1995 Alte d'Altesi

This relatively large estate (5,000 cases of Brunello, 6,000 cases Rosso, 6,000 cases other) continues to produce some of the most elegant, balanced, yet ageworthy wines in the district. Created in the mid-1970s by Milanese industrialist Giulio Consonno, who purchased the 15th-century Palazzo Altesi, it has been under the capable direction of Manager Claudio Basla and Enologist Pietro Rivella from the beginning. The primary vineyard surrounds the Palazzo, situated on the low, rolling, sandy-gravelly, clay-calcareous soils located at the extreme northern limit of the zone, not far off the main road to Siena, the old Roman Via Cassia. But Altesino also owns a prime parcel in the great cru of Montosoli, located at about 390 meters just below the town to the north, with superb southwest-facing slopes composed of more clay and limestone and less sand. The wines from vineyards to the north and northeast of town on the more gently rolling and lower elevations are typically more perfumed, elegant, and soft, with less earthiness than those of Montosoli or the other higher, more precipitous vineyards found closer to town. Winemaking here is fairly straightforward, with an eye to preserving primary fruit and retaining the character of the terroirs As at most of the more progressive estates today, the wines are fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. The Brunello grapes usually see a two-week cuvaison while the cabernet and merlot get eight to ten days on their skins. About 30% of the Montosoli Brunello gets three to six months' aging in barriques Those who say that modern Brunello doesn't age well need only regard older vintages of Altesino wines. I have collected them for years, and vintages like the 1978 and 1979 are fine old wines with excellent structure, lovely finesse, and beautifully mature fruit, not unlike superior, older Medocs. This is a first-rate estate, whose wines in lesser years, while slighter, still show very good balance and drinkability.