Very fine tannins show right away and nicely frame the subtle cherry, cedar, mahogany and light chocolate notes. It’s medium-to full-bodied, firm and linear. Try after 2023.

The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino has aromatics of kirsch, tobacco leaf, cedar, and forest floor. The palate is polished with fine tannins around a core of ripe fruit, with red plum, orange peel, and bitter amaro-like herbs. Refined and balanced, the 2016 will certainly benefit from time in cellar to unfold and reveal its further complexity. Cellar 3-6 years and drink 2025-2040. AF

The totally classic and refined 2016 Brunello di Montalcino from Gianni Brunelli is a perfect follow-up to the warm-vintage 2015 that was tasted earlier this year. Arching flowery perfumes, the purest expression of cherry and strawberry imaginable, hints of mint, sage and cedar dust - all can be found within its dazzling bouquet. This contrasts youthful density of ripe primary fruit, with salty minerality and vibrant acids to create a cascading and crunchy impression on the palate. The 2016 isn’t ready to show all of its treasures today; instead, it impresses on sheer potential, tapering off with fine tannins, hints of licorice and gorgeous inner florals. This may even warrant a higher score over time.

This red starts out round and full of black cherry, licorice, earth, tobacco and oak spice flavors, ending with muscular, mouthcoating tannins, yet balances of all the elements. Lingers with an aftertaste of dark fruit, spice and mineral. Best from 2024 through 2045. BS

I remember Laura Brunelli describing her 2007 Brunello as a young colt – unbridled yet fascinating. Her 2016 is much more disciplined but still exhibits that spirit and power. It combines fruit from the northerly vineyard of Le Chiuse di Sotto with plots on the southeastern slopes in the Sant’Antimo area. While less overtly fragrant at the moment than past vintages, its dense, sumptuous fruit and assertive, sinewy tannins suggest a long life in the cellar. Hints of fennel, incense, cedar forest and currants bode well. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2038
Tasted by: Michaela Morris (at Vancouver, 22 Mar 2021)

Lustrous mid ruby. Sweet, brooding red-fruit nose with a peppery tingle, notes of cherry stones and the beginning of tar. Juicy, almost mouth-watering, red-fruit and sweet-cherry palate with gorgeous chewy tannins. Still a little closed and compact on the finish. (WS)

Bricky ruby with smudgy rim. Seductively sweet cherry fruit. Open and aromatic, soaring from the glass but when I go back to it, I wonder if the sample is a touch oxidised? The beginning of undergrowth all tied in with the sweet, lightly raisined fruit. Less seductive on the palate than on the nose. Firm, firm, chewy texture. A baby with a deep core of fruit but needs a lot of time. (JH)

The Gianni Brunelli Le Chiuse di Sotto 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is a stunning wine with so much vitality, life and energy. It shows a brazen level of clarity and frankness. If you seek the truth in Sangiovese, I think you find it here. This Brunello unfolds to lasting purity, elegance and length. It is luminous and radiant. When tasted next to the 2015 Riserva from this estate (something I did on multiple passes), I continued to recognize the lifted and exciting personality of this wine next to the broader and heavier character of the Riserva. This Brunello shows extreme precision and focus, both to the bouquet and the mouthfeel. Wild berry, blue flower and licorice converge to perfection, and it's impossible to beat this quality at this price.