2010 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino Poggio Alle Mura

The special vineyard selection 2010 Brunello di Montalcino Poggio Alle Mura opens to brooding dark concentration and an impressive sense of depth. The aromas that characterize the wine are in a school of their own. Instead of the standard red cherry and rose, this expression of Sangiovese gives you rich layers of blackberry pie, Indian spice, cured meat, wet terra-cotta, tar and black licorice. Some 90% of the wine is aged in French barrique and the remaining portion sees large oak casks made with Slavonian oak. Dive further and you begin to sense chocolate and toasted espresso. The tannin management is excellent and there's a distant point of textural firmness that will soften with a few more years of cellar aging. Brunello Poggio alle Mura is one of the biggest wines of the vintage, and you can't knock the quality.

Very heavy bottle! Dark ruby with orange tinges. Oak notes on the nose, but otherwise pretty much locked up. Super-concentrated fruit palate, which steers clear of being heavy, but only just. The tangy finish is loaded with rather tough tannins, but they may mellow out with time. (WS)

A wine that sneaks up on you. It starts up slowly with dried-berry, chocolate and dried-lemon character. Full body, chewy tannins and a long, long finish. A wine that shows such layered, in-depth character. Tight and exciting. Give it three to four years more before drinking.