Brunello di Montalcino

Score

94

"Plum, cedar and walnut aromas and flavors with some milk-chocolate and cappuccino undertones. It’s medium-to full-bodied with a tight, focused palate and a flavorful finish. Drink after 2023."

Score

92

"The 2016 Collosorbo Brunello di Montalcino wafts up a rich display of crushed wild berries, exotic brown and balsamic spice, along with rubbed sage and cedar box. It’s juicy and energetic with masses of sweet cherry and blackberries fleshing out across the palate, leaving a subtle layer of minerals and fine tannins adding a bit of a grippy feel. The 2016 is classically dry, yet not severely tannic, instead tapering off to a mix of sour citrus, red currants and hints of licorice. This may not be a Brunello for the ages, but it will provide a lot of enjoyment over the next five to ten years."

Score

91

"The Collosorbo 2015 Brunello di Montalcino immediately makes its warm-vintage DNA clear and present. I tasted this wine right after the 2018 Rosso di Montalcino from the same producer, and the fruit profile of the two wines is completely different, thus illustrating the exuberant character of the 2015 vintage against the more reserved nature of 2018. This wine is plump and soft with robust notes of candied cherry, purple plum and tangy spice. The tannins are soft and velvety, and the role of the acidity is somewhat downplayed. The wine could use a touch more freshness. However, this Brunello ultimately comes across as an immediate and approachable expression to drink in the near and medium term. Some 60,000 bottles were made."

Score

95

"Sunbaked earth, underbrush, leather and baked plum aromas emerge on this full-bodied red. Round and enveloping, the delicious, concentrated palate doles out juicy Morello cherry, fleshy black raspberry, licorice and baking spice alongside velvety tannins. It's already almost accessible but will also provide years of drinking pleasure. Enjoy through 2030."

Score

95

"Reductive at first, but that soon blows off and will fade with time. What’s left is very transparent red-plum and red-cherry aromas. Hints of rhubarb and hibiscus. Tightly strung tannins suspend blood-orange and peach flavors in a hammock of gently weaving acidity. Drink from 2022."

Score

93

"The 2015 Collosorbo Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is classic in style and irresistible. It’s dark, moody and rooted in the earth, as an air of brown spice blows off to reveal crushed black cherries, wild herbs, mocha and undergrowth. It’s silky, fleshy even, balanced by brisk acids adding vibrancy to its ripe red fruit. Slow-mounting tannins lurk toward the close, yet energy remains high, tapering off to savory notes of cedar, tobacco and a hint of bitter balsamic. This spends forty-two months refining in large oak cask, yet it comes across as amazingly fresh and vibrant. I find myself questioning if I prefer the brighter character of the 2015 Brunello over the brooding Riserva. In the end, I think they are both pretty special."