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2016 Argiano Brunello di Montalcino

Not Currently In Auction

Latest Sale Price

November 12, 2023 - $73

Estimate

RATINGS

97James Suckling

...very polished red with cloves and caramel, on top of black cherries, mushrooms and forest floor. Black olives, too. It's full-bodied with polished tannins and lovely depth all the way through. Lightly chewy. Juicy black-cherries and savory black-olive character. Complex.

96Wine Enthusiast

...scents of blue flower, star anise, camphor and new leather...juicy red cherry, spiced cranberry, licorice and tobacco supported by a backbone of refined tannins. Fresh acidity keeps it energized and balanced.

94The Wine Advocate

...lifted red fruit aromas, cassis, wild cherry and blue flower...delivers a lightness and a weightlessness...power of 2016 comes through at the very end in terms of tannins and structure.

94Vinous / IWC

...shows sweet herbs and tobacco with hints of mocha and cedar spice box...silky in texture, coasting across a medium-bodied frame while giving way to tart red berries, with grippy tannins mounting toward the close.

17Jancis Robinson

Cool, perfumed, concentrated cherry nose with just a hint of fruit cake in the background. Pure, tangy and strikingly perfumed sweet cherry and cranberry fruit palate with finely grained tannins.

REGION

Italy, Tuscany, Brunello di Montalcino

Brunello di Montalcino is regarded as one of Italy’s best appellations. Located in south central Tuscany below Chianti, the wines of Brunello di Montalcino DOCG are made of a Sangiovese clone called “brunello,” which means “little dark one,” a reference to the brown tones in the skin of the grape. Unlike some Tuscan appellations that allow other grapes to be blended with Sangiovese, Brunello di Montalcino is entirely Sangiovese. Montalcino itself is a picturesque, hill-top town not especially well known for wine production until the mid-19th century, when a local vineyard owner isolated the brunello clone and planted it. Other growers followed suit. Nevertheless it wasn’t until 1970s that wine enthusiasts started paying attention to Brunello di Montalcino, which by then was becoming an outstanding wine. Today there are 120 estates in the DOCG, up from about 25 estates in 1975. Brunellos in general are bigger, darker, more tannic and more powerful wines than Chiantis or most other Sangioveses. By law they must be aged for four years, and two of those years must be in wooden barrels.