We're doing a very informal tasting of these two tomorrow and I'm wondering what people think in terms of decanting time. I appreciate it's partly a matter of taste but I'm just looking for something down the middle that will show these wines at their most typical. I'm a bit nervous of over decanting them and losing something. The man in the shop recommended a 6 hour decant on the Barolo and slightly less, maybe 4-5 hours on the Brunello, but that felt quite a lot on the Brunello at least given the age. Any help greatly appreciated!
- 2013 Elio Sandri Barolo Riserva Perno
- 2010 Tenuta Greppo Biondi-Santi Brunello di Montalcino
by BananasOnBurntToast
10 Comments
I would pop the cork on the biondi 8-10 hours before and leave it standing up
Don’t decant the Barolo, Elio Sandri makes wines that while powerful and intense are supremely elegant and fluid. The absolute best way to deal with that wine is to open it and let it take its time in the bottle, when you visit Elio he has a table covered in bottles that have been opened for months and months and they’re all fantastic.
The evolution of the wine is much more interesting than waiting 6 hours to see a snapshot.
https://chambersstwines.com/blogs/articles/decanting-wine
I would not decant, particularly with hotter Italian reds I find it brings out the alcohol too much. Open both 2-3 hours before, pour a tiny amount so the air can get in, and serve them in bigger glasses where they can get the air they need in the glass, and follow their evolution.
When I’ve done wine dinners with Biondi-Santi in the past, the estate always asked that we don’t decant the wines, but instead just open them the night before, and leave them in the cellar without the cork overnight.
For the Sandri, while ‘13 isn’t as “angry” a vintage as ‘11, I would still say around 90 minutes to 2 hours in a decanter would allow it to open nicely!
Decant for sediment a few hours before, taste both, and judge for yourself.
My expectation would be that I’d just pour them back into the rinsed bottles and keep them corked at cellar temp until dinner. Decanting is never really a replacement for ageing anyways; they’ll change after opening, but not necessarily in a positive direction. The knee jerk “I have big fancy wine so I should decant it” thing isn’t great, especially as blanket advice without even tasting the specific bottle in question.
Yeah, open the Biondi Santi now and put the cork back in. You’ll be fine
I had Biondi-Santi 2008 and 2009 -opened the night before and not decanting..the were perfect with no sedimenta
I had the Sandri in June. It was pretty giving from first pour, but it got insanely good with about 2 hours of bottle air. I would say to pour off a glass at first and just give it some time from there
last year I opened a 60 year old Barolo and decanted it and then left it for 2 hours thinking that after 60 years it should be aged beautifully. It wasn’t! It was beautiful but definitely needed more time in the open before drinking. I would suggest at least 4 hours ,if not more, for your younger wines.