Talenti, Brunello di Montalcino (Tuscany, Italy) 2010

It’s worth repeating:  The 2010s from Brunello di Montalcino are staggeringly good.  By and large, they are beautifully balanced with tannins that lend support without being astringent.  Talenti’s was one of my favorites from the line up of 2010 Brunello I tasted in Montalcino this past February.  That should come as no surprise because they are a consistently high performer in Montalcino.  Talenti’s 2010 delivers an herbal earthiness bordering on funkiness.  To me it gave the wine a lovely rusticity — an authenticity and character that often evaporates when winemakers insist on polishing them too highly.  Dense black cherry-like fruit mixes with dense minerality.  A succulent and fresh finish predicts a long life for this beauty.  A few bottles are going into my cellar.