Wine & Spirits - April 2021 - 121

Focus Tuscan Sangioveses
and violets, its flavors bright and high-toned
for the warm vintage. Notes of licorice and
spice weave through the flavors of juicy red
cherry and pomegranate, buoyed by tangy
acidity as the wine finishes on a bright note of
orange peel. § August Wine Group, Seattle, WA
523421

93 | San Giorgio

$60

2016 Brunello di Montalcino Ugolforte ^
This 360-acre estate in Montalcino's southeastern sector sold in 2016 to the Tipa-Bertarelli family, who also own the nearby Poggio di Sotto. The fruit for Ugolforte comes
from east-facing vines on heavy clay soils;
it shows flavors of tart cherry and toasted
almond enriched by notes of vanilla and
warm spice. The 2016 spent time in small
barrels, according to consultant Federico
Staderini, who notes that going forward, the
wine will be aged in large (30-hectoliter) oak
casks. § Winebow Imports, NY
523424

93 | San Polo

$65

93 | Tenute Silvio Nardi

$75

2016 Brunello di Montalcino ^ Notes of
warm spice and licorice enrich this wine's flavors of red berry and dark plum. The wine
takes on hints of smoke and grilled game
with air, lending a savory edge that complements the lush fruit tones. § Trinchero Family
Estates, St. Helena, CA
523454
2015 Brunello di Montalcino ^ This wine
offers a rich and earthy contrast to Nardi's
higher-toned 2016 Brunello (also recommended here). It opens with flavors of ripe
dark cherry and cherry pit underlined by
notes of coffee, cocoa and dried mushroom.
Its robust warmth and powerful tannins are
a match for braised meats or grilled game. §
Kobrand, Purchase, NY
523434

93 | Tenute Silvio Nardi

$145

2016 Brunello di Montalcino Vigneto Poggio Doria ^ The 2016 Poggio Doria's bright
red-cherry and raspberry flavors are dominated at present by notes of incense and
charred wood, the flavors enveloped by rigid
tannins. It's a tautly structured wine that
needs plenty of time to unfurl, but its bright
fruit tones and thrumming acidity indicate
the elements will knit together with time in
the cellar. § Kobrand, Purchase, NY
523488

93 | Pietroso

$80

2015 Brunello di Montalcino ^ This 12-acre
family-run estate includes organically
farmed plots in three different parts of Montalcino. The vines, averaging 30 years of age,
are perched at 1,200 to 1,500 feet above sea
level, an advantage in a warm vintage like

2015. The wine is juicy and balanced, brimming with fresh cherry and raspberry flavors
that are concentrated yet lively. The grippy
tannins are ripe and sweet, giving shape to
the saturating fruit tones. Delicious now, it
will be even better in a few years. § North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA
523452

93 | Val di Suga

$95

2015 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna del
Lago ^ Vigna del Lago overlooks a small lake
on the Val di Suga estate just north of Montalcino's village walls, the vines planted on
clay-rich soils that gave an elegant wine with
high-toned red-berry flavors and racy acidity.
The tannins are bright and chalky, and the
wine finishes with plenty of energy, promising a long life ahead. § Wilson Daniels, St. Helena, CA
523485

93 | Martoccia di Luca
Brunelli

$117

2015 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva ^ This
Riserva is bursting with scents of rose petals
and violets, its flavors bright and high-toned
for the warm vintage. Notes of licorice and
spice weave through the flavors of juicy red
cherry and pomegranate, buoyed by tangy
acidity as the wine finishes on a bright note of
orange peel. § August Wine Group, Seattle, WA
523

92 | Donatella Cinelli
Colombini

$69

2015 Brunello di Montalcino ^ Lithe and
lifted for the warm 2015 vintage, this
Brunello offers flavors of tart cherry and
raspberry edged with notes of dried herbs
and a hint of vanilla. Those bright fruit tones
will flesh out with a few years of cellaring. §
Banville Wine Merchants, NY
523479

92 | Caparzo

$93

92 | Ruffino

$70

2013 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva ^ This
Riserva is round and polished, with a core of
fresh-red-cherry and cherry-liqueur flavors
buoyed by bright acidity. Firm tannins sculpt
the flavors like fired clay, and the wine finishes on a slightly astringent note that should
resolve with a few years in the cellar. § Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL
523491486
2015 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta
Greppone Mazzi ^ This is a firm, big-boned
Brunello, its dark cherry and berry flavors
bright and assertive, gripped by sturdy,
ferrous tannins. Hints of mushroom and
tobacco emerge with exposure to air, the tannins becoming more pliant and leathery. Put
it away for at least five years. § Constellation
Brands, San Francisco, CA

523482

92 | SanCarlo

$63

2015 Brunello di Montalcino ^ The Marcucci
family farms 7.4 vineyard acres of vines on
this small estate in Montalcino's southwestern sector, the vines planted between 1985
and 2010 and surrounded by forest. The family produces just two wines, a Brunello and
a Rosso (also recommended here). Aged traditionally in large Slavonian oak casks, the
2015 Brunello is rich and inviting, its dark
cherry flavors infused with notes of woodsy
underbrush and bright salinity. The wine finishes balanced and brisk with some appealing savory notes. § North Berkeley Imports,
Berkeley, CA
523455

92 | Tenute Silvio Nardi

$115

2015 Brunello di Montalcino Manachiara ^
This wine's flavors of dried cherry and plum
reflect the hot and dry conditions of 2015.
Notes of underbrush and toasted nuts lend
dimension to the flavors, which are girded
by brusque, leathery tannins. It's a warm and
earthy wine, suited to robust wintery fare. §
Kobrand, Purchase, NY

523443

92 | Solaria
Patrizia Cencioni

$53

2015 Brunello di Montalcino ^ Patrizia Cencioni's family has winemaking roots in Montalcino, but she decided to strike out on her
WINE & SPIRITS

APRIL 2021

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