Wine Advisor
Valdicava, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2003
View analysis
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Valdicava’s 2003 Brunello di Montalcino is a big, brooding effort loaded with black cherries, smoke, tar and earthiness. This expressive, powerful wine needs at least another year or two to settle down. While not as extreme as the 2001, it stands apart for its intensity of color and the sheer volume of its extract. In 2003 the Brunello spent three and a half years in 45 and 50-hectoliter Slavonian oak casks. Abruzzese says the spring rains in the northern part of Montalcino left the wines with enough water reserves to mature without going into hydric stress. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2019. Once again proprietor Vincenzo Abruzzese has made one of the most concentrated Brunellos of the vintage. Still, the wines aren’t quite as extreme as in the past, when the Brunello was sometimes virtually black, as was the case with the 2001. According to oenologist Attilio Pagli, the saignees that were once common are largely a thing of the past, and today are used only sporadically in weaker vintages such as 2005. Yields are still a minuscule 20-25 hectoliters per hectare. Importer: Vinifera Imports, Ronkonkoma, NY; tel. (631) 467-5907
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Valdicava’s 2003 Brunello di Montalcino is a fat, super-ripe offering that flows with masses of opulent fruit. The difficult vintage has yielded a wine with limited complexity and finesse given what this estate is capable of. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2019.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
A little drying now but shows the richness of the vintage with spice and dark berry. Full and tightly grained. Holding on nicely. Drink now.
About the Producer
Valdicava is located in the town of Montalcino in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is a boutique winery producing top Brunello wines. In 1953, Martini Bramante bought the land on which the Wadi Cava winery now stands, north of the town of Montalcino. At first, he just planted grapes and sold them to Biondi Santi winery. It was not until 1968 that he launched his own wine for the first time. Later, Vincenzo Abbruzzese, Martini's grandson, took over the Wadi Cava winery. Today, the winery has entered a golden age of development under the leadership of Vincenzo. Wadi Kava Winery is located at 43 degrees north latitude, influenced by the surrounding ocean and mountains, the local climate is relatively mild, and the rainfall is moderate throughout the year. In addition, the cool breeze brought by the nearby mountains and forests also properly adjusted the local temperature. The winery occupies a total of 333 acres, including 67 acres of vineyards. The winery's staff take good care of the vineyards, but do not provide too much nutrients and water to the vines. This is to promote the vines to take root deep in the soil, thus making the resulting grapes more flavorful and expressive. local terroir. The vineyard is divided into 9 plots. During the grape ripening season, the grapes from different plots will be mined and harvested, and placed in different oak barrels to be broken and fermented, and then Vincenzo will brew according to the desired wine. The style of the wine is adjusted. The blended wine is then aged in Slovenian oak barrels. Vincenzo combines traditional and modern Brunello winemaking techniques to produce wines that are both Brunello and Wadi Cava's own. The annual output of Vadikawa winery is about 6,000 cases, and only 3 wines are produced, namely Valdicava Rosso di Montalcino, Valdicava Rosso di Montalcino, Valdicava Brunello. (Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino) and Valdicava Brunello Riserva Madonna del Piano. Among them, the Wadi Cava Brunello Reserve dry red wine is only made in excellent years, and the output is usually only 800 cases. Both the 2006 and 2015 vintages received full marks from renowned wine critic James Suckling. The 2001 wine was awarded full marks by both James and Wine Spectator.
