Wine Advocate (95+)

Il Poggione is a Brunello superstar and a vintage like this reveals every reason why that affirmation is true. From the second the 2012 Brunello di Montalcino pours into the glass, you know you are in for something special. The wine is darkly saturated and rich in appearance. Absent are those slightly amber or browning hues you often get with Sangiovese in a hot vintage. Nor does the wine show flat or tired characteristics. Instead, the quality of fruit is vibrant and rich. This is a healthy, generous and exuberant Brunello with dark density and succulent fruit flavors that are followed by integrated spice and tobacco. The balance is impressive and one thing you get here is fresh acidity. This is not to be underestimated, because the acidity quota in the 2012 vintage across the appellation is not as high or evident as usual. This is one of the year's best Brunellos.

Decanter (96)

The harvest date returned once more to that of tradition, commencing on 23 September – whereas these days it usually begins around 3 September. This could therefore be considered a fresh if not cool vintage, yet the long growing season helped the extraction of velvety tannins, concentrated on the mid-palate. The structure, combined with bright cassis notes, a core of cherry and crystallised violet, and savoury minerality on the finish, will keep the wine in good shape for the long haul.

Wine Advocate (94)

Il Poggione has one of the appellation's most enviable track records for quality and cellar longevity. The 2014 Brunello di Montalcino is a different beast. This wine prizes elegance, finesse and a compact mouthfeel. I would suggest a slightly shorter drinking window of approximately ten years. No matter how you cut it, the wine is absolutely beautiful and indeed ranks high on a list of favorite wines from the vintage. The bouquet is chiseled and tight with wild blueberry, plum, red rose and a touch of cherry confit. No doubt the mouthfeel is thinner in this vintage, but the wine has plenty more going on to keep your attention. I'm liking it. I went back to the bottle a few days after it had been opened and the wine was still going strong. Some 110,000 bottles were made.

Vinous (97)

Il Poggione 2015 Brunello di Montalcino offers up a dark, earthy, almost animal-like expression, showing black soil and undergrowth, giving way to crushed black cherry, dusty spice, and dried florals which lift the experience. On the palate, soft, fleshy textures usher in fresh cherry and strawberry, as brisk acids add energy, with savory herbs and minerals saturating, as the 2015 Il Poggione’s fruit nearly masks its structural core. The finish is long yet fresh, with classic, fine tannins, dried red fruits and pretty inner floral tones lingering throughout this perfectly balanced expression. The 2015 s pure class and built for the cellar.

Vinous (97)

I’m not sure how Il Poggione manages to remain one of the largest producers of Brunello, maintaining such a high level of quality and turning out some of the best wines of the vintage year after year - but they do. The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is yet another stunning example. Depths of mineral-encased black cherries, sage, allspice, licorice, tobacco and crushed violets lift up from the glass. It’s seamlessly silky, even as the palate is peppered with tart red and black berries, nervous acids and savory exotic spices. This shows the density and weight of the vintage in a youthfully monolithic stance, yet with all the necessary components to maintain perfect balance. The 2016 Il Poggione seems to fold in upon itself through the finish, which is dark, mysterious and structured, with only hints of black tea and licorice to tempt the imagination. It’s a classic in the making.

Wine Enthusiast (95)

Underbrush, camphor and new leather aromas get together with grilled herbs. Full-bodied and structured, it also shows restraint, featuring dried black cherry, licorice and tobacco alongside firm, fine-grained tannins.

Wine Advocate (97)

This single-vineyard Riserva delivers a generous, abundant and determined personality. This is Brunello with a capital B. The 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Vigna Paganelli benefits from a warm and sun-soaked microclimate that is shielded from cold winter winds. You can taste the good health of the grapes thanks to those very direct aromas of black cherry, plum, tar, campfire ash and chalky mineral. The Paganelli vineyard is 12 hectares in size, with vines planted in 1964. The last time this wine was made was in 2012. Fruit from those old vines shape complex aromas, elegant tannins and bright freshness. Despite that handsome DNA, this is another new release from Il Poggione that will require more cellar age. I'd suggest drinking a bottle from this 40,000-bottle release after the 10-year mark.

Vinous (98)

A beguiling mix of camphor and minty herbs, along with crushed stone, blows off slowly to reveal dark depths of black raspberry, licorice, autumnal spice and worn leather as the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Vigna Paganelli unfolds in the glass. Its textures are unexpectedly soft and velvety-smooth, coupled with depths of intense red fruits that make an appearance just before a mix of brisk acids and tannins creates a more tactile and youthfully clenching expression toward the finale. This leaves the palate aching under the 2016’s structural heft, yet with plenty of primary concentration to balance, as wild savory herbs and earthy mineral tones linger for up to a minute. The potential here is off the charts, but readers will need to be very patient. The Riserva Vigna Paganelli is a cru selection of old vines that refines for 48 months in large French oak barrels of 33–52 hectoliters.

Jeb Dunnuck (98+)

A powerhouse of a wine that flirts with perfection, the 2019 Hermitage reveals a dense purple hue as well as an extraordinary bouquet of sweet blue fruits supported by notes of crushed stone, lead pencil, leather, and ground pepper, with hints of flowers in the background. Full-bodied, stunningly pure, and massively concentrated, yet with riveting precision and elegance, it needs to be hidden in the back of the cellar for a decade and will evolve for 30, 40, if not 50 years. Tasting the trilogy of the 2018, 2019, and 2020 over the coming decades will be the equivalent of wine nirvana.

Jeb Dunnuck (99)

Another heavenly white from this estate is the 2020 Hermitage Blanc, which is the usual 80% Marsanne and 20% Roussanne from a mix lieux-dits. Incredibly perfumed with notes of acacia flowers, buttered stone fruits, toasted brioche, honeysuckle, and crushed stone, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a seamless, layered texture, beautiful mid-palate depth, and a great finish. The purity, balance, and intensity here are just about off the charts, and this beauty deserves a solid decade of bottle age, although you'll be excused if you drink one in its youth as well.

Kerin O'Keefe (97)

The nose is classic forest floor, violet, new leather and ripe berry while the luminous, full-bodied palate offers layers of depth and finesse even at this young age, including succulent Morello cherry, strawberry compote, licorice and black tea. It’s delicious and beautifully balanced, with bright acidity and tightly woven, fine-grained tannins.

James Suckling (96)

Incredible purity of fruit to this red with plums, cherries and berries. Full body, ripe and silky tannins and a fantastically long finish. Love the bitter-orange undertone to this. Drink in 2020.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is lifted with aromatics of soft medicinal herbs, fresh soil, cherry fruit, and dried flowers. The palate is fresh with black cherry fruit, tea leaf, orange peel, and mineral-rich, stony earth. There is well-integrated structure, with crispness, fresh acidity, and a beautifully long finish. This is one of my favorite wines of the vintage for its classic structure, high complexity, and nuanced, balanced style.

Vinous (97)

Le Potazzine 's 2015 Brunello di Montalcino is fabulous. The bouquet is showing an earthy display, with smoky minerals and dark soil tones up front, evolving with time in the glass, as crushed black cherry mixes with wild, savory herbs and dried dusty florals. On the palate, gorgeously ripe red fruits are balanced by a mix of saline-minerals, savory spice and zesty acidity, as fine tannin slowly mounts beneath its pretty inner floral tones. The finish is long with a salty-savory twang of minerals and spice, as hints of hard red candies and a bit of citrus lingers over a core of tannic heft. There is so much to like about the 2015, from its classic and earthy bouquet to its fleshy yet balanced palate and totally classic finish. Simply stunning and so pleasurable.

Vinous (95)

The remarkably pretty 2016 Brunello di Montalcino shows a pure bouquet full of wild strawberries, woodland berries and herbs with a hint of crushed stone. It’s soft and enveloping, displaying fleshy red fruits, savory spice and salty minerals, while vibrant acids maintain wonderful freshness. It’s only at the very end that its youthful structure comes forward, grippy and classically drying, yet under an air of red licorice and inner rose. There’s a beautiful harmony to this vintage of Le Potazzine, which should provide a long and wide drinking window.

Jeb Dunnuck (94)

The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is perfumed with high-toned aromatics of fresh rosehip, fresh red cherry, and anise. The palate is crisp and energetic with cherry pit, dried red plum, and fresh tomato leaf, with fine-grained tannins with linear acidity. A vibrant wine to enjoy 2023-2033.

Jeb Dunnuck (98)

Fornace is located in Castelnuovo dell'Abate in the southeast at lower elevations than the rest of the single vineyards of the Le Ragnaie estate. The 2016 Fornace Brunello is perfumed with perfectly ripe cherry, dried roses, sweet herbs, and licorice. The aromatics move seamlessly to the palate and unfold with kirsch, blood orange, and stony earth. Upfront, there is juicy ripe cherry fruit, blood orange, and salty earth. Ordinarily I would gravitate toward the more tension-driven wines, but this was what I felt to be the most pleasurable and joyful wine on this tasting, so much so that I would keep going back to wanting more. There is a seamless integration through the whole experience, and I do feel there will be longevity despite its immediate gratification. Enjoy over the next 15-20 years. 2021-2041.

James Suckling (98)

This is intense and complex yet subtle with fantastic aromas of rose petal, plum, clove and fresh mushroom. Hints of stems. Full body, focused and polished with a linear line of tannins and fabulous length. A beauty. Better after 2021 but already a joy to taste.

James Suckling (100)

Blackberries, black walnuts and black cherries, as well as loads of chewy tannins. Some smoked wood, wood tannins and even black truffles. It’s full-bodied and powerful with loads going on. It just keeps growing on the palate. So much wet earth and black olive at the finish with porcini mushrooms, too. Needs time to soften. Crazy finish. Try after 2025.

James Suckling (98)

Ripe, decadent aromas of blackberries, black truffles and black cherries with hints of violets. Dark, wet earth, too. Full-bodied with a solid core of beautiful, pure fruit and creamy, round and fine tannins. Tight and reserved, but showing wonderful potential. Try after 2025.

Wine Enthusiast (96)

All you need is a few swirls of the glass to release the perfumed aromas of wild berry, forest floor, new leather and crushed herb. The palate shows precision and finesse, offering red cherry, cranberry, baking spice and tobacco set against taut refined tannins and bright acidity. It's still youthfully austere but will bloom with more bottle aging.

Decanter (97)

Sitting just below the town of Montalcino, Padelletti's six hectares are northeast-facing on clay soil rich in sandstone and limestone. The estate offers elegant yet profound wines epitomised by the 2016 vintage. It opens gradually with scents of violet, lilac, truffle and liquorice. Midweight and fluid, with finessed but firm tannins and brisk acidity, this finishes long with savoury tea notes. A magnificent reminder that Brunello doesn’t need to be a powerhouse to be ageworthy.

Wine Advocate (94)

The 1966 La Chapelle's bouquet possessed the most spectacular and persistent aromas of any wine in the vertical tasting. Dried herbs, new saddle leather, soy, roasted duck, grilled steak, and copious quantities of cassis, blackberry, and prune notes soared from the glass of this spectacularly fragrant effort. The promise exhibited by the bouquet did not come through on the palate. Nevertheless, there is still plenty of life remaining in this glycerin-imbued, expansive, lush, low acid, concentrated La Chapelle.

Jeb Dunnuck (99)

The 2017 Hermitage La Chapelle showed incredibly well and is a brilliant wine that's reminiscent of a richer, denser 2011. Loads of sun-kissed dark fruits, leather, graphite, and flowers, with ample spice and sandalwood nuances, give way to a full-bodied, pure, deep, multi-dimensional Hermitage that’s just about as good as it gets. The balance, length, and depth of this is something to behold, and while it unquestionably offers pleasure today, it has another 20-30 years of prime drinking ahead of it.

Matthew Jukes (20++)

Like La Maison Bleue, La Chapelle barely moved an inch over the five days that it sat open (and gradually oxidising) on my tasting bench. This is a monumental wine with the finest Syrah nose I have seen since the ethereal and intriguing beauty of the remarkable 2016 vintage and also the monolithic stance of the legendary 1990. However, this is not to say that this vintage can be directly compared to either year. There is a latent power about this wine that is as elusive as it is impressive. This solaire vintage has certainly given La Chapelle a sense of foreboding power and yet there is so much grace here, too. You could be sniffing a handful of granite and gravel, a bouquet of freshly picked herbs, a mortar of freshly ground pepper or a punnet of juicy black fruit and yet there is so much more to discover here. What I find so remarkable about this wine is that it does not show any trace of over-ripeness nor does it have any unwanted oiliness or excessive alcohol. In spite of its richness and depth, this is a pristinely refreshing wine with crunch and crackle of filigree tannin which enlivens every sip. In this regard, it is a far less obvious superstar than the preening 1990 and it is a more erudite and statuesque model than the esoteric 2016. In short, this is one of only a handful of vintages of La Chapelle to which I have awarded a perfect score and who is to say that this will not happen again before too long? The care and attention in this entire portfolio of wines are evident and the hard work and holistic approach are not only paying off in the vineyards but also in the glass, too, and this makes 2019 another phenomenally successful vintage for Jaboulet.

Matthew Jukes (19++)

I fell for this wine in a microsecond – the very moment the first molecule of perfume exploded on my receptors. This is a step-change vintage for La Maison Bleue because I have not seen this degree of single-mindedness and overriding intention before in this wine. 2019 La Maison Bleue seems as if it has realised that it does not need to sit behind La Chapelle in Caroline Frey’s portfolio. It signals, loud and clear, that it ought to be seated alongside its more renowned stablemate and be accorded the opportunity to address the masses as an equal, not a subordinate. This is a bold move from this honed, sleek wine. In 2019, with just that little bit more power and ambition under its belt, it has broken free and it looks absolutely sensational. The fruit is regal and layered and the tannins are precision-cut and perfectly positioned making it every inch a superstar. By the end of day five of my tasting these amazing wines, La Maison Bleue seemed as if it were saying, let’s keep going! While this is a ‘finished barrel sample’, this wine wanted to be tested to its limits and I cannot fault its enthusiasm and excellence. You simply must track it down!

Matthew Jukes (18.5+)

With epic balance and stunning poise, La Maison Bleue is a Burgundian-shaped Hermitage in 2020, making it all the more intriguing and memorable. Like the others in this portfolio, the control here is remarkable, and the weight and length are astounding, too. Iodine and menthol hints coupled with garrigue and sanguineous moments add drama and detail to the sleek black core, but this is not an over-ripe or over-enthusiastic wine but a measured and contemplative soul. Delicious.

Matthew Jukes (19+)

There is extraordinary equilibrium in this sensational wine. It is so finely balanced it is baffling, and the depth and richness is offset with the most dramatic acid and strident minerality I have seen in a wine of this style. There are profound meadow-flower and stone fruit flavour here which enchant the senses but they are marshalled brilliantly by the citrus pith and green apple skin raspiness on the finish. This is the most exciting Chevalier I have ever tasted and it rivals the very best whites from this region and others besides.

Jeb Dunnuck (98+)

The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is rich in aromatics of black raspberry, menthol, sage, and lavender. It is fruit forward upfront, with pure cherry fruit, balsamic, and black tea with classically structured tannins and acidity that lifts off the palate and a long finish. It was aged for 6 months in tonneaux followed by two years in large barrels. Cellar 2-4 years and enjoy 2024-2036.

Falstaff (99)

Bright, flint garnet red. Seductive nose with pronounced notes of wild raspberry, some strawberry, underlaid with liquorice tones. On the palate extremely juicy and clear, many churches, in addition pomegranate and some blood orange, much tension, very long finish.