Flavors of medicinal herbs, juniper, macerated cherry, plum, tobacco and spice are the hallmarks of this intense red, which is ripe and concentrated, yet sleek and focused. Spice notes chime in on the long, minerally and firmly tannic finish. Best from 2023 through 2040. BS

A rich ruby hue, the 2012 Brunello Di Montalcino Cerretalto is ripe and pure, with kirsch, polished leather, anise, and cedar. It is full-bodied without weight and has an elegant yet expansive mouthfeel, with ripe tannins and a velvety texture balanced with fresh acidity. It has fantastic length, with notes of wild raspberry, red plum, dried rose petal, and sweet herbs. It is in a beautiful place for drinking now and shows no signs of slowing down or moving into more tertiary notes. An exquisite wine, it warrants decanting as it opens. Drink 2023-2043.

The 2012 Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto offers a prolonged, flowing and carefully massaged drinking experience that drapes over the senses with some studied intensity and lots of intriguing complexity. This wine nails that perfect balance between power and elegance (that elusive exchange that so many winemakers hope to achieve) with effortless precision. Bold cherry fruit and spice are tightly woven together. In the mouth, the wine shows texture, depth and succulence. Generally speaking, this is not my favorite vintage in Montalcino, but this wine suddenly made me forget that thought.

Vivid red with a pale rim. Tight, pure aromas of black fruits, potpourri, black pepper, roast coffee and graphite. Dense, tactile and rich, conveying a multilayered texture and very good lift to the super-ripe, super-concentrated blackberry and red cherry fruit. Impeccably balanced, this rather plush wine is most impressive today on the very long, suavely tannic finish that features repeating herbal notes. I have never been a fan of the Cerretalto, and have truly disliked even some famous vintages of this wine scored very highly by other wine critics, but it’s hard to argue with the 2013 Cerretalto, another outstanding Brunello released by owner Giacomo Neri this year.

The Casanova di Neri domain of Giacomo Neri and his family has been one of the pioneers of sub-zonal, single-vineyard Brunello: its celebrated Cerretalto and Pietradonice wines are both sourced from single vineyards in the southern half of the DOCG zone, the former just underneath the town itself to the east, and the latter close to Castelnuovo dell’Abbate. This is a dark wine with scents of currants and plums, wax and incense spice. There’s great wealth on the palate and ample fruit architecture, even after the requisite ageing trajectory; once again the dark plums are haunted by incense spice notes and the dark, alluring glow of hearth embers.