This is the proverbial underdog vintage that proves its worth in spectacular fashion. The 1999 vintage often stays under the shadow of the more commercially successful 1997 vintage. Now that we've had time to let these wines age in our cellars, my money is on 1999 almost every time. This vintage has demonstrated a more successful aging evolution across the appellation. The 1999 Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto benefits from reduced yields. Like 2001, the 1999 vintage produced very small and concentrated fruit. Volumes were reduced by 40% compared to a larger vintage like 1997, according to Giacomo Neri. This wine also recalls an older style of winemaking that prizes higher extract and more oak influences. Yet the primary fruit at its core has held together very nicely. The bouquet is spicy and savory with barbecue smoke and rich blackberry. Compared to the 1997 vintage, the palate here is much more pronounced, linear and sharp. Graphite and campfire ash appears on the close, and this wine plays its strongest cards in the mouth. - Monica Larner