Brunello di Montalcino

wines

There’s wonderful polish and focus to the vibrant nose here, which frames sour cherries, raspberries, fruit tea and darker, earthier elements. Medium-to full-bodied and beautifully pure and inviting, this is a dialed-in Brunello with sweeping acidity and finely chiseled tannins. Drink from 2021.James Suckling | 94 JSThis beefy red is less forthcoming than many of its peers, featuring a core of pure, fresh cherry flavors. Earth and leafy tobacco elements emerge as this unfolds on the lingering finish. Shows fine balance and energy overall. Best from 2024 through 2042.Wine Spectator | 94 WSIntense and vibrant nose of wild berries and spicy notes. Juicy core with plenty of meaty notes, ripe tannins structure, juicy plump ripe red fruits. Still tight with lots of room for development. Drinking Window 2022 - 2030.Decanter | 93 DECWith vineyards on the Castelnuovo dell’Abate side of the appellation, this wine reflects the warm vintage and the slightly wild characteristics of fruit from the southern half of the appellation. The San Giorgio 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Ugolforte is a robust and generous wine, with contemporary touches of smoke and spice that add to its aromatic intensity and complexity. There is plenty of ripe, dark and concentrated fruit here, and that’s ultimately what powers this hearty Brunello. The tannins show good integration too. The release counted an ample 50,000 bottles.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPThe 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Ugolforte is quite reticent at this stage, showing a dusty mix of woodland red berries, with hints of savory spice, leather and dried florals. On the palate, silky textures are offset by tart cherry fruit, with cool-toned acids and minerals adding lift in an expression that seems both savory and feminine. The finish is medium in length and quite pretty, resonating on red inner florals and fruits, with a lingering spry acidity and the slightest hint of fine tannin. This is already quite easy to enjoy, and it should do well over the medium-term in the cellar.Vinous Media | 91 VM

The Le Potazzine 2015 Brunello di Montalcino is immediately bright and energized. The wine is sprightly and lively. This is an elegantly medium-weight wine, but everything is in exactly the right place. Fresh acidity and snappy fruit flavors are followed by lighter touches of rose petal, cardamon, camphor ash and powdered licorice. These aromas are stacked tall and proud. Of special interest is that point of zesty medicinal herb that reminds you of the relatively cool climate and high-altitude positioning of Le Potazzine’s vineyards. These special conditions are exactly why this wine performs so nicely in a warm vintage like 2015. The coolness of the growing site offsets the temperatures of the growing season. Some 18,000 bottles will be released in February 2020.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPLe Potazzine ’s 2015 Brunello di Montalcino is fabulous. The bouquet is showing an earthy display, with smoky minerals and dark soil tones up front, evolving with time in the glass, as crushed black cherry mixes with wild, savory herbs and dried dusty florals. On the palate, gorgeously ripe red fruits are balanced by a mix of saline-minerals, savory spice and zesty acidity, as fine tannin slowly mounts beneath its pretty inner floral tones. The finish is long with a salty-savory twang of minerals and spice, as hints of hard red candies and a bit of citrus lingers over a core of tannic heft. There is so much to like about the 2015, from its classic and earthy bouquet to its fleshy yet balanced palate and totally classic finish. Simply stunning and so pleasurable.Vinous Media | 97 VMFragrant and elegantly structured, this opens with aromas of woodland berry, iris, new leather and wild aromatic herb. The taut, linear palate delivers juicy Morello cherry, ripe pomegranate, crushed mint and star anise framed in firm, polished tannins. Boasting some of the highest vineyards in the denomination, it retains great freshness and balance. Drink 2022–2030.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEA refined and fruity red with plums, oyster shell and porcini mushrooms that follow through to a full body. Tight and powerful with gorgeous fruit and richness. Drink after 2022.James Suckling | 93 JSI always find Le Potazzine’s Brunello to be particularly elegant and graceful. The 2015 is no exception, allying the ripeness of the vintage with Sangiovese’s transparency. Pale garnet in colour but by no means tired, this offers a heady mix of rose, violet, orange and bay leaf atop red cherry and scented earth. Fine-grained tannins surreptitiously coat the palate and the finish has equally sneaky length. Of note, 2015 is one of only four vintages in 25 that Le Potazzine has made a Riserva (to be released in 2022). The importance here is that this is not to the detriment of the regular Brunello. Drinking Window 2020 - 2030Decanter | 92 DECBlackberry, black cherry, earth and tar flavors highlight this suave, big-boned red, backed by a rearguard of dense tannins. The finish lingers. Fresh, if a bit compact. Best from 2024 through 2040. 1,200 cases made, 400 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WS