Cortonesi Brunello di Montalcino Poggiarelli Italy 2018 (14.50% ABV) – 92
BB | Garnet to tawny. Slightly closed on the nose, with blood orange, redcurrant, sweet tobacco, crushed stone, forest floor, and dried flowers. Medium-bodied, balanced, herbal, refined palate, with a lively finish. 91
MP | Lively and fresh fruit aromas of strawberry, raspberry, red cherry, and plum. There is a skiff of oak, with some clove, caramel, cooked fruit, and leather. In the mouth, this develops well, with ripe, black fruit, melding tannins, and fine, supporting acidity. This is a compact, well-made, and enjoyable Brunello that lacks only the extra degree of complexity necessary for a higher score. 91
AJ | Dark black-red, not far off opaque. Warm, sweet, attractive, too, with late-summer warmth tugging you into the glass. A little truffley richness. Extravagant on the palate, which for some may come at the cost of classicism. This is, however, a very dense and sturdy Brunello of profundity, dense tannic weave, and extractive force. Almost colossal, and stylistically disarming—but I'd love to see this wine with 10 or 15 years of further age. 94