Wine Advisor
Salvioni, Cerbaiola Brunello di Montalcino 2008
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2008 Brunello di Montalcino is a terrific example of the year. Medium in body, and graceful, the 2008 is laced with an attractive mosaic of dark red cherries, savory herbs, licorice, flowers in tobacco. Naturally, the 2008 doesn’t deliver the explosiveness or head-spinning appeal of the 2006 or 2007, but it will give Salvioni fans a fix while those iconic vintages age. An expressive, layered finish rounds things out nicely. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2023. The Salvionis are one of the great families in Italian wine. A slight bout of the flu was not enough to slow down the boundless, gregarious Giulio Salvioni. These days, Salvioni is accompanied by his daughter, Alessia, very much a chip off the block in her pure energy. The Salvionis have two cellars, one in town, the other adjacent to their vineyards. Both are tiny, functional and stripped down to the bare bones. This year I was shocked to see a new labeling machine in the Montalcino cellar, the most modern piece of equipment to appear here in decades! Previously, all 10,000 or so bottles were labeled by hand. Salvioni produces four casks of wine in each vintage, all from Brunello-designated vineyards. In some vintages, one (or sometimes, two) casks are declassified to Rosso, as was the case in 2011 and 2009 respectively. In the great years, such as 2006 (and likely 2012) there is no Rosso. The Salvioni Brunellos stand out for their exceptional purity of fruit, finesse and texture, the results of a great site, meticulous farming and a traditional approach to winemaking. These remain some of the most distinctive wines in Montalcino. Importer: Vias Imports, New York, NY; tel. (212) 629-0200
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Salvioni's 2008 Brunello di Montalcino speaks to finesse above all else. Sensual, ever-changing aromatics draw the taster in. The 2008 is gracious and lifted on the palate, yet also possesses a remarkable sense of understated richness. Just starting to enter the early part of its maturity, the 2008 also has more than enough depth to drink well for another two decades or so.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2008 Brunello di Montalcino is a terrific example of the year. Medium in body, and graceful, the 2008 is laced with an attractive mosaic of dark red cherries, savory herbs, licorice, flowers in tobacco. Naturally, the 2008 doesn't deliver the explosiveness or head-spinning appeal of the 2006 or 2007, but it will give Salvioni fans a fix while those iconic vintages age. An expressive, layered finish rounds things out nicely.
Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata
Bright, deep ruby-red. Strawberry, baking spices and dried flowers on the perfumed nose. Then pure and focused in the mouth, with red cherry and berry flavors complicated by flint and herbs. Shows lovely balance and a refreshing quality on the long, vibrant finish; it's a very successful 2008 but lacks the concentration and complexity of Salvioni's best vintages. I'd drink it up over the next 10 or 12 years while your 2001s and 2006s reach their optimal drinking stage.
About the Producer
Surrounded by woodland, the 20 hectares of La Cerbaiola look out over the Val d’Orcia from an altitude of 420 metres, opening up like a gently sloping plateau four kilometres to the southeast of Montalcino. The air is clear, a slight breeze rustles the leaves, and on the hillside opposite the outlines of Pienza, San Quirico and Ripa d’Orcia are clearly visible. There are three small vineyards for a total of 4 hectares, each with its own characteristics: soils that vary from chalky schist to stony marl; and subtle differences of micro-climate that influence the ripening of the grapes. All the work in the vineyard is carried out by hand, with hard pruning to obtain low yields of fruit and careful selection during the manual harvest. Production is deliberately limited, to obtain the very best from a unique terroir: 10,000 bottles a year when only Brunello is made; and 15,000 for the years in which there is also some Rosso di Montalcino.
