2003 La Velona Brunello di Montalcino

La Velona's winery sits in the south east corner of the Montalcino growing zone just outside of the tiny hamlet of Castelnuovo dell'Abate, where it's warmed by the southern exposure and blessed with sunlight from the open view to Mount Amiata across the Orcia river valley. These vineyards always produce fully ripe grapes and 2003 was one of the hottest summers on record in Tuscany. The expectation was that the wines would all be cooked! Vineyard management is not a predictable science - when you're growing sangiovese it is an art form. So when I first tasted the 2003 La Velona Brunello at Vinitaly 2008, I was expecting some over ripe and burnt version, like a BBQ'ed Brunello! I was truly stunned by what I tasted, the elegance, balance, clean and fresh aromatic fruit character, vital and focused nature of this wine was anything but cooked. However after many reviewers pooh-poohed the vintage years before the actual release of the wines most 2003 Brunello did not have an awaiting public. Throw in a scandal, world financial crisis and it seems that there is still some of this really delicious Brunello out there and the owners need to move through it to get to the next vintage. Synopsis: You get a wonderful Brunello, drinkable now for less than a $20 bill! Stock up! (Greg St.Clair, K&L)