Birthday Brunello

Opened this as a birthday wine tonight—opened, tasted, then decanted 1-2 hours. Here’s the breakdown:

2012 Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino

Color: Ruby red with characteristic copper rims. Fairly opaque—just able to read my wristwatch through the glass.

Nose: Rustic notes of leather, dusty earth, herbs, and chalk, alongside fruity aromas of black cherry, pomegranate, and cranberry. Also getting toffee, milk chocolate, hazelnut, cedar, and vanilla. Classic and complex.

Palate: Still very well structured at 13 years of age.
Grippy tannins when first opened, but they mellowed considerably with air. Vibrant acid that is balanced by the full body and rich, complex flavor profile. Lots of crunchy red berry fruit, earth, and leather, but the tertiary notes from age are really showing as well. This bottle could go another 5 years easily, but this is personally right where I want it in terms of development; complex but structured and with a firm core of fruit.

Overall: As a Brunello fanatic, this is an excellent expression of Montalcino Sangiovese. 2012 was a very good vintage, but I’d love to know what the 2010, 2015, 2016, and 2019 wines are drinking like. This is not an inexpensive wine, and you might find better value in terms of strict quality/price ratio (depending on what you can get this bottle for in your area), but it certainly is not a disappointment.