Wine & Spirits - April 2020 - 128

YEAR'S BEST
BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO
Our blind panels tasted 48 new-release Brunello di Montalcino wines over the past 12 months. Our critic for Italy, Stephanie Johnson,
rated 24 as exceptional (90+) and 10 as Best Buys. Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com.

276318

96 | Il Marroneto

$300

2015 Brunello di Montalcino Madonna
delle Grazie ^ Alessandro Mori's 14 vineyard
acres are planted exclusively to sangiovese,
some of the vines dating back to 1975, the
year after his father bought the estate. An
ardent traditionalist, Mori ferments the
grapes with ambient yeasts and ages this
wine for 41 months in large Allier and Slavonian oak casks. The 2015 shows the bright
acidity and red fruit tones characteristic of
the vineyard's lofty position at 1,300 feet on
Montalcino's northern slope. Saturated and
scented with licorice and violets, the wine
maintains impressive delicacy and precision
despite its powerful tannins. Built for the
long haul, this is one to put away for at least
half a decade. § Leonardo LoCascio Selections/
Winebow Imports, NY
275697

95 | Biondi-Santi

$209

2013 Brunello di Montalcino ^ This wine's
classic structure and elegant balance are fitting for a wine harvested in the year that
Franco Biondi-Santi passed away. The wine
feels taut and crunchy, the red cherry and
pomegranate flavors highlighted by notes of
orange peel, thyme, sage and lavender. Firm,
ferrous tannins frame the flavors as notes of
smoke, cedar and grilled game emerge, lending the wine extra depth. § Wilson Daniels, St.
Helena, CA
275729

95 | Le Ragnaie

$156

2013 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva ^
From the Fuligni estate's oldest vines on
Montalcino's eastern slope, this is an elegant
128

WINE & SPIRITS

94 | Il Marroneto

$90

2015 Brunello di Montalcino ^ This is taut
and lively, its crunchy red-berry flavors
reflecting the freshness of the estate's position high on Montalcino's northern slope.
Concentrated yet light on its feet, with peppery spice notes, it's an exciting sangiovese
from a warm vintage. § Leonardo LoCascio
Selections/Winebow Imports, NY
275726

94 | Le Ragnaie

$200

2015 Brunello di Montalcino Fornace ^
This comes from the southern Castelnuovo
dell'Abate zone, where the soil is richer and
the elevation lower than the vines at Le Ragnaie's home vineyards in central Montalcino.
The sappy morello cherry flavors feel earthbound, with notes of tobacco and licorice
gripped by thick, chewy tannins. A streak
of salinity brightens the red fruit tones and
draws out the finish. § Vine Street Imports, Philadelphia, PA

$200

2015 Brunello di Montalcino Ragnaie
V.V. ^ Riccardo Campinoti's old-vine (Vecchie Vigne) bottling leads an impressive set
of releases from Le Ragnaie from the warm
2015 vintage. Flavors of cherry and strawberry show a crispness typical of this highelevation site (up to 1,960 feet) and a depth
attributable to vines planted 48 years ago.
Formidable tannins hold the flavors in check,
relenting with air to reveal layers of sage and
mint. § Vine Street Imports, Philadelphia, PA
276743

94 | Fuligni

Riserva, with complex notes of roasted mushroom and tobacco leaf gained during three
years in large Slavonian casks. Its saturated
flavors of dark cherry and red berry maintain a lightness and elegance despite the firm,
ferrous tannins, the wine built for extended
aging. § Empson USA, Alexandria, VA
276317

APRIL 2020

growing vibrant in its notes of cherry, tart
plum, tobacco and graphite. Lively acidity
drives the flavors toward a long finish, picking up notes of orange zest and spice along
the way. § August Wine Group, Seattle, WA
276750

93 | Castiglion del Bosco

$65

93 | Le Ragnaie

$80

93 | Le Ragnaie

$200

2015 Brunello di Montalcino (Best Buy) ^
This wine aged for two years in French oak
barriques, gaining notes of cacao and cardamom that enrich its ripe cherry and plum flavors. Hints of orange zest and crunchy herbs
add dimension, the flavors held together by
fine, dusty tannins. § Maisons Marques &
Domaines USA, Oakland, CA
275728
2015 Brunello di Montalcino ^ Riccardo
Campinoti draws fruit for this wine from
four plots at varying altitudes, rendering a
balanced and juicy Brunello underlined by
notes of tobacco, loamy earth and subtle
spice. Although firmly tannic, its generous
red-cherry tones make it somewhat more
approachable than his single-site bottlings. §
Vine Street Imports, Philadelphia, PA
275727
2015 Brunello di Montalcino Casanovina
Montosoli ^ This is deeply concentrated, with
flavors of black cherry and raspberry that are
expressive despite the wine's firm, chewy tannins. Layers of tobacco, tea and tomato leaf
add dimension to the fruit while ferrous minerality lends a coolness to the flavors. § Vine
Street Imports, Philadelphia, PA
276219

92 | Albatreti

275781

93 | Martoccia

$117

2013 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva ^ Luca
Brunelli aged this wine in a mix of tonneaux
and large oak casks for three years, yet the
tannins still hold the fruit flavors in an iron
grasp. They begin to relent with air, the wine

$63

2014 Brunello di Montalcino (Best Buy) ^
Gaetano Salvioni produces this wine from
his 12 acres of vines near the town of Montalcino. It shows impressive depth for a wine
from the cool, damp 2014 vintage, offering
flavors of fleshy black cherry and seeded
raspberry layered with notes of fire-roasted
tomato, dark chocolate and pipe tobacco. §
Artisanal Cellars, NY
275569
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Wine & Spirits - April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - April 2020
