Fontodi, Flaccianello della Pieve 1990

robert_parker87

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

The three new releases from Fontodi, one of the stars of Tuscany, all possess distinctive personalities. Although Fontodi's 1990 proprietary red wine, the Flaccianello della Pieve (100% Sangiovese), is dominated by considerable quantities of new oak, it is undoubtedly made from ripe, lusciously rich, chewy fruit. This could have been an outstanding wine if a lighter hand had been employed with the oak. Nevertheless, it is a lush, well-made, pure wine that is ideal for drinking over the next 7-8 years. Importer: Vinifera Imports, Ronkonkoma, NY.

robert_parker95

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

The 1990 Flaccianello della Pieve (magnum) boasts extraordinary richness and power. Smoke, licorice, tar, graphite and plums are some of the many notes that jump from the glass in this rich, head-spinning wine. The flashy, opulent personality of the year comes through in spades. There is a pronounced hint of sweetness and smokiness on the finish that this wine has had since the beginning. At this point, it is pretty clear that note will always remain. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2020. This complete vertical of Fontodi’s flagship 100% Sangiovese Flaccianello was yet another of the remarkable tastings of my recent trip to Tuscany. Flaccianello is an interesting wine because the quality level that is the norm today only really starts around 2001. Prior to that the wines were very good, and sometimes even better than that, but not profound. In 2001 proprietor Giovanni Manetti made the decision to focus on his estate’s best fruit rather than making Flaccianello as a single-vineyard wine. Since then, Flaccianello has routinely been among the most exciting wines in Tuscany. Much of the fruit that now goes into Flaccianello comes from vineyards in the Pecille sub-zone of Panzano with a full southern exposure. Today Flaccianello is 100% Sangiovese, but the first vintages up to and including 1984 have 15% white grapes, as was common at the time. The early vintages up until 1990 spent about one year in French oak barrels, 50% new. In the mid-1990s Manetti increased the period of barrel aging to 18 months with the 1997, and then to 24 months with the 2006. Today the percentage of new barrels is close to 100%. Fontodi Flaccianello Key Points: 1. 100% Sangiovese aged in French oak barrels 2. Since 2001 made from the estate’s best fruit across a number of vineyards in Panzano’s historic Conca d’Oro, prior to that a strict single-vineyard wine. 3. Flaccianello’s status as an icon wine is cemented beginning in 2001 4. One of the more powerful of the 100% Sangioveses from Chianti Classico 5. Aging potential: 20+ years

robert_parker94

Reviewed by: Monica Larner

This vintage marks the year current proprietor Giovanni Manetti took on his managerial role at Fontodi (with his brother and uncle by his side). This wine was tasted from magnum, because only magnums are left in the winery library at this point (although total production in 1990 was about 30,000 bottles across both small and large formats). The 1990 Flaccianello della Pieve represents a new chapter in this historic retrospective. Starting with this wine, we begin to comprehend the completeness of Flaccianello and the direction this wine would take in the vintages to follow this one. Remember, back in those days, grapes were sourced from a single vineyard (today, they represent a selection across many sites in the Conca d'Oro of Panzano). This beautiful edition from 1990 shows great balance and texture, completed by smoke, spice and black olive. The wine exhibits gorgeous freshness and a tonic character that should carry it through more time in the bottle. In fact, I can give this magnum a longer drinking window with a greater level of confidence. This vintage saw a rather hot summer and an early harvest (grapes came off the vines at the end of September) with clusters that were smaller, denser and darker than average.

robert_parker94

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

This vintage marks the year current proprietor Giovanni Manetti took on his managerial role at Fontodi (with his brother and uncle by his side). This wine was tasted from magnum, because only magnums are left in the winery library at this point (although total production in 1990 was about 30,000 bottles across both small and large formats). The 1990 Flaccianello della Pieve represents a new chapter in this historic retrospective. Starting with this wine, we begin to comprehend the completeness of Flaccianello and the direction this wine would take in the vintages to follow this one. Remember, back in those days, grapes were sourced from a single vineyard (today, they represent a selection across many sites in the Conca d'Oro of Panzano). This beautiful edition from 1990 shows great balance and texture, completed by smoke, spice and black olive. The wine exhibits gorgeous freshness and a tonic character that should carry it through more time in the bottle. In fact, I can give this magnum a longer drinking window with a greater level of confidence. This vintage saw a rather hot summer and an early harvest (grapes came off the vines at the end of September) with clusters that were smaller, denser and darker than average.

vinous95

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

The 1990 Flaccianello della Pieve (magnum) boasts extraordinary richness and power. Smoke, licorice, tar, graphite and plums are some of the many notes that jump from the glass in this rich, head spinning wine. The flashy, opulent personality of the year comes through in spades. There is a pronounced hint of sweetness and smokiness on the finish that this wine has had since the beginning. At this point, it is pretty clear that note will always remain.