Pian Delle Vigne, Brunello di Montalcino 2016

This has an expressive nose offering aromas of ripe red berry, violet, star anise and coffee bean. Elegantly structured, the linear palate features mature black cherry, blood orange, ground clove and espresso alongside taut, fine-grained tannins that leave a firm finish. Give it several years to fully develop. Drink 2026–2036. – 94 pts, Kerrin O’Keefe

“This is a wine to watch, thanks to some exciting new changes to come. The Antinori family purchased new vineyards located at the highest point in the appellation at the romantically named Passo del Lume Spento (Pass of the Extinguished Lantern) where higher altitudes make for cooler growing conditions. This new acquisition complements the estate’s current holdings in Pian delle Vigne (translated as the “flatlands of vines”) located at much warmer lower elevations with heavier reddish soils. That means future vintages (wines to come after the 2018 Brunello that is already in bottle as I write this) may see a blend of fruit from the two sites, giving the winemaking team much more latitude to blend from both cool and warm parcels. Or the Passo del Lume Spento fruit could end up in its own single-vineyard bottling. It will be interesting to see how the estate uses its new fruit and its new winery.” – 93 Pts, Monica Larner

Acquired by the Marchesi Antinori family in 1995, the Pian Delle Vigne estate is located six kilometres South of the town of Montalcino and consists of 184 hectares of land of which 65 are planted with vines and the remainder with olive groves and woodland. The stony, clay and limestone soils are planted entirely to various Sangiovese clones on elevations between 180 and 250 metres above sea level.

Two stunning wines are produced at the estate – the Pian Delle Vigne Brunello di Montalcino DOCG and the Pian Delle Vigne Brunello di Montalcino DOCG Riserva. They are both beautifully rich and balanced wines true to their terroir and superb drinking.