Brunello di Montalcino, Tenuta Fanti 2001

Fabulous aromas of blackberry, cherry, meat and dried flowers. Full-bodied, with masses of velvety tannins and loads of fruit. A blockbuster. Best after 2010. 5,000 cases made.

The 2001 vintage was excellent throughout the Montalcino area, and Fanti made a blockbuster, with loads of ripe fruit and masses of tannins. Stefano Chioccioli, consulting enologist for the Fanti estate, claims that it was April frosts that did the trick, causing a nearly 35 percent natural reduction of the Sangiovese crop. The same conditions occurred in 1999, when Fanti's 98-pointer was the best Brunello in the region. 5,000 cases made.