James Suckling (97)

This is really beautiful with black cherries, porcini mushrooms, black walnuts and dried flowers on the nose. It’s full-bodied, yet very toned and tight with class and precision. Wonderful length and focus. Goes on for minutes. What a wine from here. Best ever? Try after 2025.

James Suckling (95)

Aromas of ripe fruit such as sweet strawberries and hints of orange peel and chocolate. Medium to full body, soft and velvety tannins and a flavorful finish. Riper style. Drink or hold.

James Suckling (100)

This is very intense on the nose with blue fruit, cool stones, brambleberries and blackberries. Wet earth, too. Full-bodied and extremely dense and powerful with a super center palate of fruit and ripe yet compact tannins. Lightly chewy and expressive. Superb transparency and integration. Goes on for minutes. One of the best Brunellos I have tasted in my career. Try after 2021, but already amazing.

James Suckling (97)

Such wonderful opulence and beauty. The nose shows dried flowers and minerals with blackberries and black cherries. Purity is the word. Full-bodied with incredible depth and structure and polished, silky tannins that envelop your palate. The length is really impressive. Try after 2025.

James Suckling (96)

There’s freshness galore here i,n the form of orange zest and citrus peel. But this Brunello isn’t short on power either; red licorice, cardamom and dried hibiscus pepper the nose. To support the ripe fruit are layers of sinewy tannins and gliding acidity, making for an altogether sophisticated and edgy impression. Refined and elegant on the long finish. Drink from 2023.

James Suckling (96)

There’s freshness galore here i,n the form of orange zest and citrus peel. But this Brunello isn’t short on power either; red licorice, cardamom and dried hibiscus pepper the nose. To support the ripe fruit are layers of sinewy tannins and gliding acidity, making for an altogether sophisticated and edgy impression. Refined and elegant on the long finish. Drink from 2023.

Wine Enthusiast (97)

Focused and loaded with finesse, this opens with enticing aromas of menthol, graphite, rose and forest floor. Full bodied and delicious, the linear, energized palate features ripe Marasca cherry, licorice, mint and vanilla before a coffee-bean finish. Firm, polished tannins and fresh acidity provide support. *Editors’ Choice* (KO)

Vinous (93)

The bouquet on the 2017 Brunello di Montalcino is to die for, offering cloves and balsamic spices that give way to crushed cherries, sage and fresh mint. It’s elegant yet lifted in feel, with silky textures carrying the ripe wild berry fruits effortlessly across the palate. Saline-minerals combine with grippy tannins toward the close, slowing the 2017’s momentum ever so slightly, yet still permitting the most beautiful display of hard red candies and violet florals to linger incredibly long. What a gorgeous 2017, and with short-term cellaring potential as well. Of note is that Talenti’s production was down by 25% due to the conditions of the vintage, and there will not be a Riserva, as all of the juice went to the Brunello.

Kerin O’Keefe (97)

Another fragrant offering from the vintage, this radiant red opens with enticing scents of wild herb, new leather, violet and dark spice before seguing into hints of underbrush and truffle. Still young and tightly wound, the full-bodied, linear palate offers red cherry, spiced cranberry, star anise and blood orange before a saline mineral finish. Firm, refined tannins bright acidity provide balance. Drink 2026–2033. 14.5% abv. Kerin O’Keefe November 2022

James Suckling (100)

This is quite a remarkable wine that prompts a vision of looking out over a vast orchard of glistening red cherries and red plums, weighing down gnarled, bark-scented trunks. Beneath the fragant canopy, luscious clay soils are interspersed with ferrous deposits and fresh grass stirs. Viscous layers of pure red fruit pour into the palate, soaking the mouth from top to bottom in profuse layers of spices and orange zest. The tannins have the muscle of a bodybuilder, but the acidity dances through the mouth like a ballerina. The finish is limitless.

Wine Spectator (98)

Cherry, strawberry, earth and mineral flavors provide immediate appeal up front, while the dense structure indicates this red will evolve steadily over a few decades. Underbrush and tobacco elements seep in around the edges, but the beam of fruit persists. Best from 2025 through 2050. 330 cases made, 60 cases imported.

Vinous (94)

The 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Piero is mysteriously dark and heady, the display of smoke and ashen stone evolving to show crushed blackberries, savory herbs and hints of camphor. The textures are velvety and dense, and a wave of mineral-tinged red and black fruits drenches the palate in primary depths of concentration. Beneath it all, a coating of fine-grained tannins settles in, slowly working to encase the senses with youthful tension and poise. Even still, a lasting mix of cherries, black tea and menthol carries on for what seems like a full minute. While I don’t expect this to mature as gracefully as past renditions of the single-vineyard Piero, it’s a total success for the vintage.

James Suckling (98)

A juicy, young Brunello with berry, dried mushroom and flower character. Orange peel, too. Full body, firm and velvety tannins and a flavorful finish. So complex and beautiful. It goes on for minutes. I love the balance that makes it so enjoyable to try now but it will age for decades ahead. Try to leave it until 2021.

James Suckling (99)

Wonderful aromas of roses and sliced plums with wet earth and truffles. Then turns to raspberries and blackberries. Cherries, too. Full and firm with super integrated tannins that melt into the wine. It flows from the center palate in a beautiful sheet of fruit and tannins. Extremely long and coated with great finesse. Goes on for minutes. Better in 2022, but already a joy to taste.

James Suckling (98)

Attractive aromas of balsamic, tea, dark berry, walnut and coffee bean. Full-bodied, yet tight and very intense with ripe tannins that are fine and reserved. Racy and polished. Beautiful length to this wine. Needs at least two to three years to come. Try after 2024.

Wine Enthusiast (98)

Here's an unforgettable wine that absolutely makes the case for 2007 being one of the best vintages of late in Montalcino. The wine is broad and polished with masculine tones of dark fruit, leather and tobacco. These aromas evolve so quickly and with such pulsing intensity, the wine comes alive suddenly. There are dusty mineral shadings at the back with tightly textured tannins. Hold 10 more years.

James Suckling (100)

Spectacular aromas of crushed fruit, plums, sous bois, porcini and black truffles. Decadent year, but fresh. Full-bodied, dense and linear on the palate, yet so much in balance and refined with incredible depth and consistency. The savory and juicy finish, with vivid acidity and fruit, is eye-opening. Greatest ever. Best after 2025, but can’t wait to try it again.

Jeb Dunnuck (99)

Deep ruby-colored with a light purple tinge, the 2016 Brunello Di Montalcino Riserva Vigna Madonna Del Piano takes on another gear with its rich perfume unfolding with lavender, black cherry, cassis, fresh leather, licorice, fresh soil, and sage. The wine is full-bodied, with a ripe velveteen texture, while maintaining freshness, and it is elegantly rounded through the mid-palate, with notes of black plum, Earl Grey, scorched earth, and tea leaf. This seems to be moving at a glacial pace in its evolution and certainly warrants at least a few more years in cellar.

James Suckling (100)

This is the first commercial release of Montosoli from Valdicava and shows incredibly complex and decadent aromas of fruit, wet earth, forest floor, leaves and cedar. Full-bodied with tannins that roll off the palate and flow to the finish. Fine, velvety texture. Lasts for minutes. Already so attractive, but be patient. Try after 2021 and onwards.

A collaboration between winemakers Jess Jackson and Pierre Seillan, Vérité was launched with the aim of creating wines from Sonoma that could rival that of Pétrus. Since its inaugural vintage in 1998, Vérité has achieved colossal success, including being awarded seven 100 point scores from Robert M. Parker Jr. Guided by Pierre Seillan’s micro-cru philosophy and over 50 years of experience, Vérité produces 3 blends – La Joie, La Muse and La Désir, from a myriad of over 50 distinct plots spread across 4 appellations across Sonoma - namely Knights Valley, Alexander Valley, Chalk Hill and Bennet Valley AVAs.

It contains one bottle of each:

1x75cl La Joie 2013 - 100 Points | Robert M. Parker, Jr. (Wine Advocate)

1x75cl La Muse 2013 - 100 Points | Robert M. Parker, Jr. (Wine Advocate)

1x75cl La Désir 2013 - 99 Points | Robert M. Parker, Jr. (Wine Advocate)

A collaboration between winemakers Jess Jackson and Pierre Seillan, Vérité was launched with the aim of creating wines from Sonoma that could rival that of Pétrus. Since its inaugural vintage in 1998, Vérité has achieved colossal success, including being awarded seven 100 point scores from Robert M. Parker Jr. Guided by Pierre Seillan’s micro-cru philosophy and over 50 years of experience, Vérité produces 3 blends – La Joie, La Muse and La Désir, from a myriad of over 50 distinct plots spread across 4 appellations across Sonoma - namely Knights Valley, Alexander Valley, Chalk Hill and Bennet Valley AVAs.

It contains one bottle of each:

1x75cl La Joie 2015 - 99 Points | Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Advocate)

1x75cl La Muse 2015 - 97 Points | Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Advocate)

1x75cl La Désir 2015 - 100 Points | Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Advocate)

Jeb Dunnuck (La Muse) (100)

Including the highest percentage of Merlot (at the moment anyway), the 2016 La Muse checks in as 93% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Malbec that spent 15-16 months in roughly 90% new French oak. This magical wine shows how good Merlot (and Sonoma) can be and offers extraordinary notes of crushed violets, spring flowers, scorched earth, graphite, black cherries, and crème de cassis. As elegant and seamless as they come, it’s full-bodied, perfectly balanced, has an incredible spine of acidity and tannins, and a finish that won’t quit. It has the class and purity to drink well even today, but it’s not going to hit prime time for at least another decade and will keep for 3-4 decades. Bravo!

Containing 1 bottle each of:

Vérité La Muse 2018 | 100 WA, 99 JD

Vérité La Joie 2018 | 98 WA, 98+ JD

Vérité Le Désir 2018 | 97+ WA, 98+ JD

Wine Advocate (100)

The 2012 La Joie, which is a blend of 76% Cabernet, 12% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot, blew me away. A profound effort, with 55% of it coming from Hillsides in Alexander Valley, 31% from Knights Valley and the balance from Chalk Hill, the wine shows great minerality, oodles of crme de cassis fruit, incense, licorice, crushed rock, and a provocative full-throttle mouthfeel. A wine of great intensity, purity and equilibrium, this definitely begs for 4-7 years of bottle aging and should drink well for at least 30+ years.

Wine Advocate (100)

The 2013 La Joie, which is 46% from Knights Valley, 32% from Chalk Hill and 22% from Alexander Valley, is a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. Showing loads of graphite, cedar wood, charcoal, crème de cassis and forest floor, this may well turn out to be a 50+-year wine. It tastes like a great first-growth Pauillac and has an amazing amount of complexity and richness.

Wine Advocate (100)

The 2014 La Muse (2,800 cases ) is a legendary effort. The wine offers an opaque purple color and a gorgeous nose of lead pencil shavings, blackberry, incense, Asian spice, cocoa, plum, and a touch of chocolate and barrique. On the palate, more cassis and blackberry come to the forefront. The wine is unctuous, with adequate acidity and a stunning energy underneath the massive fruit and body. This is a spectacularly fragrant and, at the same time, dense wine, with enough structure (somewhat surprising in this vintage) to last 35-45+ years. The final blend was 88% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec.

Wine Advocate (100)

The 2012 Le Desir (64% Cabernet Franc, 24% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Malbec) reminds me of a young vintage of Ausone, such as 2005. The wine has amazing minerality and an explosive blueberry nose intermixed with blackberries, new saddle leather, charcoal and camphor. It is full-bodied, with espresso notes emerging on the palate. There are 1,900 cases of this super-endowed, prodigious wine that should drink well for 35-40 years. How fun it would be for mega-millionaires to put this in a blind tasting of a great vintage of Ausone in 10, 20 or 30 years from now.

Wine Advocate (98)

The 2014 Le Désir (53% Cabernet Franc, 21% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Malbec) has an inky purple color and a sweet kiss of chocolate, black truffle, forest floor, black raspberry and black currants. Opulent, but again structured and super-dense and pure, this is another massively concentrated wine meant for the long haul (and for our grandchildren). Give it 4-6 years of cellaring and drink it over the following 35-40 years. Remarkably, Pierre Seillan told me that 2014, while a drought year, was not actually that hot in the micro-terroirs he was working, but in terms of quality, it turned out to be the most surprisingly positive vintage he’s ever witnessed.