Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino Italy 2018 (14.50% ABV) – 94
BB | Garnet to pink. Refined, complex, red- and black-fruit nose, with intense, dried hay, forest-floor, black-truffle aromas. Full-bodied, with layered black fruit, abundant yet fine tannins, and a long, meaty finish. Big Brunello for the cellar. 93
MP | Gorgeous nose, with a huge array of aromas, including floral, red-fruit, black-fruit, earth, vegetal, spice, and oak. The palate has delicacy, with tinned strawberry, raspberry, cranberry, black cherry, plum, licorice, rose petal, wet stone, cedar, and cinnamon all jockeying for pole position. The tannins are gorgeously chiseled, and the lemony acidity adds a lovely tightrope on which the fruit can dance. This is a truly exceptional Brunello, and a triumph in this mercurial vintage. 99
AJ | Clear, deep, dark red. This is another of the wines which almost seems to carry a kerosene note, but there is plenty of oak copse, plant, and bush, too. Not much primary fruit, now, by contrast, but the overall effect is complex and allusive, with ample late-summer resonance. The palate follows the aromatic profile quite closely, in that it is very secondary and more undergrowth and forest-like in its allusions than fruity. There is, though, fresh acidity and firm tannins; the overall finish is almost apothecary. A dense and concentrated wine; much to enjoy here. Very "Italian"; indeed, very Tuscan. A good mid-term choice. 90