Brunello from Siro Pacenti 

From the Wine Specator's article "Brunello di Montalcino: The Cream of the Crop” - 

Giancarlo Pacenti, 37,is the best winemaker in the appellation of Brunello di Montalcino. Everything is done in the best possible way and at the right time in his well-kept vineyards and the pristine small winery under his house…[He] has been a bold exponent of the modern approach to making Brunello di Montalcino since he took over his family's 50-acre estate, Siro Pacenti, in 1988. "I found that Brunello made in the traditional way just didn't have enough color and structure to meet the requirements of the international market," he says. He has been fine-tuning his viticulture and winemaking ever since, reducing yields in his vineyards and now aging the wine entirely in small French oak barrels, having abandoned the use of large Slovenian oak casks. This has given him richer, cleaner and fresher wines than his predecessors...The results of his experiments are impressive." -- The Wine Spectator 07/07

Siro Pacenti - Brunello di Montalcino 2004

 Antonio Galloni [Wine Advocate]  - The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino is a huge, dense wine that explodes from the glass with tar, smoke, earthiness black cherries and minerals. The wine possesses dazzling concentration and tons of richness, as waves of fruit coat the palate in stunning style. This big, dramatic Brunello needs time in bottle, but it is nothing short of magnificent today. The balance, and the integration of the French oak in particular, is brilliant. For those who are curious to try a bottle now, the wine should be opened a few hours in advance as the tannins are imposing at this stage. This is a rare Brunello of superb pedigree and complexity. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2029.  97 points.  6/09.

Giancarlo Pacenti farms 20 hectares of Sangiovese vineyards, the vast majority of which are             Brunello-designated. Pacenti is one of the few producers who believes in bottling a single Brunello             made from plots across various zones within Montalcino, which he believes leads to wines of             greater complexity and balance. In 2004, Pacenti’s Brunello is composed roughly of 60% fruit from             the southern part of Montalcino, while 40% of the fruit comes from vineyards planted in the northern             part of the region, closer to the winery itself. Pacenti employs a Bordeaux-like model where only the best lots are bottled into the Brunello, which he considers his ‘Grand Vin,’ while the secondary lots are bottled as Rosso di Montalcino. That said, 2004 also brings with it a twist, as it is the first time Pacenti has produced a separate bottling from a small old-vine plot near the estate. These are wines of the very highest level, and I can’t recommend them highly enough.

 Stephen Tanzer International Wine Cellar, Jul/Aug 09$100 - Bright, deep red. Restrained but pure aromas of dark berries, flowers, licorice and curry powder; slightly reduced. Juicy, spicy and fresh in the mouth but youthfully tight, with lovely subtle perfume accentuated by minerality. Not especially dense but plenty intense, wonderfully vinous and light on its feet. Finishes very long and aromatic, with firm tannic spine: this really fills the olfactories! Very nicely avoids the warm side of the vintage. 92(+?) points

 Wine Spectator - Perfumed with rose and ripe cherry. Full-bodied, with bright acidity and clean, mineral, floral and berry character on the palate. Tight and firm, but shows wonderful promise. This is chewy and develops in the glass. Best from 2011 through 2017.