This wine, which is a deep ruby red with dark garnet hues, is intricate and elegant and shows enormous potential for further bottle aging. The nose is very textured, showing austere berries through to silky liquorice and graphite, with balsamic, almost herbal notes on the finale. It is balanced and complex in the mouth with a strong character and a long finish.
| Grape varietal: | 100 % Sangiovese Grosso known in Montalcino as “Brunello” |
| Aging in wood: | 39 months in large Slavonian oak |
| Bottle aging: | More than the minimum 4 months specified in the D.O.C.G. regulations governing the production of Brunello. |
| Total production: | 8,313 – 0.75 Liter bottles, 100 – 1.5 Liter bottles, 5 – 3 Liter bottles |
| Bottled: | September 14, 2010 in ecological, lightweight bottles |
| Alcohol per volume%: | 13.97 |
| Total acidity%: | 5.7 g/l |
| Total polifenols: | 3701.00 |
| Dry extract: | 30.50 |
2006 was an excellent year for Brunellos, and it was deemed a five star vintage by the Consorzio del Vino. James Suckling, on his blog, said,
“What excites me about the wines is their metamorphic character. They seem to change all the time in the glass. First they seem elegant and shy, with delicate enticing aromas of flowers and cherries alongside refined and silky palates, but then with time in the glass they grow in color, aromatic strength, and sheer power. I have rarely discovered such energy in a Sangiovese. As I have blogged before, I have only seen great red Burgundy react like that in the glass – and I am talking about grand cru or premier cru Pinot Noirs from top producers. It’s a sign of a great vintage.”
The period from April to June was characterized by persistent rains that provided a significant accumulation of water in the soil, a reserve that proved extremely useful during the summer period. The month of July was very hot and sunny with an excellent development of the bunches and the right phenological phases of the vines. The month of August was less hot than it usually is due to cloudy skies and a few rainfalls. The first half of September was very hot and sunny which enabled a definite evolution of the grapes towards a complete and balanced ripening. The second half of September began with some rainfalls that changed the weather giving rise to the beginning of autumn. After this the weather quickly settled again and allowed the start of the harvest operations.
| Soil composition: | The estate has three separate vineyards in quite different areas of Montalcino, each bringing different aspects of Montalcino to our wine. Le Due Porte: high altitude, northwest exposition, ga-lestro and alberese. La Vigna del Capa: lower, south facing, marine fossils, older vines. La Vigna Vecchia: lower, south facing, high minerality, older vines. |
| Density of vines per hectare: | 4.000 |
| Growth system : | Balanced bilateral “cordone” |
The 2006 Brunello pairs wonderfully with red meats, roasts and game birds. For vegetarians, try pairing it with earthy vegetables like mushrooms and truffles or aged cheese such as pecorino.
Also considered a vino da meditazione, it’s a wine so complex and structured it can be enjoyed without food, allowing you to devote your full attention to reflect and appreciate the flavors and composition.
IL PICCIONE “ DI SILENE”
Squab “Di Silene”
Pair with Il Palazzone Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2006
Recipe by Roberto Rossi, Chef at acclaimed restaurant Il Silene, Seggiano, Italy
http://www.ilsilene.it/EN/persone.html
Serves 2 people
This recipe, inspired by the Chef’s grandfather, is a collaboration between the chef and his friend Maurizio. It is served as a typical Sunday dish in Seggiano, with squab being a prized meat that can also be used in many other recipes.
For the meat
Breast and legs of two squab
3 fresh sprigs of rosemary
1 ½ cloves of garlic, bruised
A small glass of dry white wine
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
For the sides
Fresh seasonal greens
½ cup beans (Fagioli del Purgatorio), soaked for 2 hours
3 large sage leaves
2 sprigs of rosemary
1 clove of garlic
*If fagioli del purgatorio cannot be found, substitute with Cannellini beans and soak overnight, 8 – 12 hours
In a heavy bottomed deep skillet, sear the meat in extra virgin olive oil until the skin becomes crispy. Add the rosemary and the garlic to the pan. When the garlic begins to brown, add the white wine and allow it to evaporate. Salt to taste.
Remove the pan from the heat to stop the cooking, but leave the meat in the pan to extract flavors (the insides should be pink).
Meanwhile, add the beans, garlic, rosemary and sage to a lightly salted pot of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, simmering for 40-50 minutes, depending on your taste.
Cut the breasts of the squab and fan them out on the plate, adding the legs and beans as a side dish along with steamed seasonal greens.
ROBERTO ROSSI
Loc. Pescina 58038
Seggiano, Grosseto, Italy
tel +39 0564 950 805
fax +39 0564 950 553
info@ilsilene.it
www.ilsilene.it
Anticipated maturity: 2010-2017.
Sensazioni: la sua carnosa ciliegia profondamente distillata dal sole. Distillata ovvero potentemente percorsa da un alto grado alcolico recante asciuttezza, rettilineità espressiva ma anche pronunciato calore in nitida e densa glicerina. Un campione di suadenza puramente bordolese che comunque spicca in nettezza enologica esecutiva: la ciliegia nera è rotonda e ben definita, e riv ancora parte consistente del suo originario turgore. Di eccellenza l’indice di equilibrio aromatico frutto/spezie: mentosità e dolce vanigliosità ben energica, ampiamente avvolta nelle vive pomposità del frutto. Una ciliegia nera matura, una visciola turgida dal tannino fittamente i inspessente, di maturità e suadenza in morbidezza ben armoniosamente avvolgente.
Complimenti a Il Palazzone: non solo un Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2001 di grande fruttosità, di grande morbidezza gustativa, ma più ancora un Brunello di Montalcino 2002 di sorprendente valore data la qualità del millesimo di produzione.
Sensazioni: la ciliegia campeggia in questo vino, la polpa morbida e succosa ella ciliegia, quella che dolce, tutte le mani sporca della concentrazione fruttuosa del suo filamentoso pigmento. La dolcezza della spezia tonda, che accentua la suadenza sua. Un vino di eccezionale levigatezza gustativa, morbidissimo nel suo flessuoso incedere. Un fuoriclasse eccellente tanto in polpa quanto in morbida e turgida rotondità di espressione. Un vino dalla souplesse avvolgente, balsamicamente superiore. Un vino a cui è davvero difficile resistere, così armoniosamente ed equilibratamente espressivo.
A deep dark ruby color, the Lorenzo & Isabelle was created to pay homage to the memory of the proprietor’s parents. With the grapes harvested in Montalcino and from the Il Palazzone vineyards, the wine’s first vintage consists of 60% Cabernet Franc, 38% Sangiovese, and 2% Petit Verdot. By definition a Super Tuscan, this wine demonstrates an international style with the assistance of French vine varieties. This blend allows Il Palazzone to use grapes other than Sangiovese Grosso, a strand of Sangiovese which is specific to Montalcino, Italy. Today, the grape is better known as simply “Brunello”. Similar to the prototype Super Tuscans, Tignanello and Sassicaia, the Lorenzo & Isabelle shows elegance, power, and the marriage of the new and old world. It retains the terroir of Montalcino, with an international flair from Cab Franc and Petit Verdot. The wine’s complex nose is mesmerizing and engaging. The aromas of intense red fruits, baked black fruits, earthy undertones, herbs, cigar, vanilla, and cola seem to carry on indefinitely and continually develop with time. If there was ever a symphony in a glass, this wine is it. With substantial acidity and tannins that become more graceful over time (I decanted the wine for about an hour), the dark cherries and oak integration has come together quite nicely.
Il Palazzone is a small producer (8,000 – 12,000 bottles per year) of the prestigious Brunello di Montalcino DOCG wine. Every year a small quantity of wine is left in the cellar. We blend this “loose” wine and make a Vino Rosso. Since it derives from several vintages, it has no vintage listed on the bottle. The grapes used to make the Vino Rosso all qualified as Brunello di Montalcino under the strict DOCG reg-ulations, though we chose to declassify them to produce this Vino Rosso. All the component wines have spent over a year in large wood barrels, resulting in a “baby” Brunello, with all the characteristics of Montalcino and Sangiovese, but with the fruit, freshness and approachability of a Rosso di Montalcino. The Rosso del Palazzone has been described by Jancis Robinson, MW as “an honest pleasurable message in the bottle from Tuscany.”
| Taste: | Warm, dry, generous and well-balanced. Bright, fresh acidity with depth and Montalcino character. Great length and persistence. |
| Color: | Intense ruby red |
| Nose: | Full and persistent with lifted floral notes, followed by berry fruits and a hint of forest floor. Typical Sangiovese aromas, redolent of Montalcino |
| Grape varietal: | 100% Sangiovese Grosso, known in Montalcino as “Brunello” |
| Composition | Equal parts 2007, 2008 and 2009 Brunello grapes, declassified from the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG appellation |
| Total production: | 10,200 ~ 0.75 liter bottles |
| Bottled: | February 14, 2011 (Valentine’s Day), in ecological, lightweight bottles |
| Alcohol per volume % : | 13.5 |
The vineyards at Il Palazzone are less than 7 acres in area and are all planted with Sangiovese Grosso, the grape known in Montalcino as “Brunello.”
Vineyards: The estate has three separate vineyards in quite different areas of Montalcino, each bringing different aspects of Montalcino to our wine.
Le Due Porte – Northwest facing vineyard with marl and alberese soil, at a high altitude which provides excellent ventilation and an extreme day/night thermal excursion good for producing aromatics
La Vigna del Capa – Lower altitude and south facing, with older vines and the site of discovered marine fossils, providing saline mineral notes
La Vigna Vecchia – Lower altitude and south facing, with older vines and soil with a high minerality of iron, magnesium and manganese
| Yields: | 5,000 kg per hectare, a result of several green harvests and selection in the vineyard |
| Grapes: | All grapes in the Rosso del Palazzone were cared for and held to the same regulations as if they were destined to become Brunello. During the aging process, we declassified them to create the Vino Rosso blend. The grapes are picked by hand before long maceration in temperature controlled stainless steel, usually at the beginning of October. The component wines have spent 10-24 months in large Slavonian oak barrels. |
This versatile wine is an excellent wine “a tutto pasto”, i.e. suited to all courses, in particular vegetable soup, cheese and first and second courses featuring red meat.
Tortelli maremmani di ricotta e spinaci al tartufo bianco
Spinaci and ricotta tortelli with white truffle
Pair with Il Palazzone Rosso del Palazzone
Recipe by Roberto Rossi, Chef at acclaimed restaurant Il Silene, Seggiano, Italy
http://www.ilsilene.it/EN/persone.html
Serves 8 people (total of approximately 40 tortelli)
INGREDIENTS
For the pasta
4 eggs
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 cups flour
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 2/3 teaspoon salt
For the tortelli filling
2½ cups sheep’s milk ricotta
8 ounces fresh spinach, cut small
5 ounces fresh chard, cut small
2 eggs
1½ cup grated parmesan
2 tsp grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt
For the dressing
½ cup melted butter
2 ½ cups grated parmesan
1 ¼ cup shaved white truffle
To prepare the dough:
Sift the flour into a flat surface, forming a volcano like structure with a dip in the middle. Break the eggs into the dip, and add the oil and salt. Mix everything together to get a soft ball of dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
To prepare the tortelli:
After the dough has chilled, roll the pasta into thin sheets with a rolling pin. Cut the sheet into long strips, about 2 inches wide, and spoon the filling onto the strips (on the edge closest to you, not in the middle of the strip). Fold the pasta in half and press the outsides of the tortello by hand to seal it. Trim the border of the tortello with a pasta cutter or a knife.
To serve:
Boil the tortelli in generously salted water to cook, until they start to float. Place five tortelli on each plate, and drizzle with the melted butter, the freshly grated parmesan and the shaved slices of white truffle.
ROBERTO ROSSI
Loc. Pescina 58038
Seggiano, Grosseto, Italy
tel +39 0564 950 805
fax +39 0564 950 553
info@ilsilene.it
www.ilsilene.it
Rosso del Palazzone NV Vino da Tavola is in effect a baby Brunello di Montalcino at a fraction of the price of the real thing. Because it’s a blend of Sangiovese from the highly successful 2006 and 2007 vintages, it has to be described as a table wine and foregoes the right to a vintage date on the label but it is what Il Palazzone produce instead of a Rosso di Montalcino. The blend I tasted is known as 01/08, the second version, but a third version, based on 2008, will probably be launched in January 2010.
The Gambero Rosso guide admits that quality has increased since New York banker Richard Parsons bought this small estate with its mere three hectares of vineyards in 2000. I was impressed by their Brunello di Montalcino 2001, giving it 17 points out of 20, and their current vintage also stood out in my extensive tasting of 2004 Brunellos in Verona in Italy. (I’ll be publishing my tasting notes very soon.)
It is pure Sangiovese with a hint of the warmth of this corner of south- eastern Tuscany – much lusher than the average Chianti – but without any excesses of oak or alcohol. The wines, made with oenologist Paolo Vagaggini, are aged in varying sizes of cask. I would happily drink this any time over the next two years and would pat myself on the back for having found such an honest, pleasurable message in a bottle from Tuscany. It keeps well in an opened bottle for several days, by the way (a good sign that it
migrated from tasting to dining table in my house). This wine won a bronze medal in the recent Decanter World Wine Awards, but I’m sure they didn’t make any connection with head office, however tangential nowadays.
English
Italiano
- Il Palazzone Srl Società Agricola Soc.Unipersonale - Loc. Le Due Porte, 245 - 53024 MONTALCINO (SI) - Iscritta alla CCIAA di Siena al n. 01023260522 P.IVA 01023260522 Cap. vers. € 99.000,00. Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Site by Bakermedia