Back to June 7th. After getting out of bed and realizing I had a hangover to recover from, it was off to Banfi. Banfi owns 1/8 of all the land under the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG (approx 2850ha). They use French Oak, 250hl stainless tanks and make 85-90% red wine. They also use some American, Russian, Hungarian and some Chestnut wood. They have a unique barrel system as they have some bent by vapor rather than by the heat of the fire... interesting. Mostly 350hl barrels, but some 225 (Bordeaux). Do 1hr of toasting on low heat brings a mid-level toast to the barrels. Slovinean oak = Balsamic Spice in the wine.... They have 28 Poggios (small vineyards) that are blended into their Brunello di Montalcino. (As a side note, he mentioned that under DOCG law the average Poggio must be 6.5ha...) Guess the DOCG board hasn't heard of, or doesn't want to acknowledge, micro-climates. The single vineyard Poggio all'Oro is 27ha and rich in limestone w/ clay. 
The 2005 Florus Moscadello was sweet, clean, 75gl/rs 14%abv with no mutage. 30% new FO, Clove, cinnamon, honeysuckle, beeswax, orange rind, apricots, orange blossoms. Needs time to come together, but delicious now. Had a special lunch at the restaurant...
The 2006 Fontanelle Chardonnay was rich with Granny Smith Apple, Ripe Anjou Pear, a hint of wet stones, apricots, honeysuckle, with toast (6 months in small FO). Had with Prosciutto e Melone. The 2003 Summus (40% CS, 20% Syrah, 40% Sangiovese) was medium-plus bodied with nose of anise, black cherries, black pepper, very dry tannin and dusty, dried fruits. Had with Tagliatelle con ragout. The 2001 Poggio Alle Mura "Brunello di Montalcino" Riserva (this is a blend of single-vineyards). Had staining tears, a light-purple to orange and brown rim, with m+ intensity. Dried leather, black cherries, black currants, raspberry, turned earth, rosemary, clove, cinnamon, very tight, m+ tannin. "Great wine. Big wine". Served with Bistecca di maiale con patate arroso e fagiolini (Cinta Sires - the breed of pig). The 1995 Poggio All'Oro Brunello di Montalcino Riserva was sick... 100% Small FO, almost opaque with notes of suppoi (sotto bosco), black olive, cedar, sweet cherries, cranberry, black currant, dried fruits, m+ tannin - less fruit driven. Loved it so much I brought a bottle home!
From there, it was a short (tongue in cheek here... I was driving 160-170km/hr) 2 hour drive to Bolgheri and Tenuta San Guido (better known as the producer of Sassicaia). A completely different experience than the overly-commercial Banfi. Bolgheri is approx, 6000ha, of which 1% is vineyards. Started in 1968, there are now approx 200,000 bottles of Sassicaia produced each year (compare to 10-20,000cs of Margaux, Latour, Lafite), 150,000 bottles of Guidalberto, and 150,000 of La Difese. The soil is sand with limestone and clay. Sassicaia means "Place with a lot of stones". They do 2wks maceration on the skins, they perform remontage, and use only natural yeasts. They do a quick Malo in stainless steel. The building itself is nothing more than a barn... very rustic, very Sassicaia. Use a touch of american oak on the Guidlaberto, otherwise 30% new on Sassicaia for 24mos, Medium Toast, Allier forest. Racked every 6 months. They use Cordon Spur as their trellis system.
The 2002 La Difese IGT (only sold in Europe), 70% CS, 30% Sangiovese showed soft raspberry (black), black currents, blackberries, black tar, black olive, clove, cinnamon, and cassis. Very good. Retails around 50 Euro. The 2005 Guidalberto (45,45 Merlot/CS, 10% Sangiovese) is a blockbuster... certainly the greatest Guidalberto I've ever tasted, notes of black currant, black cherries, cocoa, dried earth, dried leaves, soft & pretty with a long, cassis & black pepper finish. Beautiful. The 2004 Sassicaia was closed as closed can be, with almost nothing showing on the nose... black cherry, black currant, cinnamon, clove "woody), cassis, cloves, vanilla, cinnamon, long and refined with m+ tannin. This wine is going to be great when it opens... the 2006 Sassicaia was the biggest wine of the day. Black cherry, m+ tannin, black currant, cassis, cocoa, very long... twiggy.
We then went into the vineyards where we learned that they have a problem with Oidium, as they are so close to the sea If you look really hard, you can see the water in the background... was a slightly cloudy day. He told us you can usually see Corsica(!). Alas, all we saw was the footprint of a cingale (wild boar), who like to eat the grapes. Well, this concludes the winery visits (and true working portion) for the trip... I'll go into the remaining wines/etc I had while on vacation another day... 
We then went into the vineyards where we learned that they have a problem with Oidium, as they are so close to the sea If you look really hard, you can see the water in the background... was a slightly cloudy day. He told us you can usually see Corsica(!). Alas, all we saw was the footprint of a cingale (wild boar), who like to eat the grapes. Well, this concludes the winery visits (and true working portion) for the trip... I'll go into the remaining wines/etc I had while on vacation another day... 
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