2017 Brunello di Montalcino Cielo d’Ulisse
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Tasting notes
The Podere le Ripi 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Cielo d'Ulisse is quite expressive in terms of its aromas while maintaining a pretty, mid-weight approach. The wine shows tension and bright acidity with forest fruit, peat moss, dried violets and earthy button mushroom. It is elegant and graceful with a silky character that caresses the palate. It also shows terrific tannic integration (not an easy feat in this hot and dry vintage) with a polished, almost glossy finish. I have a very good impression of this 2017 Brunello.
Critic scores
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Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Mid ruby with the beginning of orange tinges. Savoury, minerally rather than fruity on the nose and with sweet, spicy hints. Plentiful, open-knit sour-cherry fruit on the palate. Straightforward, long and concentrated. (WS)
After a good amount of time in the glass, a bouquet of dark, musky blackberries, savory herbs, cedar shavings and crushed stone smolders up from the 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Cielo d'Ulisse. It’s soft and pliant, with an unexpectedly pure and perfumed display of ripe woodland berries and inner rose tones. This remains juicy and lifted throughout the finale, even as grippy tannins pinch at the cheeks. The Cielo d'Ulisse hails from vineyards in the extreme southwest that Podere Le Ripi acquired in 2016. The wine spent 24 months in large casks, followed by another 26 months in concrete.