2010 Brunello di Montalcino

Unfiltered. Matured for 36 months in large oak casks. Glowing garnet. Clear redcurrant aromas with great ripe-fruit palate entry and a fine definition on the mid palate. Some smokiness on exit. Some richness but no heaviness. Long and precise. Very well done. Admirable purity. (JR)

Sesti's 2010 Brunello di Montalcino is a wine of real class and personality. In fact, the 2010 is one of the best wines I have tasted from this estate in Sant'Angelo in Colle. Iron, sweet red cherries, wild flowers and earthiness are some of the many notes that inform a juicy, plump Brunello that already drinks well. The 2010 is quite forward and fruit-driven, but there is good underlying complexity as well as enough acidity to ensure a decade-plus of fine drinking. My only quibble is that the aromatics could be a little more focused, but that is a relatively small critique for a wine that delivers this much pleasure.

Developed-looking mid ruby with orange rim. A little stalky and closed on the nose and bags of sweet strawberry fruit on the palate, perfectly balanced by racy acidity and chewy tannins. Fantastic tactile tannic finish with cherry and orange-skin notes. (WS)