>
>>What made me curious was the fact
>>that all the journalists claimed it was ready to drink. I had always thought
>>that 6 years would be a fairly tender age for a BdM - those I´ve tasted, few
>>as they are, have all been about 10 years old.
>
>I'm glad you enjoyed it. I've found some '97 Brunello di Montalcinos to be
>shutting down a bit. In US at least '97 BdM is a little controversial. Several
>critics (including the much-derided Suckling of WS) declared it a super
>vintage. Parker and others disagree. I personally think it a very very good
>vintage, but a bit atypical. Like the '97 Tuscans, the ripe fruit came at the
>expense of acids. So softer more forward BdM. Sounds like you got one of the
>good (balanced) ones.
As time goes by, either I am getting more picky or good BdM is getting harder to find. Of a series of 10 BdMs tasted a few months back near Bologna, only one came through as a fine wine, Castello di Camigliano, and I believe it was matured in chestnut casks. Why is it so many BdMs taste like they were raised in old rotten wood?
Mike