2017 Brunello di Montalcino Horizontal

“Aromas of red cherries, plums and pungent flowers follow through to a full body with medium chewy tannins that appear polished and creamy. Turns lightly dusty and savory with walnut and ripe fruit in the aftertaste. Drink or hold.” (10/2021)

“The Fanti 2017 Brunello di Montalcino shows a slightly robust consistency and a heavier center of gravity compared to recent past releases. The wine is sensual and rich with impactful favors of red and purple fruit, forest floor, campfire ash and ferrous earth. The mouthfeel is powerful, but the wine still imparts a delicate, smooth-sailing personality with good tannic management. Production is 48,000 bottles. (ML)” (02/2022)

“The 2017 Brunello di Montalcino is dark and balsamic in style, offering wild berries and woodland herbs complemented by hints of clove and cocoa. It’s unbelievably rich and potent, and almost creamy in texture, with ripe black currants and plums giving way to hints of mocha. This wraps the palate up tightly, delivering grippy tannins and a layer of primary concentration that creates an aching tension, as hints of licorice and bitter chocolate fade. The massive and powerful 2017 has all of the right ingredients in the right proportions to mature evenly. That said, I believe it will always have the feel of a caged beast. (EG)” (11/2021)

“Aromas recalling forest floor, camphor oil, dark spice and dried tobacco leaves come together in the glass. On the full-bodied palate, tightly woven, close-grained tannins accompany licorice, espresso, coconut and dried cherry. (KO)” (04/2022)

“The 2017 Brunello di Montalcino shows dried raspberry and cherry, with hints of baked fruit, earthy terracotta and clay. These more robust aromas can definitely be associated with the hot and dry conditions present in this growing season. However, that Padelletti house style that prizes elegance and graceful fruit is also front and center. This wine cozies up the senses with silky softness and smooth lines. (ML)” (02/2022)

“The 2017 Brunello di Montalcino wafts up with a classic bouquet of dusty dried cherries, rubbed sage and hints of underbrush and worn leather. It’s elegant yet light on its feet, presenting a pure display of bright red berries and savory spices, as an air of balsam herbs forms toward the close. The tannins are surprisingly well-rounded for this vintage, as the 2017 tapers off lightly structured with rosy florals, minerals and a lovely freshness that makes it very easy to return to the glass for more. While Sara Rossi of Padelletti spoke of the difficulties of the vintage and the work done in the vineyards and winery to counteract it, she also explained that production was average, which makes me wonder just how much fruit Padelletti doesn’t use in a normal year. That said, this is a total success for the vintage. (EG)” (12/2021)

“This is very drinkable and delicious for a 2017 with plum, cherry and a light mushroom and stone character. It’s full-bodied with fresh acidity and medium tannins. A little hollow in the center palate but drinks very well.” (11/2021)

“Ripe plum and dried citrus notes in the form of oranges on the nose follow through to a full body with juicy fruit and a creamy and rather chewy aftertaste. This 2017 shows some balance and focus for the vintage, considering the hot growing conditions.” (11/2021)

“Purchased by Amarone maven Marilisa Allegrini in 2007, San Polo is in south Montalcino’s Podernovi zone. With vineyards reaching 450 metres above sea level, the area has become quite sought after. 2017 represents the estate’s first vintage with organic certification. Cedary oak notes marry well with baked earth, ripe forest berries and plum cake. While not bracing in its acidity, there is nice freshness to counter the lushness of fruit. Malleable tannins give plenty to chew on but are soft and yielding. Ready to go with upfront pleasure. (MM)” (11/2021)

“Black currant and cherry flavors mingle in this robust red, with iron, tobacco and wild herbs adding detail. Fresh and juicy, with well-integrated tannins and a lingering finish. (BS)” (06/2022)

“The 2017 Brunello di Montalcino shows depths of black raspberry and cherry fruit complemented by a whiff of sweet mint. While it’s a bit linear, this impresses more on its balance and focus, as silky textures cast a polished display of red and hints of blue fruit across the palate. A twang of sour citrus mixes with savory herbal tones through the finale, where nuanced tannins help to punctuate the experience nicely. (EG)” (12/2021)

“Lots of ripe plum and fresh flowers on the nose follow through to a full body with layers of fruit and polished yet chewy tannins. Sort of dusty texture. Flavorful and delicious. Transparent.” (11/2021)

“The ColleMassari group took over this property in 2016, with 64 vineyard acres adjacent to the group’s Poggio di Sotto estate in Castelnuovo dell’Abate, in the southeastern sector of Montalcino. This is the first vintage that Federico Staderini and his team controlled from start to finish, aging the wine in 30-hectoliter Slavonian casks instead of the small barrels that had been used in previous years. It unfolds with flavors of black cherry and sour cherry laced with notes of licorice, blood orange and mortared herbs. Tangy acidity propels the flavors as they ride on big, smooth tannins that feel classically powerful.” (04/2022)

“The San Giorgio 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Ugolforte (with 30,000 bottles made) is a little subdued when compared to the 2016 vintage, and it delivers broad aromas of plummy dark fruit, spice and crushed roses. The wine is mid-weight in texture, but there is a good amount of power packed within, thanks to the wine's structure and its compact fruit. (ML)” (02/2022)

“Tightly wound, this red evokes cherry, raspberry, plum, iron and tobacco flavors, with a solid tannic spine giving this support and a firm grip on the lingering finish. Tips a wee bit to the tannins in overall harmony, yet this is complex and long. (BS)” (06/2022)

“Poggio di Sotto’s sister estate, Tenuta San Giorgio was purchased by the Tipa-Bertarelli family in late 2016. As of the 2017 vintage, the two share the same winemaking team with the talented Federico Staderini consulting. This is its usual balsamic self on the nose, with dusty clay and cherry compote joining those classic oily herbs on the palate. At the moment, it demonstrates structure over fruit and the tannins are a tad dry and rustic. Finishes on a tarry, leather note.” (11/2021)

“This opens with aromas recalling dark spice, leather, forest floor and a whiff of coconut. The taut, linear palate starts off with dried cherry, licorice and coffee bean before close-grained tannins jump to the forefront and leave an abrupt, rather astringent finish. Despite the drying tannins, drink sooner rather than later to capture the remaining fruit.” (12/2021)

“This is a beautiful, fresh 2017 Brunello with fine tannins and a medium body of cherry, bark, cedar and pine-needle flavors. It’s long and polished with ultra-fine tannins and fresh acidity. Nicely done for the vintage. Drink or hold.” (10/2021)

“Tenute Silvio Nardi is an estate worth visiting. It occupies one of the most extreme locations in the appellation, tucked away into the hills north of the town in a wild no-man's-land of its own. Once you get there, there is a cozy, warm feeling, with vineyards carved out of the surrounding Mediterranean shrub oaks and forests. If you taste forest floor, button mushroom and wild flowers in the 2017 Brunello di Montalcino, you could easily imagine this magical place. This is a silky, mid-weight Brunello with a cool-climate character (which is preserved despite the hot vintage). (ML)” (02/2022)

“An intense red, with saturated flavors of blackberry and plum shaded by earth, eucalyptus and mineral notes. All its components are in the right place, and it's backed by a spine of refined and resonant tannins. (BS)” (06/2022)

“Lots of ripe, plummy fruit and dried flowers follow through to a full body with round, juicy tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Some fine tannins. Very alluring for the vintage.” (10/2021)

“The 2017 Brunello di Montalcino shows some ripe, hot-vintage fruit with baked cherry and strawberry confit. There is a softness to the wine, which is enhanced by bigger fruit weight and fiber and more of those dark fruit characteristics. Sangiovese always counters with fresh acidity, and this element helps to balance out this wine on the mid-weight finish. This is an accessible, near-term Brunello. (ML)” (02/2022)

“Aromas of ripe wild berry, forest floor and new leather take shape in the glass along with spicy notes. On the full-bodied, enveloping palate, velvety tannins accompany stewed prune, cherries marinated in spirits and licorice. You’ll also notice the heat of alcohol on the close.” (12/2021)

“Plums, strawberries, wild herbs and hints of wet stone form an earthy yet pretty bouquet as the 2017 Brunello di Montalcino blossoms in the glass. This is silky and round, offering a savory mix of red berries and spices, all carried by zesty acidity that creates a pleasantly juicy and fresh impression. While tannic, it’s also potent and long, lingering on hints of mulberry and purple-tinged inner florals. I don’t expect this to be the longest-lived Brunello of Tenuta di Sesta, but it will certainly provide a lot of pleasure over the medium term. (EG)” (11/2021)

“The 2017 Brunello di Montalcino is cool-toned and remarkably pretty, scents of fresh wild herbs and peppery florals giving way to crushed woodland berries and a contrasting flourish of blood orange. Its textures are like pure silk, energized by zesty acidity and becoming quite spicy over time, as tart cherry-berry flavors and saline-minerals saturate deeply. Grippy tannins come forward through the licorice-tinged finale as this tapers off slightly structured, almost salty and remarkably fresh. The 2017 possesses all of the traits of a classic Voliero Brunello, and it’s only in the slightly gruff tannins that you find any mark of the warm, dry vintage. This is exceptional. (EG)” (11/2021)

“Aromas of ripe cherries, dried flowers and orange peel follow through to a full body with round, velvety tannins and a flavorful finish. Juicy, plush and fruity at the end. Drink or hold.” (10/2021)

“Uccelliera’s Andrea Cortonesi produces a second label called Voliero. The vineyards are on the way to Sant’Angelo in Colle,reaching 420 metres above sea level. He bottles these separately so as not to change the profile of Uccelliera, which is made from lower-lying vineyards around Castelnuovo dell’Abate. Where Uccelliera shows heavy, macerated fruit in 2017, Voliero offers an appetising mineral lift and tangy savouriness of acidity. It is nonetheless full and rich, with flavours of sweet herb and spiced plum. (MM)” (11/2021)