2003 Corte Pavone Brunello di Montalcino

Here we are at the first Saturday of the month, and of course that means it's Cellar Saturday, that time when I raid the cellar and open a bottle that's been waiting way too long to be enjoyed!  Tonight I've decided to go straight to Tuscany for a nice bottle of the king of Italian wine, Brunello di Montalcino, in this case the 2003 Corte Pavone Brunello di Montalcino.  There's just something about a mature Brunello, brimming with Sangiovese, a wine that is great by itself or with a broad variety of dishes.

This wine exhibits the bright ruby color that is typical of Brunello.  The nose is classic Brunello, with rich earthy aromas of leather, coffee, smoke and limestone overlaid with just a hint of dried flowers.  The taste is just lovely, it brings be back to my last trip to Tuscany nearly 20 years ago, lovely black fruit notes right up front, plum, blackberry and black currant, that transitions effortlessly to some earthy notes of leather and tobacco midpalate.  The tannins are nicely integrated, providing great structure for the long, dry finish that just has you begging for another sip.

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's a very nice example of the best that Tuscany has to offer when it comes to wine, and this one was a good value from Wines Till Sold Out for just $25!  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a non-traditional pairing of grilled wild Coho salmon with a lemon dill cream sauce along with some oven roasted root vegetables, purple potatoes, orange and purple carrots and golden candy stripe beets.  A wonderful autumn dish that is really accented by the earthy flavors of this wine!