Sangiovese Wines

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

Love the balance and finesse to this young Brunello with very soft, creamy-textured tannins that frame the pretty palate, which shows chocolate, spice and cherry character. It’s full-bodied, yet polished and balanced. This needs another two or three years to come together. Try after 2023.James Suckling | 95 JSThe Tenuta la Fuga 2015 Brunello di Montalcino needs a little extra time to open, as the wine is initially shy. There are some flinty notes that lift quickly to reveal mild fruit aromas of blackberry and dried raspberry. The fruit feels a little closed, and the mouthfeel is silky and dry. I’d recommend capturing that fruit while it lasts and drinking this Brunello within the next 10 years or so. Some 20,000 bottles of it were made.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPLots of balsamic and ethereal notes, charming dry red fruits, and an abundance of spices. Soft juicy and elegant on the palate with depth of ripe red fruits. Mocha and chocolate finish. Drinking Window 2021 - 2025.Decanter | 91 DEC

This is a very well balanced Brunello with sharp and classic lines. The Val di Suga 2015 Brunello di Montalcino offers attractive energy and brightness that is transmitted through the cherry fruit and wild berry aromas at its core. That primary fruit is surrounded by light spice, grilled herb and potting soil. There is a nice purity and linearity to this wine that reminds you of the natural depth and complexity of Sangiovese when given a little time to age. (Brunello is always released five years after the harvest.) This is an ample 120,000-bottle release.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPThe 2015 Brunello is lifted with aromatics of candied cherry, raspberry fruit leather, vanilla, and sweet baking spices. As one would expect with the warmth of the 2015 vintage, the palate is rounder and more generous than the racier 2016. The palate is ripe with fresh cherry, tea leaf, and pleasant orange peel bitterness. It will provide welcome enjoyment over the next 15 years. Drink 2022-2036.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDAs of the 2015, all of Val di Suga’s wines spend less time in wood to curb Sangiovese’s tendency to oxidise. This wine brings together grapes from all three of Val di Suga’s distinct vineyard sites in equal proportions. Fragrant orange and raspberry notes progress into darker, earthier nuances. There is a saline edge and a gentle grip holding together lush fruit. It’s a touch short but still bright and tangy on the finish. Drinking Window 2021 - 2029.Decanter | 92 DECA dense and linear red with medium to full body, chewy tannins and a slightly extracted finish. Needs time to soften. Better after 2022.James Suckling | 92 JSThe 2015 Val di Suga Brunello di Montalcino is spicy and intense, leading off with dried cherries, cedar spice box, savory herbs and dusty rose. Silky, almost creamy textures flood the palate with ripe red and black fruits, contrasting saline minerals with cooling acids, as fine tannins slowly settle upon the senses. The finish is long and structured, mixing youthful tension with pretty inner florals, yet the best is yet to come with medium-term cellaring.Vinous Media | 91 VMElegant, offering cherry, sanguine, iron, earth and tobacco flavors. Sleek and vibrant, with a lingering aftertaste of mineral and tobacco. Best from 2023 through 2038. 10,000 cases made, 1,000 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

A dusty Brunello with dried berries, walnuts, caramelized orange, felt-tip pen and dried tobacco. Full-bodied and warming on the palate, which reveals a sweet-and-sour character, created by the interplay of solid acidity and dried fruit. Drink from 2023.James Suckling | 95 JSHere’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.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPVery charming and elegant enticing nose, earthy with leather and spiced notes. Rich and full bodied on the palate with plenty of jammy notes, dry flowers, and red forest fruits. Classic. Drinking Window 2021 - 2025.Decanter | 94 DECHere 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.Vinous Media | 92 VM

The full name of this estate is Baricci Colombaio Montosoli, and indeed it is one of the protagonists of the celebrated Montosoli vineyard. The Baricci 2015 Brunello di Montalcino is highly distinguished by its mineral side (with marl, marine fossil, schist quartz and Galestro soils), and that is truly the magic of this wine. There is a pungent note of raw grape at first, but it lifts to reveal forest berry, camphor ash and subtle touches of sweet spice. These elements come together like a tightly fitted mosaic. The wine is balanced and fresh, with just enough structure to add firmness and considerable length to its polished mid-weight frame. In fact, mouthfeel is this wine’s strongest suit. Acidity is never a problem in Montosoli, located on the north side of Montalcino where day and night temperature shifts play an important role in slow fruit ripening. This warm vintage shows higher extract, but the overall balance allowed Baricci to bottle using very little sulfur (which could account for that little tangy note you get on first nose). The wine went into bottle in July 2019, and 15,000 bottles were made. It was released in January 2020.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPGood full ruby-red. Captivating nose combines, ripe red cherry, black plum, minerals, herbs, mocha and sexy brown spices. Juicy and sweet, with refined, suave blackberry, raspberry, minerals and tobacco flavors dominating. Finishes extremely long, with a steely quality, fine-grained tannins and a multifaceted personality. Another great Brunello from Baricci.Vinous Media | 96 VMAll 5ha of Baracci’s vines are contained in one single vineyard on the hill of Montosoli. With a southeastern exposure, the vineyards are cooled by breezes from the north and east and the soils are a complex mix of marl, schist and quartz. The 2015 is effortlessly balanced, starting with suitably mellowed but still radiant aromas of fennel blossom, tobacco and crushed stone. It flows smoothly on the palate, demonstrating its cunning power with well-honed tannins. For now, underlying tasty red cherry is highly gratifying but this will express so much more in years to come. Drinking Window 2023 - 2037Decanter | 95 DECA textbook Sangiovese, in the ripe style, boasting cherry, leather, iron, earth and tobacco aromas and flavors. Firm and lively, with a lingering aftertaste of fruit, mineral and savory elements. Best from 2022 through 2040. 1,250 cases made, 125 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WSSubdued aromas evoking underbrush, baked plum and scorched earth form the nose along with a balsamic whiff of camphor. Full bodied and chewy, the brawny, enveloping palate features dried cherry, licorice, coffee bean and the warmth of alcohol alongside firm, noble tannins. Drink 2022–2030.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WE

An opulent Brunello, suggesting glacé cherries, strawberry ice-cream, peppermint tea and dried cloves. Full-bodied and very structured, muscling sturdy layers of tannins and rolling sheets of dark fruit into ironclad balls of flavor and texture. Long and fruit-driven on the finish. Drink from 2024.James Suckling | 95 JSThis wine reveals a beautifully rich and saturated appearance as it pours from the bottle. The Cerbaia 2015 Brunello di Montalcino offers a pretty presentation of Sangiovese-driven aromas with small berries, underbrush, moist potting soil and blue flowers. All of these aromas are perfectly tied to the variety. In the mouth, Cerbaia’s interpretation is lean and crisp with medium weight and a long, silky mouthfeel. It does feel thin on the mid-palate and tapers out to a medium or short finish. Fruit comes from a 4.5-hectare vineyard with Galestro-rich soils. Some 18,000 bottles were released in January 2020.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPSomething ethereal about the strawberry, faint cherry aromas. Full bodied, spicy and peppery; ripe immaculate fruit on the palate with fine tannins creating a beautiful texture. Drinking Window 2022 - 2028.Decanter | 90 DEC Scorched earth, leather and camphor aromas mingle with a whiff of resin. On the austere tightly knit palate, grainy tannins accompany sour cherry, orange zest and tobacco. This will benefit with a few more years of cellar time. Drink after 2023.Wine Enthusiast | 90 WE