2017 Luce Sangiovese Merlot
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Tasting notes
The 2017 Luce is a sumptuous, flamboyant wine. Inky red berry fruit, rose petal, cinnamon and new French oak flesh out in a racy, generous wine with no hard edges and plenty of immediacy. The 2017 offers plenty of charm in a bold, immediate style that can be enjoyed with minimal cellaring. This overt, radiant Montalcino red has a ton to offer.
Critic scores
Jancis Robinson MW
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
A Sangiovese/Merlot blend – generally 50:50 – that was apparently the first such grown in Montalcino, initially the result of a collaboration between the ancient Tuscan house of Frescobaldi and Robert Mondavi, beginning in 1993. This bottling is the 25th vintage. Purplish crimson. Rather confusing nose for this wine lover. Merlot certainly seems to be trumping the delicate Sangiovese. Very ripe Merlot with sweet black fruit and a strong oaky backbone and some real dryness on the end at this juncture. Seems very much more Napa than Tuscany to me. I'll decant it to see whether it opens up a bit (it did with food, but then dried out again after a couple of hours). Strange emissary from the land of Brunello – rather like the more exaggerated Brunellos that were made in the 1990s. Not for me, but some may love it. (JR)