2015 Brunello di Montalcino

Meaty, chewy, refined black-cherry and dark-chocolate flavour. Toasted spices. Very savoury but not severe, and there's refreshment as well as finely sandy tannic texture. (RH)

A description of the 2015 vintage provided by the estate: ‘A majestic vintage where structure, elegance and freshness combine to form something special. 2015 was a hot and dry year with constant warm temperatures from May through August which permitted the grapes to reach perfect ripeness with sweet, yet fragrant aromas. Harvest started on 21 September.’ Palish ruby. Balsamic brooding nose with hints of sour cherry, raspberry and damson. With aeration more and more complex and multi-layered. Embryonic and tight with powdery tannins and gorgeous supple acidity. At the moment still a little aloof but with fantastic balance and a cool perfumed finish. Postscript:  On three consecutive days the wine, which was kept without a closure, became increasingly complex, gaining in depth on the palate and with a full spread on the finish. Not even after having been exposed to air for three days was there the faintest whiff of oxidation. A monument, and a wine that goes some way to support those who argue that warm years are especially successful for Biondi-Santi. (WS)

Full bottle 1,405 g. A hot dry summer with harvest starting on 21 September. All grapes from their own Tenuta Greppo estate. Aged in Slavonian oak for three years. Bottled for the first time in magnums as well as 75-cl bottles. Transparent ruby – a very Sangiovese hue! Lifted, reticent nose and then the really rather glorious fruit, with the tang of Sangiovese but with a suggestion of butter toffee, spreads right across the palate. Very contained and handsome. Good energy and already rather accessible though students of the estate will presumably be confident of the wine's ageing ability. (JR)