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2018 La Gerla Brunello di Montalcino La Pieve

Removed from a professional wine storage facility

Ends Sunday, 7pm Pacific

RATINGS

96Wine Enthusiast

The sanguine, umami nose is a well-laid charcuterie board of carpaccio, Parmesan, dried tomatoes, olives and a cup of pomegranate seeds, with a dusting of oregano and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar...palate turns sweeter and juicier with dried fruit...tomatoes and herbs linger through a sophisticated, bitter finish.

94Vinous / IWC

Crushed stones and violet pastille blow off to reveal vividly ripe strawberry and blueberry fruit...silky-smooth and suave, with depths of ripe red and black berries carried across a core of brisk acidity. There is ample depth and length to the finale, along with classic tannins, leaving lavender-tinged plum and hints of cocoa to slowly fade...a real charmer.

94Jeb Dunnuck

...lush with warming baking spice, black cherry, anise, and cedar. Full-bodied, with a well-structured balance of ripe tannins and a dark mineral profile, it reveals notes of black raspberry, turned soil, and black licorice. A wonderfully brooding style, it also maintains sweet fruit to balance its savory richness.

92The Wine Advocate

...powerful, full-bodied approach is accompanied by ripe cherry, blackberry, cured spice and leather. There is a point of sour fruit on the close.

92Wine Spectator

Deep and savory...exhibits black cherry, blackberry, eucalyptus, rosemary, iron and earth flavors. Showing assertive tannins...finishes with a chewy, compact feel.

91James Suckling

...aromas of cherry stones, plums, nutmeg, cedar and some balsamic...full-bodied with tangy acidity and spicy, fleshy layers of fruit, accompanied by sinewy tannins. A little linear. Chewy finish.

16.5Jancis Robinson

Quite ripe and hinting at fruit cake and with a creamy note. Lush...

PRODUCER

La Gerla

La Gerla was established in 1976 by Sergio Rossi, an advertising executive who had been a director of top European agencies. Rossi bought the historic 30-acre estate from the Biondi Santi family, long-time makers of Brunello. Rossi re-named the estate La Gerla and started offering La Gerla Brunellos in 1978. Rossi died in 2011, but his wife Donatella Monforte continues to run the estate. Winemaker is Vittorio Fiore. About 75,000 bottles are produced annually. All the wines are made with estate Sangiovese grapes. The wines earn praise from reviewers and ratings in the mid-90s.

REGION

Italy, Tuscany, Brunello di Montalcino

Brunello di Montalcino is regarded as one of Italy’s best appellations. Located in south central Tuscany below Chianti, the wines of Brunello di Montalcino DOCG are made of a Sangiovese clone called “brunello,” which means “little dark one,” a reference to the brown tones in the skin of the grape. Unlike some Tuscan appellations that allow other grapes to be blended with Sangiovese, Brunello di Montalcino is entirely Sangiovese. Montalcino itself is a picturesque, hill-top town not especially well known for wine production until the mid-19th century, when a local vineyard owner isolated the brunello clone and planted it. Other growers followed suit. Nevertheless it wasn’t until 1970s that wine enthusiasts started paying attention to Brunello di Montalcino, which by then was becoming an outstanding wine. Today there are 120 estates in the DOCG, up from about 25 estates in 1975. Brunellos in general are bigger, darker, more tannic and more powerful wines than Chiantis or most other Sangioveses. By law they must be aged for four years, and two of those years must be in wooden barrels.

VINTAGE

2018 La Gerla Brunello di Montalcino La Pieve