2016 Brunello di Montalcino
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Tasting notes
The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is youthfully coy in the glass, slowly opening with a delicate blend of smoked meats, cedar dust, crushed rocks and dried strawberries. It’s soft and enveloping with silky textures, a sweet and sour interplay of mineral-tinged berries and balsamic spice hints. Fine tannins mount toward the close. This finishes youthfully tense and grippy with a bump of residual acidity to balance its saturation of primary components. The 2016 is in an odd and slightly dormant place in its evolution.
Critic scores
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Healthy mid ruby. Closed, brooding with cherry and cranberry with minerally notes. Iron with a suggestion of orange skin and oak. Embryonic, poised cherry and raspberry palate but with real concentration and with a long vein of acidity running through it. Very long and transparent, with finely-chiselled, long tannins and amazing depth. (WS)
The Fuligni 2016 Brunello di Montalcino shows balance and symmetry with plenty of primary intensity to ensure a long cellar life. The bouquet opens to dark plum, dried raspberry, spice, aniseed and grilled herb. I get a lot of Mediterranean lavender and rosemary essence. This is a mid-weight Brunello with aromas that prove elegant and buoyant. If you have visited the Fuligni estate, you may agree that it occupies one of the best positions in the appellation with open views onto the enormous expanse of the Val d'Orcia that plays out until the horizon ends. This is one of Montalcino's historic cellars with many stories to tell. Luckily for us, much of that narrative unfolds in the beauty and the elegance of a wine like this.
Dark, inward and intense, the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is a towering effort that will thrill collectors for many years to come. It arrives in waves, first black fruits evolving to red, then sage and earthy minerals, followed by brown spice and, finally, hints of tobacco. Youthfully dense, velvety and in no hurry to unfurl the complex web of fruit, minerals and tannins found within, this instead leaves you guessing at what’s to come. That said, there’s perfect symmetry here, along with the combination of structure and primary intensity to guarantee many years of positive maturation. Hints of licorice, currant and baker’s chocolate linger long. This is simply gorgeous.