetly perfumed and fairly upfront on the palate. A bit rustic and a touch hot on the finish. (WS)

Mid ruby with orange tinges. Very soft and round without any real bite or structure. And with quite a lot of vanilla pod on the finish. (WS)

Ever so slightly lacklustre ruby with orange tinge. Curiously exotic spice nose. Sweet fruit struggles a little with the oak tannin. Very dry tannin on a sweet fruit finish. (WS)

Mid ruby with orange tinge. The vintage’s hallmark sweetness wrapped up in tight oak. Enough freshness on a generous finish. (WS)

Sweet oak and sweetly fruity. A tad of acidity would have pulled it up a bit more. (WS)

Mid crimson with orange-tinged rim. Intense, sweet cherry fruit with grippy tannin. Not the most polished, at least not at this moment, but does the job admirably. (WS)

Lacklustre, deep ruby with small orange tinge. Compact, concentrated and underlined by posh oak. Ripe and opulent and hedonistic. (WS)

Lacklustre medium ruby with orange tinge. Creamy nose followed by a fruit-driven palate. Crunchy tannin keeps it interesting. Good length. (WS)

Medium concentrated ruby with broader orange-tinged rim. Very spicy and worryingly leathery, which has a grip on the fruit, at least for the moment. But the concentration is there. (WS)

Mid to pale ruby. Sweet toffee notes of the oak. No shy oak treatment here! Too dominant and smothering the fruit. (WS)

Deep ruby with lighter rim just beginning to open up. Quite pretty, sweet nose, but a tad too sweet for comfort on the finish. (WS)

Medium concentrated ruby with orange rim. Stalky and herbal. Seems a tad unripe. Contrasting sweet fruit with a very dry finish. (WS)

Deep ruby just beginning to show orange. Pretty sweet and commercial and a tad stewed. No real breed here. (WS)

Mid ruby with orange tinge. Herbal nose. Slightly unfocused on the palate. Dry tannin on the finish. (WS)

Medium ruby with orange rim. Mellow and easygoing, and not terribly demanding. Some tough tannins on the finish. (WS)

Mid ruby just beginning to show some orange. Chalky and hints of oak. Plenty of extract and almost completely integrated acidity. Crunchy tannin, a crowd pleaser. (WS)

Concentrated crimson. Rich and attractive oak nose. Good concentration and balance. Undeniably rich, but has enough personality to pull it off. (WS)

Medium concentrated ruby with lighter rim. Almost brutally sweet oak. Dominates the palate too. Rich and sweet finish with drying tannin. (WS)

Medium ruby just beginning to show some orange. Earthy with a hint of shoe polish and oak and the beginning of tar. Liquorice and lingering fruit, but lots of aggressive, drying bitter tannin. (WS)

Mid crimson with broader, orange-tinged rim. Intriguing sweet fruit with depth. Lots of concentrated sweet cherry on the palate. Very good length with stalky tannin. Rich and satisfying. (WS)

Concentrated but evolved-looking ruby with orange tinges. Quite mature with a distinct note of dried fruit. Quite bold tannin and seems to lack a bit of fruit to offset this. Mid term. Touch dry on the finish. (WS)

Mid ruby beginning to open up on the rim. Stalky but at the same time quite rich and concentrated. Bit crude but not without merit. (WS)

Mid crimson. Sweet, oaked fruit on the nose, and lots of sweet concentrated fruit on the palate. Quite dense and popular. (WS)

Concentrated ruby with orange-tinged rim. Very young and spicy. Juvenile on the palate too. Quite closed but fragrant finale. Lots of stalky tannin demanding more time. (WS)

Deep ruby with orange tinge. Very Sangiovese with a mature edge to it but not yet fully open. Touch of farmyard? Lovely concentration with the merest suggestion of oak. Intense fruit finish with persistent tannin keeping the attention span. (WS)

Mid crimson just beginning to open up. Sweet liquorice and herb liqueur. Full bodied but with low-key fruit. Bit drying on the finish. (WS)

Very dark crimson. Stalky and with a vegetal streak. Not very impressive on the palate either, but some fruit turns up on the finish. Dry! (WS)

Deep ruby just beginning to show some orange on the rim. Opulent fruit cake and dried fruit with black tea. Very accessible, but perhaps not complex enough to justify the Brunello tag. (WS)

Mid to pale ruby with broad rim. Undeniably opulent, but with good balance and tension and lovely palate weight. (WS)

Mid ruby with orange rim. Sweet cherry fruit with a dusting of cocoa. Fragrant spread with minerally and savoury notes and ongoing coating tannin. (WS)

Medium ruby with palish orange rim. More minerally than fruity on the nose, at least for the moment. Extremely fine, concentrated fruit core, with crunchy tannins. Ends a tad stalky but lots of promise for the future. (WS)

Mid ruby just beginning to open up on the rim. Posh oak, and quite a lot of that. Plenty of concentrated fruit to cope with that, but a little bit more hands-off winemaking would do the trick! (WS)

Mid ruby with orange tinges. Quite dumb on the nose and not very expressive on the palate. There is richness but I miss the finesse. Perhaps it is yet to come? (WS)

Ever so slightly lacklustre mid ruby with orange-tinged rim. Very low key and a touch vegetal. Much richer on the palate, but lacks complexity. Perhaps this will come round? (WS)

Concentrated ruby with orange rim. Ripe and soft with notes of baking spice. Tad simple on the palate, but has length. Drying finish. (WS)

Deep, concentrated ruby, with broader orange-tinged rim. Upfront, ripe and sweet. Lots of concentration and power, with rich tannins to match. Very long. (WS)

Quite evolved, dark ruby with broad orange-tinged rim. Very ripe, perhaps a touch stewed. Nice tannin structure and good concentration, but already quite developed. Perhaps not enormously impressive. For drinking now. (WS)

Quite light ruby with broad orange rim. Appealing and very ripe. Quite sweet and not the most demanding. More like a Rosso di Montalcino. (WS)

Palish ruby with broad rim. Quite sweet and ripe, almost like Mon Chéri chocolate, with hints of dried fruit. Elegant palate weight. Lots of concentrated sweet fruit on the finish. A touch rustic perhaps. (WS)

Evolved-looking medium concentrated dark ruby. Sweet fruit with a hint of cooked rhubarb. Lively palate, but the fruit struggles with the oak. (WS)

Mid crimson with the beginning of orange tinge. Very compact and backward. Opens up on the finish. Impressive tannin and concentration, and yet elegant. Wait. (WS)

Mature-looking medium concentrated ruby. A touch candied and peppery on the nose. Sweetly perfumed. Very extracted, but with the right amount of acidity and with enormous length. Quite brash oak treatment, but the wine pulls it off in style. Modernist. (WS)

Medium deep ruby with broader orange rim. A bit stalky and herbal on the nose and quite soft fruit burdened with drying tannin. (WS)

Deep ruby with orange tinges. Closed and brooding. Sweet fruit core, but immediately closes up again. Lingering finish and good balance. Grows on you. Quite full bodied. (WS)

Concentrated ruby with orange tinges. Nose marked by lots of expensive oak, matched by big concentration. Questionable if it needed this treatment. Less would have been more. (WS)

Dark ruby with orange-tinged rim. Savoury, and dense nose. Reluctant to show fruit. Grippy fruit palate. Great effort for the vintage. Rich, indeed, but classy. (WS)

Mid ruby with broad orange-tinged rim. Perhaps a touch overripe, certainly not the most complex on the nose. Good concentration on the palate, though, but needs to go the extra mile, which this isn’t doing. (WS)

Quite deep and dark with orange rim. Stalky and a bit grubby at first with leathery oak notes. A tad sweet and docile on the palate. (WS)

Mid crimson. Beef stock and a touch of cocoa and a bit medicinal at first, and not too complex. (WS)

Mid ruby with orange rim. A bit herbal and stalky and a tad sweet on the finish. Has the signature Le Ragnaie elegance on the palate, but is just a touch too leafy and stalky. (WS)

Quite dark and evolved ruby. Quite slow to open up, with similar embryonic fruit on the palate. (WS)

Mid ruby with broad orange-tinged rim. Oak piled high here. Vanilla and coconut smothered fruit. Seems a bit outdated to make wine like this. (WS)

Maturing mid ruby with broad orange rim. Very closed. Very backward on the palate too, full bodied and sweet fruit concentration on the finish. Embryonic and potentially huge, nothing shy about this. (WS)

Mid ruby with broad orange-tinged rim. Roast aromas and sweet fruit and a hint of horse saddle. Elegant palate weight and aromatic build up on the finish. Real bite and crunch. (WS)

Concentrated ruby with orange-tinged rim. Fragrant and ethereal with a fine spicy edge. Lots of concentration here, with matching crunchy tannin. Ripe and dense without going over the top. Already approachable but will age. (WS)

Mid ruby with orange tinge. Elegant black tea and cherry nose. Elegant palate too with good balance. Not hugely complex but very attractive. (WS)

Mid crimson with the beginning of orange on the rim. Stalky, herbal and a bit vegetal. Elegant mouthfeel, with convincing concentration and length. Shame about the unfocused nose. (WS)

Medium ruby with broad orange tinge. Starts quite medicinal but with a sweet, spicy layer underneath. Very ripe fruit with a fruit-cake edge. Quite sweet and can be drunk now. (WS)

Palish maturing ruby with broad orange-tinged rim. Very stalky and a bit grubby. Sweetly fruity, but fails to convince. (WS)

Mid ruby with broad orange-tinged rim. Very sweet and with a hint of dried fruit. More depth of fruit on the palate and with lots of extract. Could be a bit more complex. (WS)

Lacklustre mid ruby with small orange-tinged rim. Quite ripe and spicy and with bags of concentrated sweet fruit and richly tannic. Lots of stuffing. Generous. (WS)

Maturing, mid ruby. Lifted note with the first signs of maturation. Lots of crunch and ripeness and very accessible. (WS)

Quite mature-looking orange-rimmed ruby. Very closed, but well focused and concentrated on the palate. Ripe, coating and rich tannin impression. Wait. (WS)