2017 Brunello di Montalcino
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Tasting notes
A certified-organic wine, the Máté 2017 Brunello di Montalcino is noted for a stylistic shift that separates this wine from some of the past vintages we've seen from this estate. The focus here is on freshness and lightness, and the wine is redolent of varietal aromas that range from wild rose to tart cherry. There are hints of oak, with some sweet spice and smoke, but those influences are measured and more subtle overall, despite what we know to be the more concentrated personality of this warm vintage. The tannins are a bit tight, but overall, I'm loving this new look for Máté. Production is exactly 11,866 bottles.
Critic scores
Average Score
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Just mid ruby. Closed and savoury and perhaps a little reductive, but with brooding intensity underneath. Ripe, juicy cherry fruit on the palate and long, beautifully integrated tannins. A delicious mouthful of juicy fruit. (WS)
The 2017 Brunello di Montalcino takes some time to blow off its youthfully reductive state, as sugar-dusted black cherries and savory herbs emerge from an air of white pepper and crushed stone. This is remarkably juicy and lifted in character, matched by a vibrant wave of red berries that coasts along the palate with ease, giving way to inner rose and hints of licorice. A coating of fine tannins lingers, nicely balanced by a bump of residual acidity that maintains freshness. The 2017 should only require minimal cellaring to show its best, though it may benefit from a decanting to help its aromatics blossom.