"The 2017 Brunello di Montalcino is beautifully bright and stitched up with extreme focus and sharpness. Sangiovese has this gorgeous ability to show linearity and lift, but it remains elegant and tight at the same time. This wine accomplishes all of this, and that's saying a lot given the heat and drought of this vintage. The acidity is bright and the finish is long and smooth with citrusy end notes of blood orange followed by wild rose and lilac. Fruit comes from a 4.5-hectare site with sand and galestro soils. Production is exactly 15,014 bottles. Maria Laura Vacca Brunelli and her team harvested about one week early in 2017 to capture that varietal freshness."

Aromas of ripe black-skinned fruit, tar and tobacco mingle with aromas of dark spice, coconut and new leather. On the full-bodied, enveloping palate, smooth, fine-grained tannins weave through mature Morello cherry, crushed black raspberry, licorice and camphor framed in firm, refined tannins. It closes on a hint of espresso. Drink 2025-2032.

The 2017 Brunello di Montalcino is deeply expressive, showing peppery red berries and pomegranate plus hints of tomato leaf and sage, reminding me of that moment you add fresh herbs to a just-finished ragù. This is pure silk on the palate, rich and pliant, as it slowly saturates the senses with mineral-laced red and hints of blue fruit. Intensely primary and licorice-tinged, it tapers off grippy and classically dry to lasting rosy florals. The 2017 is a bit like a tamed beast of a Brunello.