I remember the thrill this wine gave me when I tasted it upon release. The 2010 Flaccianello della Pieve is a spectacular effort that has only just started its evolutionary journey. This wine has a long, long way to go and I hope to be able to check on its progress with some degree of frequency. In fact, I'm moving the drinking window up by a few years to give it more breathing room. The wine opens to a rich and masculine appearance, and there are iron-like notes that seem specific to this vintage. More mineral and granite stone add great definition. At the core of this wine is a dark and savory serving of black cherry and spice that aspire to seamless integration. The tannins are still firmly on-guard, and this wine needs more time to complete its integration and start its elegant cellar evolution.
Now to a superstar of Italian enology: The 2010 Flaccianello della Pieve will take your breath away. This is a seriously beautiful Sangiovese-based wine with the kind of intensity and aromatic purity you only experience every 1,000 wines or so. There's a lot to say here. First, the wine's beautiful appearance shows dark garnet colors with highlights of ruby and purple gemstone. The bouquet delivers a steady and seductive evolution with dark cherry, chocolate, spice, tobacco and sweet almond all seamlessly balanced one against the other. Its texture and inner fabric is rich, velvety and firm. There's a brilliant spot of acidity that hits you at the back of the mouth and helps the wine from feeling too heavy or dense. In fact, outstanding elegance is what ultimately sets it apart. The temptation to drink it now is huge, but those still young tannins definitely need a few more years to unwind. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2035.
