Brunello di Montalcino

Score

92

"The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino takes a more poised, feminine and refined approach to the vintage. Sweet roses, wild strawberry, leather and peppery herbs create a remarkably pretty display. The textures here are velvety; yet energy remains high, casting polished red berry fruits over a core of zesty acids and spice, while fine tannins build toward the close. It’s long yet heroically structured, with inner florals slowly tapering off. The 2016 Voliero will require a good amount of time to come fully into focus."

Score

91

"This opens with intense aromas of rose, crushed mint and forest floor. Vibrant and full bodied, the palate shows sour cherry, cranberry and roasted coffee bean set against fine-grained, drying tannins. It closes on a salty note while fresh acidity keeps it and balanced. Drink 2023–2028."

Score

94

"Aromas of flowers, plums, cedar and violets follow through to a full body with firm, silky tannins that show plush fruit that’s pure and focused. Hints of orange peel, too. Fresh. Persistent at the end. Drink after 2023."

Score

94

"The Voliero 2016 Brunello di Montalcino opens to rich, fruity fiber with aromas of dark fruit, blackberry preserves, red brick and scorched earth. This is a saturated and accessible expression from Montalcino to enjoy in the near or medium-term with a nice steak and grilled porcino mushrooms. The grapes are fermented in steel with indigenous yeasts and aged in Slavonian oak. This is a 7,800-bottle production."

Score

94

"Here's a confident and genuine expression of Sangiovese that manages to be both accessible and complicated at the same time. Brunello is one of the few Italian wines to bridge the gap between those two extremes. The Voliero 2015 Brunello di Montalcino offers a steady stream of small berry fruit and cherry aromas. But there is width to this bouquet and deeper layers of spice, tar and licorice also play important roles. This Brunello ages in oak for 36 months in order to find harmony and balance. Some 7,866 bottles were made. Those bottles were filled in July 2019 and the wine hit the market in January 2020."

Score

92

"Here I'm finding a spicy display of Sangiovese fruit, as dusty dried florals give way to mineral-laced bright cherry, with hints of cedar, leather and white smoke. On the palate, soft textures wash across the senses, ushering in pure red berry fruits, as brisk acids firm up the experience, leaving saline-minerals and fine tannin in their wake. The finish is medium in length and a bit angular, resonating on savory spice with licorice, dried black cherries, inner florals, and a lingering twang of acid. The Voliero needs time to fully come together, yet it is likely to always remain a spicy, acid-driven effort."

Score

94

"Aromas of dried flowers and plums with hints of dust and tile. Orange peel, too. Full body, intense and powerful yet always reserved. Give it three or four years but this is already dynamic and fascinating."

Score

93

"Sporting beautiful brightness and liveliness, the 2013 Brunello di Montalcino offers blackberry and cherry nuances enhanced by spice, leather and elegant balsam herb. These various characteristics reach a soothing sense of balance and delicate harmony that reflects the best assets of this undertone vintage."

Score

93

"An alluring expression of soft cherry and raspberry fruit marks this sleek, focused red. Leather, earth and saline notes linger as this winds down, showing balance and length. Best from 2021 through 2033. 800 cases made, 400 cases imported."

Score

94

"Bright red with a pale rim. Knockout aromas and flavors of spicy red cherry, licorice, cedar and aromatic herbs. Clean, ripe and round, with saline nuances lingering nicely on the smooth but very lively finish. A classic Brunello from Voliero."