A Pair of Brunellos Made the bi-weekly visit to our local favorite Italian semi-chain eatery last night, Biaggi's. (For those in the US fortunate enough to have one of the 17 restaurants nearby, I highly recommend them for an affordable, slightly up-scale experience-- reserve wine list for some nice domestic (US) and Italian offerings at reasonable prices. Last night I tried the only Brunello they had on the reserve list--Altesino Brunello di Montalcino '98. It was a nice deep brownish-red color in the glbutt with a nose that seemed a bit funky, but not unpleasant. Aromas of black cherry, tar, smoke were apparent. Taste was a carry through of the nose, with a bit of barnyard, a lot of black cherry and licorice and a pleasant, but somewhat terse finish. Quite nice, but didn't really give me a reason to seek a dealer to buy a case. Probably on Dale's scale, a B-. When we got home, we fired up the TV and went scanning for a movie to watch. Naturally, we needed another glbutt of wine, so I headed to the bowels of the house for something suitable and came back with, logically enough, another Brunello. This one was Vitanza BdiM '98 just to keep the comparision realistic. The Vitanza showed the same dark color, but with a more viscous appearance in the glbutt. The nose had none of the funk but a load of huge warm candied black cherry, toffee and toast. The mouthfeel was velvety and the flavors carried through with great consistency and intensity. The finish was smooth and lingering. Clearly a wine with a lot more current drinkability than the Altesino. For me, the difference was very clear and the Vitanza was the winner of the taste-off. Hard to compare costs for a restaurant bottle versus a retail purchase, but for those interested, the Altesino was $88 in the restaurant, the Vitanza was pretty economical for a Brunello at $25. Ed Rasimus Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret) "When Thunder Rolled" www.thunderchief.org www.thundertales.blogspot.com 
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