2018 Brunello di Montalcino
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Tasting notes
A wonderful energy seams through the 2018 Brunello Di Montalcino, with layered aromas of cherry licorice, leather, spice box, and dried flowers. Medium-bodied, with vibrant tension driving the wine forward through its linear profile, it has fine tannins, with a refreshing edge of acidity and notes of dried cranberry, orange peel, and salty earth. It is a stellar wine to cellar for a couple of years and drink over the following 10-15. One of the great historic families in Italy, the Fuglini lineage originated in Venice, but Luigi Fuligni moved to Tuscany in the 1770s to become a general of the Grand Duchy and later inherited significant holdings in Maremma. At that time, the coastal region of Maremma was a swamp and a risk for malaria (it was later drained and became the wine region it is today), so following the first World War, when Giovanni Maria Fuligni was left with the family property in Scansano, a town within Maremma, he instead looked to Montalcino, which was on higher ground and had a more continental climate. It was there he founded the Fuligni estate in 1923. With his passing in 1971, his daughter Maria Flora Fuligni took over the estate, expanding the winery to international acclaim. Today, the estate is owned by Roberto Fuligni, the nephew of Maria Flora and grandson of Giovanni. In addition to his custodial responsibilities at the estate, Roberto is also a criminal law professor in Siena.
Critic scores
Average Score
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
The Fuligni 2018 Brunello di Montalcino stands out for its smooth integration of aromas and the carefully balanced intensity achieved here, which shows momentum but also remains very fine and nuanced. There are many sides to the bouquet with wild fruit, cassis, crushed stone, candied orange and fresh herbs or rosemary. A floral note also appears that suggests rose or iris root. The tannins are very well managed and silky. You hardly feel them, yet the wine offers firm structure throughout. This is a production of 35,000 bottles and one I am happy to recommend.
It takes a good amount of time for the 2018 Brunello di Montalcino to open in the glass, as a cloud of white smoke gives way to a sweetly scented mix of dried roses, sugar-dusted cherries and hints of exotic spice. This is a round and supple 2018, communicating elegance through its velvety textures, polished ripe red fruits and cascading inner violet florals. There’s opulence here, yet also the acidity to balance, as the 2018 tapers off long with classically refined tannins, yet leaves the palate perfectly reset for another sip. Frankly, it’s hard to put this glass down. There will be no Riserva produced in 2018, and so all of that juice was used to bolster this open-knit and seductive Brunello.
At Fuligni they age all Brunellos for 36 months, only seldom are they racked. Mid to deep ruby with orange tinges. There is kinship with the Rosso 2020 in the oak hint, but here it is a bit more complex and less exotic. Iron, cherry, raspberry with complex oak notes hovering over. Cardamon and cumin. A good mouthful of juicy red fruit with fine, but persistent tannins. Refreshing, transparent and elegant. Quite stunning balance and gorgeous chew. (WS)