Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - 117

YEAR'S BEST TUSCAN REDS
R O S S O D I M O N TA L C I N O
227817

92 | Conti Costanti

$68

2014 Rosso di Montalcino Vermiglio ^
Andrea Costanti decided not to bottle a
Brunello in the cool, rainy 2014 vintage,
declassifying the fruit into Vermiglio, a label
he used in the 1990s and brought back for this
wine. The fruit has a wonderful sappy quality
that carries all across the palate, remaining
balanced as it picks up hints of warm spice
and sun-ripened cherry tomato. Charming
and accessible now, it has the substance and
freshness to improve over the next several
years. § Empson USA, Alexandria, VA
227197

91 | Le Chiuse

$32

2015 Rosso di Montalcino ^ Fruit for this
wine is harvested from 60- to 70-year-old
vines and vinified like the estate's Brunello,
with a 15-day submerged-cap maceration followed by aging in large Slavonian botte (for
one year instead of Brunello's three years).
The black-cherry flavors feel concentrated
and pure, taking on a fleshy warmth laced
with black spice and wet bark. It's a sturdy
Rosso that will benefit from decanting and
pairing with robust fare. § Frederick Wildman
and Sons, NY
227372

91 | Poggio di Sotto

$115

2014 Rosso di Montalcino ^ This wine's tannins envelop the fruit in a tight embrace that
calls for decanting, which also helps dissipate
the initial smoky notes. Then it reveals scents
of lavender along with snappy red-cherry flavors and brambly raspberry notes. The wine
continues to evolve over several hours in the
glass, picking up subtle spice notes before
coming full circle to a smoky, savory finish. §
Domaine Select Wine Estates, NY
227379

91 | Il Poggione

$27

2015 Rosso di Montalcino (Best Buy) ^ This
wine is exuberantly ripe in the warm 2015
vintage, with flavors of mulled black cherry
and raspberry laced with warm spice notes.
Velvety tannins impart an almost creamy texture that's amplified by layers of dark chocolate and molasses, even as the wine's bright
acidity lends freshness to the finish. § Terlato
Wines Int'l, Lake Bluff, IL
228540

90 | Castiglion del Bosco

$25

2015 Rosso di Montalcino (Best Buy) ^ Flavors of fleshy red cherry and dewy raspberry
give this wine a fruit-forward appeal, supported by fine-grained tannins. Notes of
peppery spice and charred oak round out the
finish. § Maisons Marques & Domaines USA,
Oakland, CA

228320

90 | Brunelli

$30

88 | La Palazzetta

$21

2015 Rosso di Montalcino ^ Luca Brunelli's
2015 Rosso is loaded with cherry flavors that
push the furthest edge of ripeness. Notes of
blood orange and mouthwatering acidity
brighten the flavors while powerful tannins
lend a raspy scrape to the finish. It's a muscular Rosso that will benefit from a few years
in the cellar. § August Wine Group, Seattle, WA
228111
2014 Rosso di Montalcino (Best Buy) ^ Flavio Fanti harvests fruit for this wine from
organically farmed vines on his 45-acre estate
near Castelnuovo dell'Abate. The wine ages
in French oak barriques, half new, picking
up notes of cedar and spicy undertones that
lend depth to the red-cherry and kirsch flavors. § T. Edward Wines, NY

ROSSO DI MONTEPULCIANO
227830

90 | Boscarelli

$20

2016 Rosso di Montepulciano Prugnolo
(Best Buy) ^ Boscarelli's Prugnolo is typically
one of the best values coming out of Montepulciano, and the 2016 is no exception. Snappy
red fruit edged in notes of orange zest give it
an ebullient personality, but there's also complexity here. The fruit takes on a darker tone
with exposure to air, evolving into plum and
dark berry flavors accented with notes of fennel and white pepper. It begs for salt and fat,
suggesting a match with pork belly or duck
confit. § Empson USA, Alexandria, VA

TOSCANA
228921

97 | Tenuta di Biserno

$423

2013 Toscana Lodovico ^ Lodovico leads a set
of impressive releases from Tenuta di Biserno.
The estate's top wine, it's produced in select
vintages from a small plot of vines (primarily cabernet franc) planted in 2002. The long,
moderate growing season in 2013 yielded an
intensely concentrated wine with flavors that
range from brambly blue fruit to loamy soil,
molten chocolate and savory charred meat.
The wine feels broad-shouldered yet clad in
a sable cape, its flavors densely packed and
gripped by powerful tannins. It requires several days of air to reveal more detail, layers
of black licorice, sage, rosemary and miso
surging forward on a wave of vibrant acidity
and reverberating long after the wine is gone. §
Kobrand, Purchase, NY
228925

96 | Rocca di Montegrossi

$55

2013 Toscana Geremia ^ According to proprietor Marco Ricasoli-Firidolfi, 2013 was
a challenging growing season with delayed

ripening that pushed harvest of the estate's
merlot (70 percent of this blend) into early
October, several weeks later than usual. The
longer hang time allowed the fruit to develop
complex aromas that waft from the glass in
notes of fresh thyme and crushed violets.
Its flavors of blackberry and plum feel fresh
and vibrant, sculpted by chiseled tannins
and infused with a cool streak of graphite
that lends it an intense minerality. Notes of
licorice and black spice emerge on the long
finish. § North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA
228920

95 | Tenuta di Biserno

$177

2013 Toscana Bibbona ^ Cabernet franc takes
center stage in this Bordeaux blend's flavors
of dark berries and leafy tobacco. The wine
rested for a year and a half in new French
oak barriques, honing the firm tannins and
lending notes of sweet spice. It feels fresh and
precise, taking on savory tones of roasted red
pepper and wild mushroom to balance the
ripe fruit. Plenty of aging potential here. §
Kobrand, Purchase, NY

227773

94 | Antinori

$325

2014 Toscana Solaia ^ Solaia delivers impressive concentration and balance in this challenging, rain-soaked vintage. Severe pruning
and selection yielded a wine with flavors of
black currant and tobacco laced with subtle spice and hints of cedar, a flavor profile
dubbed "Bordeaux with an Italian accent"
by one member of our tasting panel. Vibrant
acidity and a graphite minerality lend a cool,
nervy edge that will keep the wine fresh for
many years to come. § Ste. Michelle Wine
Estates, Woodinville, WA
228919

94 | Tenuta di Biserno

$74

2015 Toscana Il Pino ^ Il Pino is exuberantly lush in the warm 2015 vintage, bursting with flavors of black raspberry and wild
plum edged in notes of cedar and cigar box.
A blend of cabernet franc, merlot, cabernet
sauvignon and petit verdot culled from the
estate's younger vines, it spends a year in a
mix of new and second-use French oak barrels, gaining notes of exotic spice and toasted
vanilla that intensify the wine's plush character. Supple tannins make it accessible in
youth, yet it's capable of improving over the
next several years. § Kobrand, Purchase, NY
WINE & SPIRITS

APRIL 2018

117
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - April 2018
