Acclaim

Sweet herbs mix with plum and wild strawberry notes as the 2021 Rosso di Montepulciano Prugnolo opens in the glass. It’s juicy and round in style, with a stimulating core of bright acidity that enlivens its tart wild berry fruits. This finishes wickedly fresh yet potent, leaving a liquid floral staining that lingers on and on. The Prugnolo is a wonderfully zesty blend of 85% Sangiovese and 15% Mammolo. Drinking window: 2023 – 2026

The 2019 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Selezione pulls me close to the glass with a dusty mix of dried rose and violets that gives way to dried black cherries. This is a soft and pure expression of Sangiovese fruit, swaying between savory and sweet with salty mineral tones but also vividly ripe red berries. While structured and classically dry, the 2019 remains incredibly finessed and fruit-focused, making for a gently grippy yet still satisfying sip today, but also with medium-term cellar potential. Nice. Drinking window: 2023 – 2027

The 2018 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Selezione Il Nocio is incredibly pretty, with masses of dried violet florals, stone dust and black currants forming its darkly alluring bouquet. This washes easily across the palate, displaying mineral-tinged blackberries and hints of savory spice. It finishes only lightly structured and delicate in feel, like many 2018s, yet a twang of sour citrus and licorice keeps the expression interesting. Drinking window: 2024 – 2028

The 2018 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva Sotto Casa is spicy and perfumed; cedar box, incense, clove and ginger nuances complement the dusty black cherry fruit. It coasts across the palate, nearly weightless in feel, with pretty wild berries and a salty mineral underpinning. Lightly structured and delicate in feel, the 2018 finishes with silty tannins, which keep the expression fresh through a bump of residual acidity. While this isn’t the expression I would expect from the typically robust Sotto Casa, it is a very nice interpretation of the vintage. Drinking window: 2024 – 2028

The 2018 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva Costa Grande is darkly floral yet youthfully understated in the glass, with nuances of plum, crushed rocks and rubbed sage forming its bouquet. It’s soft and round on the palate with ripe black fruits that soothe as salty mineral tones slowly saturate toward the close. While structured, its tannins are sweet and slowly fade under a perfumed air of inner violet and rose. This is such a pretty vintage for Costa Grande, but one that will not require much cellaring to show its best. Drinking window: 2024 – 2030

A camphor hint pleasantly lifts depths of herbal-tinged blackberries, plums and savory spice as the 2018 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva opens in the glass. This is silky and elegant yet also cool-toned in feel, with ripe black fruits and a subtle touch of sour citrus that adds gravitas. It’s lightly structured through the purple-tinged finale, tapering off with chalky tannins that frame the expression nicely. Give the Riserva a short stay in the cellar to come fully into focus. With that said, as enjoyable and balanced as this is, I don’t expect it to make old bones. The Boscarelli Riserva is a classic blend of 85% Sangiovese and a 15% balance of Colorino, Canaiolo and Mammolo. Drinking window: 2024 – 2028

Dark, warming and seductive in the glass, the 2012 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva entrances with masses of cherry and plum sauce offset by cloves, hints of blood orange and a dusting of violet candies. Its textures are like crushed velvet, weighty yet refined, with a wave of ripe red and hints of blue fruit that coast along a core of energizing acidity. A tart twang of sour citrus adds further gravitas, as grippy tannins tug at the palate; and yet the mouth continues to water, as salty mineral tones and hints of red licorice slowly fade. This is a towering expression of the vintage, which will continue to impress for many years to come. I’m not sure how it’s possible, but the 2012 Riserva seems to get better every time I revisit it. Drinking window: 2022 – 2032

The 2012 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is finessed in the glass, perfumed with nuances of violet and rose, as hints of fresh plum and dried sage evolve over time. This floods the palate with textures like pure silk, washing masses of savory red berries and spices across a balanced core of saline-tinged acidity. A tart twang of sour cherry and hints of citrus electrify the finale, as smooth tannins add a gentle grip, and hints of licorice slowly taper off. The 2012 is a gentle giant with the balance to mature beautifully for years to come; but that said, there’s no shame in checking in on it now; just make sure to let it breathe to unlock its charming bouquet. Drinking window: 2022 – 2032

The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino is a spice box, bursting from the glass with a tour de force of cloves, cinnamon sticks, mint, lavender, dried strawberries and freshly sliced vanilla bean. For all of its extroverted character on the nose, this is a delicate beauty on the palate, cool-toned and finessed, with violet-tinged red berries and exotic spice motivated by brisk acidity. It conveys a pleasant staining of fine tannins that lingers long, yet the character is only lightly structured and tapers off nuanced, leaving a persistent subtle hint of licorice. The 2018’s acidity totals out at 6.3g/L and with only 13.6% abv., which has created a wine that is energetic yet unbelievably classic in feel, especially considering the vintage. Wow. Drinking window: 2025 – 2033

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. Drinking window: 2025 – 2033