2018 Brunello di Montalcino Le Chiuse di Sotto
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Tasting notes
The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino does a great job of capturing the essence and the spirit of Sangiovese, a grape that delivers infinitely nuanced and complex results when in the right hands. This wine reveals wild cherry, blue violet, blood orange, rusty nail and sweet earth. There is a hint of scorched earth or baked clay that underlines the warmest months in this growing cycle. The results are balanced and fresh. I've mentioned alcohol content throughout this report, and although the 14% registered here is still quite high, is it below the average for its peers. This is a job very well done. Some 15,700 bottles, 200 magnums and 30 three-liter bottles were released.
Critic scores
Jancis Robinson MW
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
The darkly alluring 2018 Brunello di Montalcino grumbles up from the glass, with a mix of crushed plums and black cherries complemented by rubbed sage nuances. It’s soft-textured and deep, engulfing the palate in ripe wild berry fruit and spice, underscored by a savory herbaceous steak. A web of fine tannins is left to linger, creating a truly classic impression, as mentholated herbs and hints of wild strawberry linger on and on. This youthfully masked beauty will only require minimal cellaring to show its best.
Lustrous mid ruby. Savoury, minerally nose with perfumed fruit underneath but not really open yet. Elegant, long raspberry-fruit flavours with lots of fresh acidity and gripping, gravelly tannins. Still youthful and it will take more time for the whole to become a unity. (WS)
Translucent crimson. Good grip on the end but the nose is a little indistinct. Tannins still pretty grippy. Rather sour on the finish. (JR)