Red Wines

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The 2010 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is slow to open and I spent a good amount of extra time with this wine as a result. It was well worth the wait. The intensity inches up in baby steps. With time, the wine is splendent and focused with a very direct and impactful delivery of aromas. It also shows a specifically floral personality with dried rose petal or blue violet that I did not recognize in most of the other Brunellos from this classic vintage. There is power and determination behind those feminine aromas. The wine makes a lasting impression in the mouth, thanks to the textual tightness of its tannins and the refreshing crispness of the acidity. The Riserva sees fruit sourced from Il Greppo’s oldest vines (25-years-old and more) and the wine ages in traditional oak casks for three years. Some 13,600 bottles were made.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RP

The complexity and beauty of this wine is something else on the nose, offering perfume, cedar, dried flower, black cherry, blueberry and crushed stone. Orange peel, too. Full-bodied with incredible layers of ultra-fine tannins that give this wine horizontal depth that almost seems endless. Extremely long and lightly chewy at the end. This is one for the cellar. Try after 2026.James Suckling | 99 JSDelicate aromas recalling forest berry, rose, violet and wild herb shape the enticing nose. The savory, elegantly structured palate features juicy red cherry, spiced cranberry, star anise and a hint of tobacco set against taut, fine-grained tannins. Fresh acidity keeps it well balanced and focused. A wonderful expression of the fantastic vintage from one of Montalcino's most historic producers, it boasts great aging potential. Drink 2026–2046.Wine Enthusiast | 99 WEThe 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva seduces the senses as it mixes savory and sweet, the dusty rose and crushed stone aromas giving way to wild strawberry and dried cherry. A velvety textural wave saturates the palate with salty minerals and tart raspberry fruits, lifted by stunning acidity and cooling herbal tones that create a cascading feel to the crunchy red fruits. While structured and dry, it's also incredibly long, crystalline in nature, and lingers on notes of salted licorice and savory spice. This shows all of the best qualities of the vintage, expertly matched to the classic stylings of Fuligni. That said, the 2016 is a sleeping giant, in need of cellaring to show its best. Deciding between this and the estate Brunello from 2016 is like splitting hairs, but what I can say is that the Riserva has the potential for a longer life and possibly a higher score when at full maturity.Vinous Media | 98+ VMFuligni’s Riserva is born in the San Giovanni vineyard at Podere Cottimelli, the estate’s original site. It is a selection of the best bunches from vines averaging 50 years of age. The 2016 is currently a brooding beast, but a remarkably handsome one at close glance. It starts with polished leather and walnut skin before disclosing hints of lavender, anise and freshly turned earth. The structure is even denser and drier than the annata, but the fruit is also sweeter and more concentrated. Finely chiselled tannins wrap around black cherry and red plum, and with an intense mineral drive this is fully charged. It will take a few more years, however, to lay bare all of its lurking intricacies. Drinking Window 2025 - 2045.Decanter | 98 DECHere's one of the show-stoppers in this report. The Fuligni 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is a layered and important wine with deep renderings of wild berry, ripe fruit, oak spice, pressed flowers and garden herbs. This Brunello lives up to its Riserva designation with extra textural richness, more oak definition, structure and a bigger, longer-lasting aromatic profile. The wine closes with hints of cola, rosemary and wild rose.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97+ RPThe Fuligni’s estate is in Montalcino’s northeast quadrant, where the high elevations cause temperatures to drop sharply at night. Those conditions combined in 2016 with a long and even growing season to produce this exciting Riserva. The wine is effortlessly concentrated and powerful, its deep flavors of dark cherry layered with notes of fresh tobacco and mortared herbs underlined by a firm streak of graphite. Scents of violet and lavender enhance the wine’s graceful personality as vibrant spice notes draw out the long, harmonious finish.Empson USA, NYWine and Spirits Mag | 97 W&SRipe and harmonious, this red features cherry and berry flavors augmented by earth, mineral, tobacco and thyme accents. Fresh and firms up as it winds down on the long, fruit-, mineral- and spice-tinged finish. Best from 2024 through 2042. 2,160 cases made, 250 cases imported. Wine Spectator | 95 WS