With all the legendary success stories that abound throughout Italy in 1990, it is hard not to be a bit underwhelmed by the 1990 Brunellos. Don't get me wrong, these are excellent wines. But, the extra dimension of depth and sweetness of fruit that was (is, if you are more disciplined at laying them down than me) so apparent in 1990 Chianti is not correspondingly found in Brunello. Qualitatively, the '90 Brunellos do not seem ahead of the fine 1988s or 1985s. This is certainly not the case with other regions of Italy. These wines were tasted in the winter of 1996, under single blind conditions. Most of the 1990 Brunello Riservas had not been released at the time.

The Wine List:
1990 Poggio Antico Brunello
1990 Poggio Antico Altero
1990 Siro Pacenti Brunello
1990 Fuligini Brunello
1990 Caparzo Brunello
1990 Caparzo Brunello "La Casa"
1990 Boscarelli Vino Tavola
1990 Pieve Santa Restituta Brunello
1990 Costanti Brunello
1990 Brunello- Angelo Sassetti (Pertimali)
1990 Brunello- Livio Sassetti (Pertimali)
1990 Altesino Montosoli Brunello
1990 Ciacci Piccolomini Brunello "Pianroso"

1990 Poggio Antico Brunello

This is usually one of my favorite Brunellos: complex, elegant, and quite intensely-flavored. The 1990 is not quite up to this property's customary high standards. Still, this is a lovely, stylish middleweight: red cherry, coffee, plum, tobacco, chocolate, and toasty oak on the nose. Medium-full, but balanced and well-delineated, with fine length, sweet, ripe tannins, and fine grip on the finish. Not appreciably better than the 1988, and not quite as lush or flamboyant as the 1982 or 1985. A good wine that stood out for its well-integrated tannin and sweetness of fruit. 1998-2010. 90.

1990 Poggio Antico Altero

Allegedly Brunello that is bottled contrary to the DOCG requirements. The nose is more open and accessible than any of these other Brunellos, with sweet red fruits, chocolatey tones, herbs and a bit of new wood. Medium-bodied, round and supple on the palate, but without any mid-palate depth; good length on the finish, but the hole in the middle is disappointing. Okay wine, but certainly not worth its Brunello-level price tag. 1996-2000. 86.

1990 Siro Pacenti Brunello

Here is an old fashioned, chewy Brunello: black fruity, tarry, herbs, French roast, meaty tones, and cedar on the nose. Big, full, and powerful on the palate, with substantial fruit cut short by a wave of hard tannin on the finish. Some might choose to gamble with this wine, but it will certainly have to be drunk through the tannin throughout its entire life. Old styled in the worst sense, so drink it before the fruit starts to fade. 1996-2000. 87.

1990 Fuligini Brunello

This wine has a fabulous bouquet of cherry, cassis, herbs, orange rind, tobacco and cedar. Deep and packed with fruit on the palate, this wine has a stunning attack, but also shows a bit of old-fashioned tannin on the finish. Much better balanced than the Pacenti, but certainly not as polished and ripe as the Poggio Antico. Good stuff. 1998-2010. 90.

1990 Caparzo Brunello

Caparzo has been a middle level, solid, but decidedly uninspired performer over the last decade, but the 1990 vintage appears to mark the beginning of a renaissance for this venerable old estate. This is truly superior effort from Caparzo this year: a great, complex nose gushes from the glass with scents of cherry, herbs, woodsmoke, game, mustard seed, and cedary wood. Full-bodied and packed with fruit on the palate, with firm, but ripe tannins, great focus and nascent complexity, great long finish. Really super stuff! 1998-2010. 92.

1990 Caparzo Brunello "La Casa"

This single vineyard Brunello is much tighter-knit than the "normale", but with air this really blossomed intosomething special: sweet black cherry fruit, smoke, thyme, tobacco, coffee, minerals, and toasty new oak. Deeper, fuller, and the most focused of any wine thus far in the series, with layer upon layer of fruit, ripe tannins, and a long, powerful finish. This wine will take longer to unfold, but it is going to be very, very good stuff. 2002-2015. 94+.

1990 Boscarelli Vino Tavola

From the Vino Nobile area, this wine is a blend of 90 percent Sangiovese and 10 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. I have liked the 1985 and 1988 vintages of this wine extremely well, but the 1990 was clearly overmatched in this lineup: cherry, herbs, tar and smoke on the nose. Modest depth and saturation, with a rusticity to its components. Nothing special. 1996-2000. 80.

1990 Pieve Santa Restituta Brunello

This is Angelo Gaja's most recent acquisition, and is his family's first foray into Tuscany. The results are certainly very, very promising. Based on the quality of this release, look for Gaja to become a major force in Montalcino. A knockout nose of cherry, plum, grilled nuts, herb tones, coffee, and a touch of new vanillin oak explodes from the glass. Full, lush, and seamless on the palate, with layers of sweet, ripe fruit, well-integrated tannin, and a long, complex, multi-dimensional finish. One of the top wines of the tasting, this wine should delight the senses for the next fifteen to twenty years. Serious juice. 1996-2015. 92+.

1990 Costanti Brunello

Superbly complex nose of cherry, cassis, woodsmoke, tobacco, herb tones, grilled nuts, orange rind and cedar. Really impressive nascent complexity. Full-bodied and very long on the palate, with lovely flavor delineation, real black fruity, almost truffley tones, substantial tannins, and a long, complex finish. While not quite as deep in the mid-palate as the Caparzo "La Casa", Livio Sassetti, and Ciacci "Pianroso", this wine shows great poise, balance and nuance. It will be a superb drink. 1998- 2015. 93.

1990 Brunello- Angelo Sassetti (Pertimali)

Brothers Angelo and Livio Sassetti inherited the famed Pertimali estate in Montalcino about ten years ago, and set about to divide the duties and work together at this famed estate. At the time, Angelo was to handle the vineyards, and Livio the winemaking duties. Not so surprisingly, the brothers had a few disagreements, the consequence of which is a pair of Pertimali domaines. While Livio's wine (see below) is quintessential Brunello, brother Angelo's is much more "international" in style. His bottling is unfiltered, and possesses outstanding potential, though the wine could just as likely hail from Napa Valley or the Languedoc as from Montalcino. The nose is deep and very adolescent, with scents of blackberry, chocolate, tobacco, herbs, and toasty new oak. Still a bit monolithic on the palate, but with a fine core of ripe fruit, firm tannins, and a long, thick finish. If this wine develops more nuance, "terroir", and focus, it will be truly outstanding. 2002-2015. 88-92.

1990 Brunello- Livio Sassetti (Pertimali)

If one were to pick one Brunello as archetypical, this would be the one. A classic Brunello olfactory combination of cherry, quince, tobacco, loads of minerals, coffee, orange rind and cedar soars from the glass. Full-bodied, beautifully-balanced, and still quite reticent on the palate, with a solid core of fruit, firm tannins, great focus and nuance, and a long, very complex finish. A great, great Brunello in need of a few years in the cellar. 2000-2020. 94+.

1990 Altesino Montosoli Brunello

Certainly a good wine, but in the stellar company of the last four wines, this wine falls a bit short. The nose is complex, but lacking a bit of the freshness and brightness of the best examples: plum, prune, chocolate, coffee, minerals, tobacco and toasty oak tones on the nose. On the palate, the wine is full and well-balanced, with good length and depth of fruit, but again, a sense of tiredness comes across; ripely-tannic on the finish. This is a classic example of a Brunello that would have been better off with two years in the barrel, rather than the required three years. 1996-2010 89.

1990 Ciacci Piccolomini Brunello "Pianroso"

Ciacci's Brunellos are hardly classic, owing as much stylistically to Pomerol as they do to Tuscany. That said, this is one classy wine, with an explosive nose of ripe plums, berries, chocolate, herb tones, roses, tobacco, earth, and sweet vanillin oak. Deep, lush and opulent on the palate, with layer upon layer of sweet, silky fruit, fine focus, plenty of new oak, and a long, rich, complex finish. The Pianroso bottling seems to be a half step up from their regular Brunello, and is clearly one of the stars of the vintage. 1998- 2015. 94+.