The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Montosoli is quite Burgundian in style, slowly awakening in the glass with a delicate mix of sweet herbs, crushed violet candies, hints of spiced orange and wild strawberries. It boasts a stunning purity of fruit and inner sweetness, seeming to hover across the palate, as red berries and saline-minerals slowly saturate under a purple-tinged air of inner florals. The 2018 leaves a grippy coating of fine tannins, yet balances them with a residual bump of zesty acidity, finishing long, lightly structured and with immaculate balance. This is the first official vintage of Vigna Montosoli, a wine that I've been following now for over two years, and each time it seems to only grow in both volume and depth. EG Dec 2022

Enticing nose of bergamot, burdock root, dried and sour cherries, licorice and raw walnuts. Powerful, with a full body and firm, well-integrated and polished tannins supporting a compact core of spice and wild cherry fruit. Plenty of depth. Try after 2024. Dec 2022

This 2018 Canalicchio di Sopra Vigna Montesoli is the first release for this producer from their single vineyard Montesoli. Montesoli is probably the most famous vineyard in Brunello area and is situated in northern part of the DOCG. The nose is gentle and elegant with intriguing, mineral, savory notes like dark earth, wet stones and mushroom that weave their way around the red cherry and flowers. There is a sort of stoney, fresh, earth feeling of terroir on the palate accompanied by a great texture and some lovely, creamy, fragrant oak-spice. This wine shows great harmony and ease on the palate. It disappears in a wonderful, silky flow with a gossamer-like texture and a little dark earth and iron twist to the flavors on the finish. What a great debut! Feb 2023 Susan Hulme MW The Wine Independent

Taking things to the next level, the 2018 Brunello Di Montalcino Vigna Montosoli is outstanding, with fleshy red cherry, menthol, cedar, and forest floor. It is full-bodied, though more savory and compact in nature than the base Brunello Di Montalcino, with sage, dried herbs, graphite, dark earth, and plum pit. It is coiled and needs time in the cellar before drinking, and although it is less obvious in this wine, I think it will be the winner long term. Drink 2025-2040. AF March 2023

Here's an exciting new addition to the growing Canalicchio di Sopra portfolio. With fruit from one of the most celebrated subzones in the appellation, the 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Montosoli shows a unique profile. The wine opens to a solid core of red and purple fruits, all framed by light spice, crushed stone or chalky limestone. The fiber of this wine is lean, tight and elegantly streamlined. It hits the palate with intensity and softness, and it delivers especially fine tannins. Francesco Ripaccioli made 3,733 bottles and 200 magnums. ML March 2023

Medium-bodied and open-knit, offering tomato leaf, plum, cherry, licorice, earth and spice flavors. Stays focused, courtesy of good cut, with a silky texture and tannins that leave a slight sinewy feel on the finish. Overall, this is harmonious, complex and long. Best from 2025 through 2042. BS

Canalicchio di Sopra’s 2018 Vigna Montosoli, its debut single-vineyard bottling from this celebrated hill, is drop-dead gorgeous. Fragrant and all about elegance, it opens with enticing scents of wild rose, botanical herb, new leather and forest berry. Seamlessly fusing finesse and structure, the delicious palate delivers juicy Morello cherry, raspberry sprinkled with cinnamon, rosemary and thyme before a savory saline mineral finish. It boats great energy and impeccable balance, with taut, refined tannins and vibrant acidity. I just love it. Drink 2025–2038. Kerin O’Keefe November 2022 ©kerinokeefe.com