The best Brunello di Montalcino wines: Expert reviews

Little has changed at Biondi Santi in terms of their general approach to winemaking over the years. The Riserva is made from the estate's oldest...

The 2012 Riserva is the last vintage produced by Franco Biondi Santi, and so this release is dedicated to him. Of the 39 Riservas the...

Giancarlo Pacenti’s selection of old vines uses age and experience to add a velvety wrap around firm, crunchy, beautifully focussed tannins. This is a crowd-pleaser...

A really hot year, but no sense of baked, jammy fruit here. Smooth and intense; you really get a sense of the underlying power of...

A sun-trap Sangiovese from the wilder, warmer, south side of town. Lightly coloured, powerfully perfumed and intensely, agreeably textured. Lovely – but the longer you...

Captures this vintage’s cool spring then blindingly sunny autumn. An intense perfume of mint and cranberry, delicately layered tannins, it is creamy with beautiful defined...

<p>Four hectare, SE-facing, 300m, calcium-rich, free-draining sandy clay, SE of Montalcino. This radiates clarity, has breadth and depth. Brilliant interplay between picked-to-perfection fruit and moreish...

San Polino’s Brunellos are marked by generous layers of fruit, tannins that are equally deep, and a welcome, smooth savouriness which effortlessly draws you in....

A significant new release for Canalicchio di Sopra, La Casaccia is a single vineyard close to the winery in the district of Canalicchio, north of...

Tenuta Nuova has been produced since 1993. It represents Casanova di Neri's 'newer' vineyard of Le Cetine in the southern reaches of Montalcino which boasts...

Ugolaia is a 1.7ha southwest-facing plot that looks out toward the sea, where temperature swings between day and night are significant. Here, the estate's oldest...

Costanti’s 2010 truly lives up to the hype of this highly touted vintage. Warm but not extreme, it was defined by cool nights that preserved...

Francesco Ripaccioli only has 11 harvests under his belt but calls 2013 the most beautiful one so far. This is also the first year in...

This was the first vintage overseen by Franco Biondi Santi, and it was an outstanding harvest at Il Greppo, with a rainy spring followed by...

Harvested on 22 September, approximately 10 days before Montalcino proper but within the traditional average dates for Il Poggione, this very elegant 2010 is a...

Poggio Landi is one jewel in Alejandro Bulgheroni’s crowned portfolio of family vineyards. Since 2013, when the 33ha property was acquired, an impressive transformation programme...

Gianni Brunelli's Riserva is considered the estate's cru, with the blend largely coming from the Vigna Olmo and Vigna Oliva parcels in Podernovone. A penetrating...

Just as in 2012, the hot 2011 vintage was a year where the cooler north fared better, avoiding the worst of an August heat spike....

With vineyards between Sant'Angelo in Colle and Castelnuovo dell'Abate on the inner edge of the Sesta district, Lisini's vineyards are cleansed by constant breezes from...

One of two Riserva re-releases from Biondi-Santi in 2019, the 1995 was selected as a more elegant expression. The summer was warm with a couple...

The only Riserva in the line up for this masterclass, Biondi-Santi's 2010 shouldn't be a pick for drinking now – instead, it demands more time in...

The southern part of the Montalcino region in the relatively cool 2013 vintage shows the greatest of balance. The savoury minerality of Poggio di Sotto...

Alessandro Mori has 42 harvests under his belt yet this is the very first vintage in which he has released a Riserva. Sourced from his...

A warm year in Montalcino, the over-celebrated 1997 vintage saw an early harvest at ll Poggione, as suggested by its slightly green finish. Concrete fermentation...

Padelletti's Riserva is crafted from 40-50-year-old vines. It sees a long five week maceration and lengthy ageing in large oak casks. It's a wondrously traditional...

Costanti harvested at the end of September in this warm rather than hot year ageing the Riserva for 18 months first in medium size French...

The backbone of this Riserva comes from Gianni Brunelli's south-facing Vigna Olmo vineyard, located on the estate's Podernovone property in the southeast of Montalcino. It...

Col d’Orcia, meaning the hill overlooking the Orcia River, is located at the very edges of the Brunello di Montalcino geographical limits. It is the...

I last tasted this upon its release in 2019. It was rigid and closed yet with promising intensity and concentration. Just over three years later,...

Roberto Fuligni says 2007 was highly suitable for making a Riserva given the considerable concentration of polyphenols. A standout of the vintage, this is seductively...

The mid-2000s was an uneasy, uneven period for Brunello, but this small estate in Montalcino’s warm southeast has been consistent, making Brunello with classic Sangiovese...

Salicutti's Francesco Leanza says that 2013 is the latest harvest he can remember, having started on 2nd October, and the result is superb. He deemed...

Salicutti's Riserva is a true single vineyard bottling of Piaggione with the initials SV distinguishing it from the regular Brunello. Like the latter, the Riserva...

A remarkably unforced style of Brunello whose lip-smackingly wild streak of firm hawthorn, rosehip and other hedgerow fruits is unique in Montalcino.

The growing season was dry until some welcome rainfall in September, delivering a small crop of well balanced wines. The sour-cherry nose is firm but...

Still quite closed on the nose, but fresh and precise. It has a firm vertical palate with very fine tannins, a subtle mix of herbs...

Bright, very youthful looking ruby colour. Delicate floral and wild berry nose. The palate has great power but also superior balance, showing precise fruit with...

5ha, SE-facing, 270m, fossil-rich clay, N of Montalcino.Ethereal nose of ripe red fruits. Supersmooth tannins, breezily elegant and thirst-quenching.

The harvest date returned once more to that of tradition, commencing on 23 September – whereas these days it usually begins around 3 September. This...

Riccardo Campinoti vinifies his far-flung vine plots apart, and all slightly differently. This blend has Sangiovese's signature bright red cherry fruit with rippling, savoury tannins....

This spent 36 months in 500 litre tonneaux, 33% new, though you'd never guess. The fruit’s wild strength, ripeness and delicacy shine through, a testament...

Carlo Ferrini is one of the most talented winemaker in Italy and Giodo is his own boutique winery of 2,5ha in Montalcino. His reputation for...

While single vineyard wines are gaining traction in Montalcino, only very few have convincingly shown to own land with cru material. This estate took its...