I am a huge lover of Brunello di Montalcino.  Unfortunatley, it is pricey, and takes abut a decade before it reaches it's prime.  Most producers of Brunello take their 2nd tier grapes and make a wine referred to as Rosso di Montalcino.  It costs much less than Brunello, and is drinkable much earlier.

Siro Pacenti is a tremendous Brunello producer.  When I saw a bottle of his Rosso at Meritage wine market in Encinitas, I could not bypass the opportunity to try Paceniti's "2nd wine".  It was from the 2004 vintage.  The wine would have benefitted from a year of so in the cellar, but was quite nice.  Smoke, truffles, black cherry and wet earth were the predominant notes.  The wine had enough vibrant acidity to pair very well with any traditional Italian cuisine.  A very nice effort.

3.75 stars ($32.00)

 

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