Brunello di Montalcino

Score

93

Score

92

Score

93

Score

94

Score

90

Score

94

Score

92

Score

91

Score

93

"Truffles, dried cherries, earth, dried flowers and tomato leaves on the nose. Rich and flavorful, yet fresh, with excellent balance and sleek, integrated tannins. From organically grown grapes. Drink from 2024."

Score

92

"The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino is a showboat on the nose, with medicinal cherries and sweet, rosy florals elevated by cinnamon spice. Juicy and lifted in style, it smooths over the palate with soft, medium-weight textures and ripe wild berry fruits. This gains traction through the finish as wood-grain tannins frame the experience and blackberry preserve hints slowly fade. The 2018 aims to please and will only require minimum cellaring to do so."

Score

93

"Shows generous black cherry and blackberry fruit, along with distinctive notes of tamarind, gingerbread and licorice. Reveals more breadth and richness than its peers, with a long, firm chocolate- and baking spice†inflected finish. The aromas alone are worth the price of admission. Best from 2025 through 2039. ‡B.S."

Score

93

"An under-the-radar estate, La Serena is located directly east of the town of Montalcino. The organically cultivated vineyards sit at 400 metres on calcareous-rich clay with a southeastern exposition. The classy 2019 wafts with fragrant balsam wood, pressed rose and allspice. Fully packed and energetic, the palate shows impressive purity of spicy dark cherry with pleasantly puckering acidity. Chalky textured tannins are on the right side of extraction, building in power as they coat the mouth. This needs some time to temper."

Score

97

"Aromas of bark, dark cherries and flowers, too. It,s medium- to full-bodied with purity of fruit that runs the length of the wine. It goes on for minutes. Very fine tannins. From organically grown grapes. Needs three or four years to completely come together, but gorgeous. Drink after 2026."

Score

90

"Medium bright red. Nicely pitched aromas and flavours of cherry, rose petal, herbs and exotic spices. Then ripe and primary, with a restrained sweetness. Still a bit youthfully tight on the otherwise broad finish featuring dusty of tannins. Not the fruitiest 2019 Brunello. Drinking window: 2028-2038."

Score

93

"The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino is darkly alluring, with an earthy blend of crushed rocks and flowery underbrush, giving way to steeped plums and violet florals. This sweeps across the palate with juicy textures as exotic spices and crisp red fruits slowly saturate. The 2019 finishes long and staining, with crunchy tannins that frame the experience well without slowly its momentum as an air of lavender fades over a staining of black licorice."

Score

95

"There's a fruity side to this red as well as a spicy side, with cherry, strawberry and black pepper flavors throughout. Floral, iron and underbrush accents add depth, yet it's the beam of pure cherry that prevails. Shows prodigious length on the finish. Best from 2027 through 2043. —B.S."