The darkly alluring 2018 Brunello di Montalcino grumbles up from the glass, with a mix of crushed plums and black cherries complemented by rubbed sage nuances. It’s soft-textured and deep, engulfing the palate in ripe wild berry fruit and spice, underscored by a savory herbaceous steak. A web of fine tannins is left to linger, creating a truly classic impression, as mentholated herbs and hints of wild strawberry linger on and on. This youthfully masked beauty will only require minimal cellaring to show its best. EG Dec 2022

Enticing nose of rosemary, wild cherries, lemon peel, chocolate strawberries and praline. It’s medium-bodied with a bright, fruit-forward palate, framed by fine-grained tannins. All in balance. Drink from 2023. Dec 2022

Aromas of ripe berry, forest floor, camphor and new leather form the nose. Juicy and delicious, the elegant palate has an enticing, pristine purity of fruit, delivering succulent red cherry and raspberry compote punctuated with black tea and white pepper before closing on a hint of almond. Vibrant acidity and taut, refined tannins provide support. Drink through 2023–2030. 14% abv. Kerin O’Keefe November 2022 ©kerinokeefe.com

This 2018 Gianni Brunelli Brunello di Montalcino Le Chiuse di Sotto is a medium-deep, quite intense ruby color. On the nose it has a lovely range of aromas such as smoke, sweet spice, cream with both fresh raspberry and raspberry coulis. The aromas are densely packed and layered but also very precise and transparent. On the palate the tannins are assertive but very fine, silty-textured textured tannins like fine grains of sand. The finish is clean, bright and juicy. This wine has medium fruit concentration reflecting the vintage but this is a very lovely expression of the vintage. It is presented unadorned, not heavily oaked but super clean and precise. Classic and traditional in the best sense of the words but with gorgeous drinkability, as always with this producer. Susan Hulme MW Feb 2023 - The Wine Independent

The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino does a great job of capturing the essence and the spirit of Sangiovese, a grape that delivers infinitely nuanced and complex results when in the right hands. This wine reveals wild cherry, blue violet, blood orange, rusty nail and sweet earth. There is a hint of scorched earth or baked clay that underlines the warmest months in this growing cycle. The results are balanced and fresh. I've mentioned alcohol content throughout this report, and although the 14% registered here is still quite high, is it below the average for its peers. This is a job very well done. Some 15,700 bottles, 200 magnums and 30 three-liter bottles were released. ML March 2023

Laced with cherry and raspberry fruit, this red also offers eucalyptus, mineral, earth and almond flavors. Vibrant and balanced, with an intense, mouthwatering finish. Best from 2025 through 2042. BS

As with the 2017 vintage, Laura Brunelli will not be releasing a Riserva. Instead, the Olmo vineyard which typically forms the backbone of the latter is an important component in this annata Brunello, making for a lovely and complete wine. Mint, lavender and fennel lead on the nose while sweet, succulent persimmon and crunchy pomegranate provide the backdrop on the palate, and the chalky tannins are rather sneaky in their grasp. There's a superficial accessibility, but substance, intrigue and backbone suggest even more to come. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2033
Tasted by: Michaela Morris (at Villa Le Prata, Montalcino, 10 Nov 2022)

Lustrous mid ruby. Savoury, minerally nose with perfumed fruit underneath but not really open yet. Elegant, long raspberry-fruit flavours with lots of fresh acidity and gripping, gravelly tannins. Still youthful and it will take more time for the whole to become a unity. WS Nov 2022