2016 Fattoria dei Barbi Brunello di Montalcino

The 2016 Brunello has delicate savory aromas of rosemary, dried raspberry, and floral forest floor. There is freshness and pure ripe fruit that fills the palate, with blood orange, dried red cherry, and fresh tomato leaf as well as classic, angular tannin structure and a pleasant light bitterness. This wonderfully expressed traditional wine will be prime for enjoyment over the next 15 years. 2021-2036.

The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is a delicate and graceful wine. It shows the precision, linearity and power of the vintage for sure, but it also delivers floral tones, bright raspberry, toasted almond and a playful touch of medicinal herb that shape a careful and contemplative bouquet. Those bright aromatic nuances are followed by silky tannins and softly finessed fruit flavors. With an ample 160,000 bottles made, this is a solid go-to Brunello, especially if you are looking for a bottle with a relatively accessible drinking window.

Dark and minerally intense from start to finish, the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino displays crushed stone and ashen earth tones before blossoming further with notes of black cherry, cedar box and sage. The textures are creamy, with cooling acids that lift the expression while also maintaining an energetic feel, as tart wild berries and spices give way to a coating of fine tannins. This is full of character, yet youthfully poised and tense, but it’s like a bomb waiting to explode. Fattoria dei Barbi really overdelivers in 2016, but it will be a number of years before this is truly ready to drink.