Fontodi - Flaccianello della Pieve

From an iconic vintage that gave generously to all grape varieties across almost all of Tuscany, this wine ranks high on the Fontodi billboard of greatest hits. The 2010 Flaccianello della Pieve is a rock-solid wine that sits firm and begins to peel slowly, each delicate layer at a time. It puts on quite a show with a solid core of dark fruit followed by smoke, spice, tar, liquorice, and delicate blue flower. On previous tastings of this vintage, I had scored it 97 and 97+ points, respectively. I'm going down one point at this sitting because the wine's fibre has unravelled, ever so slightly, at the edges. It still maintains that solid core, but the wine has taken an important jump forward in its evolution these past three years. Evidently, it is currently in a phase of relaxation and unwinding. Beautifully polished notes of Mediterranean herb and dried mint appear on the long, glossy finish. Giovanni Manetti compares the 2010 vintage to 2006 but considers this vintage slightly more approachable overall.