Altesino Brunello di Montalcino Montosoli 1990 750mL

Altesino's Brunello di Montalcino Montosoli 1990 comes from the hill north of Montalcino that gave the appellation its first single-vineyard Brunello. In the fine 1990 Tuscan vintage it earned 96 points from Wine Spectator.

About This Wine

Montosoli sits at the top of Altesino's holdings, on limestone and galestro soils at around 450 metres, and the estate has bottled it separately since the 1975 harvest. In 1990 production was about 1,000 cases. Wine Spectator gave it 96 points in a later retrospective, describing black truffle, berry and cedar aromas with velvety tannins. Robert Parker, tasting it young, scored it 94 and noted more depth and texture than the estate's regular Brunello. Now in its fourth decade, it has moved into dried fruit, leather and savoury notes.

Tasting Profile

• Nose: Dried cherry, tobacco, cedar and black truffle, with leather and a balsamic note.
• Palate: Full and velvety, with savoury fruit, soft tannin and good acidity still holding it together.
• Finish: Earthy and persistent, with liquorice and spice.

Serving & Food

Stand upright for a day and decant slowly to leave the sediment behind. Serve at 16 to 17°C in a large Bordeaux or Brunello glass and drink within a few hours of opening. Good with pappardelle with wild boar ragù, bistecca, or a truffled pasta.

How to Enjoy

A dinner for Tuscan wine lovers keen to see how a top 1990 Brunello has aged.

Product Details

About the Winery

Altesino is based at Palazzo Altesi, a fifteenth-century building in the north-eastern hills of Montalcino built by the Tricerchi family, whose marble crest still hangs over the door. The winery pushed several changes in Brunello during the 1970s: single-vineyard bottling with Montosoli from 1975, a farm grappa made with distiller Gioacchino Nannoni in 1977, and, in 1979, the first use of barriques in the area.

Since 2002 the estate has belonged to the Gnudi Angelini family, who also own Caparzo. Part of the old cellar within the palazzo walls is still used to age Montosoli.