2018 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva

The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva has blossomed beautifully over the past year, savory and intense, with an enticing bouquet of cedar dust, savory herbs, crushed rocks, underbrush and wild strawberries. It's feminine and cool-toned in feel, with soft textures and a pretty inner sweetness up front as wild berry fruits are guided by juicy acidity and a saline mineral staining forms toward the close. The finish is perfumed and exotic with hints of blood orange and violet inner florals that cascade across with a sensation of liquid stone and a coating of sweet tannins. Majestic and sensual, the 2018 Riserva is perhaps the top wine of the vintage.

- Eric Guido (11/2023)

The nose of the 2018 Brunello Di Montalcino Riserva is pure and inviting, with aromas of red cherry liqueur, rose petals, candied orange peel, fresh rosemary, and wet stones. Long and pure on the palate, it offers beautifully concentrated ripeness, with a weightless feel and a seamless structure with ripe tannins. Everything about it resonates on the palate, and it’s harmonious all the way through. It’s singing now and will have an open drinking window over the next 15-20 years. (02/2024)

Sweet, ripe cherry is at the center of this light-bodied, elegant red, with tomato leaf and iron accents joining in. Vibrant, firming up with a light dusting of tannins on the finish, this is charming and effortless. Drink now through 2029. 500 cases made, 25 cases imported.

- B.S.

The Poggio di Sotto 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva was reticent when I tasted it, probably owing to a period of awkwardness for such a young sample. The immediate suggestion is to give this bottle more time because, tasted now, it was definitely poured before its prime. The bouquet starts off with austere aromas of oil painting or waxed antiques, but those blow off. After that, you get an exciting compilation of redcurrant, cherry skin, rose petal and floral potpourri. This wine is very sprightly on the palate with fresh berry crush, integrated acidity and fine, chalky tannins. Again, this wine needs more time in bottle.

- Monica Larner (12/2023)