The 2006 Brunello di Montalcino Sugarille is a tighter, darker and ulimtately more inward Brunello than the Rennina. Dark wild cherries, plums, tobacco, licorice, spices and menthol are wrapped around a substantial frame of tannic heft. Ideally the wine needs at least another few years in bottle, but it is impossible to miss the wine's fabulous sense of poise and harmony. As always, Sugarille is a Brunello that speaks with a distinctly Piedmontese accent. It is a beautiful wine by any measure.

Rich and ripe, with dried fruits with hints of black cherries. Flowers too. Full body, with dark chocolate and berry character. Love the firm and velvety tannins. Wonderful finish. Beautiful Brunello from Gaja. Hard not to drink now.

Bright dark red with ruby tones. Black fruits, licorice, incense and minerals on the nose; smells like a head shop. Utterly silky and perfumed on entry, then tightly coiled in the middle, with a deep sweetness leavened by a saline quality. This very young Brunello boasts a terrific tannic structure and saturates the entire palate. But the rising, expanding finish shows zero excess weight. With time in the recorked bottle, this wine showed an increasingly plush, spherical texture and building minerality.

The 2006 Brunello di Montalcino Sugarille is a tighter, darker and ulimtately more inward Brunello than the Rennina. Dark wild cherries, plums, tobacco, licorice, spices and menthol are wrapped around a substantial frame of tannic heft. Ideally the wine needs at least another few years in bottle, but it is impossible to miss the wine’s fabulous sense of poise and harmony. As always, Sugarille is a Brunello that speaks with a distinctly Piedmontese accent. It is a beautiful wine by any measure. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2026. AG

This very perfumed red evokes flowers, spices and wild underbrush. This is rich and fleshy, boasting plum, licorice, tar and mineral flavors that get a boost from the firm, lively structure. Shows fine density and extract, with a lingering aftertaste. Best from 2014 through 2026. 600 cases imported. BS