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The 2016 Gabbro, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, is one of the most compelling wines I have ever tasted from Montepeloso. In most prior vintages, Gabbro has been rich and concentrated, but the 2016 flows with a sense of total refinement. Wild flowers, herbs, licorice, lavender, graphite and spice add myriad shades of dimension to a core of dark, beautifully resonant fruit. A wine of real gravitas and structure, the 2016 is going to require a number of years to be at its best, but it is stunning, even in the early going. In fact, I am simply blown away by how integrated it already is.
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Average Score
James Suckling
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
An evocative wine that shows dark chocolate, bark, cedar, hot stones, coffee beans, wet earth and spice box. Thereâs a beautiful sweet-and-sour character, which the combination of ripe fruit and firm tannins only helps to accentuate. Despite the layered richness the palate supports, it ends bright and fresh with a long, muscular finish. Needs time to come around but very polished. Pure cabernet sauvignon. Drink from 2025.
The 2016 Gabbro is every bit as stunning today as it was a year ago. The aromatics are just a touch closed because of the wine's recent bottling, but the depth of fruit, energy and persistence the wine showed from barrel are all present. Sage, lavender, graphite and crème de cassis add shades of nuance, and yet the 2016 remains very primary. Readers will need to be very patient. This is a tremendous expression of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Tuscan coast.
A wine of striking purity and nuance, the 2016 Gabbro shows tremendous potential. Crème de cassis, lavender, crushed rocks, violet and blueberry jam are all vibrant and finely cut in the glass. If proprietor Fabio Chiarellotto will have a fabulous wine on his hands if he captures the level of purity and aromatic intensity in bottle the 2016 shows from barrel.