2015 Brunello di Montalcino
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Tasting notes
The Salicutti 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Piaggione is a mid-weight red wine with a deep and lasting aromatic impact. The wine offers very vertical or lifted aromas of dried fruit, cedar wood, tilled earth, cigar, cola and medicinal herb. It also shows a lot of balsamic character, and this is something I often recognize in warm-vintage Brunello, while it offers less primary fruit. The character here is ethereal and fragrant, shedding any monolithic tones you might expect of a wine of this depth and persistence. I would recommend a medium-term drinking window so that you catch the fruit before it fades.
Critic scores
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Piaggione shows an intense display of crushed raspberry and tart cherry, leaning to the darker and spicier spectrum, showing exotic brown spice, cedar, and shavings of baker’s chocolate. On the palate, soft textures give way to ripe black cherries with a rich, confectionery note, as brisk acids add energy, and saline-minerals slowly saturate. The finish is long, as residual acids sizzle upon the senses, tapering off to reveal pretty red berry fruits with a savory herbal twist. The 2015 Piaggione is already quite open, coming across as almost creamy on the palate, with vibrant primary fruit that nearly masks its structural core.
Tasted blind. Mid ruby with orange tinges. Very closed both on the nose and the palate. Just a hint of cherry and gingerbread. Seems very ripe with just the right amount of tangy acidity, but only just. Very solid and ripe, but lacks Sangiovese’s energy and perfume. (WS)