Brunello di Montalcino

Score

96

"A profound wine with vibrancy and complexity, exuding restrained cherries and raspberries, together with touches of ash and fresh orange peel. Leafiness and meaty minerality add an extra dimension. The attack is lush and ripe, with full body, velvety tannins, refreshing acidity and violet-soaked cherries to finish. Real precision here. Drinkable now, but best after 2025."

Score

95

"The striking 2020 Brunello from Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona is intensely fragrant, offering aromas of ripe wild berry, blue flower, Mediterranean scrub and dark spice. Full-bodied and structured but also boasting weightless finesse, the savory palate delivers Morello cherry, ripe raspberry, licorice and tobacco framed in firm, velvety tannins. Drink 2029–2035. Abv: 15% Kerin O'Keefe November 2024"

Score

94

"The 2020 Brunello Di Montalcino pours a bright red/orange-tinged color and is ripe and sapid on the nose with notes of crushed black raspberries, mocha, sweet herbs, and mossy, floral earth. It's elegant on the palate, with salty, mouthwatering accents, but the acidity is not what kicks that forward. It's ripe with plush, velvety tannins, hints of porcini, and earth tones that are sure to improve and build as the wine ages. It has a hearty texture in its medium frame and fills the palate with hints of black truffle. Drink over the coming 15 or more years."

Score

93

"The 2020 Brunello di Montalcino is impossible to ignore, with a burst of crushed plums and black cherries accentuated by sweet herbs, hints of tobacco and wilted violets. It's round and supple with dark red fruits, autumnal spices that swirl throughout and a hint of cocoa that embellishes the close. Despite its depth and concentration, the 2020 maintains energy while coming across as wonderfully refined, leaves fine-grained tannins to resonate beneath an air of lavender and mocha."

Score

93

"The 2020 Brunello di Montalcino is a grippy, lifted wine with aromas of black fruit, crushed stone, grilled rosemary and lavender. The wine reveals a meaty and ripe texture with chewy fruit flavors in this hot vintage. The high 15% alcohol content makes for a less elegant drinking experience. This is a generous release of 66,000 bottles and larger formats."

Score

93

"This red is supple in texture, evoking cherry, strawberry, floral and mineral flavors. There's also a distinctive salty taste and fine viscosity on the palate. This is balanced, with a judicious layer of tannins framing the finish. Best from 2027 through 2042. 5,566 cases made, 2,083 cases imported."