2016 Brunellos!

What 2016 Brunellos will you be buying this year?

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Colleoni Santa Maria
Salvioni
Livlio sassetti
Talenti
Ragnaie
Casanova DI Neri
Fuligni
Poggio DI Sotto
Lisini
Altesino
Ciacci piccolominni
And maybe a few more
Damn This is going to cause some damage to ny credit Card

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I just grabbed 6 of Talenti yesterday from JJ Buckleys and I think I am about to pull the trigger on Casanova di Neri from Sokolin.

I am trying to be a bit more intentional and plan out what I want somewhat in advance, otherwise I am afraid I am going to start buying everything.

These are some others I am set on besides some of what you mentioned.
Uccelliera
Il Poggione
Cortonese

Also on the fence on
Castello di Romitorio
Poggio Antico
Loacker
Caprili
Argiano

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The (for me) usual suspects:

Cerbaiona
Salvioni
Soldera

There may be many more fine wines made in 2016 but year after year these have been my favorites. Poggio di Sotto was once on this list but I stopped buying them when Palmucci sold. Will be interesting to evaluate if Cerbaiona will be next one to leave my short-list due to Molinaris sale of the estate.

What’s the vintage supposed to be like? Have any of you tasted any of these yet?

I havent had any yet. I had been going based mostly on what I thought of the rest of Tuscany in 2016. Brunellos are just the last to be released, besides Brunello Riservas which are on the 2015s now. This below is from Monica Larner on WA though

"I see the 2016s as long-term and cellar-worthy thanks to their balanced acidity and more pronounced tannic backbone. However, the 2016s are more difficult to read at this young stage with some samples appearing more shut down or tight-lipped than others. Because I tasted these wines earlier than I normally do, I was conscious to open my samples a few hours before tasting, and I double decanted many of the wines. Once you get them going, they reveal an extra level of depth, tension and focused intensity that you don’t quite get with the 2015s. Projecting ahead, those are the qualities that will shape a successful bottle evolution. Seen as a group, the 2016s have steeper highs and lows compared to the more even-keeled 2015s, but the payback in terms of power and elegance is greater in the 2016s overall.

I’m not sure I would go so far as to say that the 2016s are better than the 2010s. That was another iconic vintage that enjoyed similar pre-release excitement. At this stage, I’d put the two vintages on similar standing, with 2010 defined by the sheer purity of the fruit and 2016 expressed more amply in terms of linearity, complexity and depth. Both vintages are engineered for safekeeping under lock and key in your cellar. "

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Valdicava, every year. Very curious about the new Montosoli single vineyard wine, 2015 being the first year. Bottled only in 1.5L with a wrap around label and beautiful artwork. Those bad boys ain’t cheap but I’ll get my hands on one eventually.

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Just getting into Brunello. Have recently had a couple each of Fuligni and Il Poggione of various ages and enjoyed them. Anyone have favorites in the <$100 price range?

Fuligni for sure like you’ve had. Ciacci Piccolomini and Conti Constanti would be my suggestions

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Hi Owen,
This is my first post so please excuse any formatting weirdness. My budget is definitely in that <$100 range, and I tend to prefer wines made in a reasonably traditional and understated style, so take that into consideration. Along with the great producers other folks have/will invariably recommend, I’d suggest the following. Please note that I haven’t tasted the 2016’s of these producers so these comments are based on my experience of their style over the years:


L’Aietta- Tiiiiiny producer, I believe he has 1ha under vine for his Brunello. Medium weight, a fair dose of astringency but in a pleasant fashion. Fruit and florals tend to the red side of the spectrum. Moderate but present tannins.

Padelletti- Good value wines, a little less tightly wound than L’Aietta IMHO. Fruit is a touch plummier, and the wines fly their earth/leather/mushroom flag pretty proudly. Grab some 2012 Riserva if you see it, retails for ~$125 but it smells SO GOOD.

Casanuova delle Cerbaie- These tend to be fairly powerful and rustic wines. Expect considerable tannins and meat, they’re the opposite of polished, but who wants gloss when you’re looking for an accompaniment to a nice grilled bisteca?

Le Chiuse- Super classic producer. Their Rosso has gotten pricey but is DELICIOUS. Their Riserva is rare and pretty epic. But the annata Brunello bottling is always a favorite for me personally. Black cherry, medium weight, tea and dried leaves, this generally ticks all the classic Sangio boxes.


It’s not a perfect correlation between Rosso and BdM, but if you want to explore new producers with a low buy in, consider collecting current vintage Rosso from those you’re interested in and pop them all together, can be a good glimpse into the style of the producer without spending a ton of money.
Happy hunting!
-m

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Thanks Michael. This is great!

Limited space at the moment, so probably just-
Livio Sassetti Pertimali
Ciacci Piccolomini Pianrosso
Le Chiuse

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+1 The 2010 Constanti is wonderful. I have no doubt so will be the 2016.

I tasted Le Chiuse BdM 2016 from barrel during May 2018 along side the 2014 and 2015. Having tasted every vintage of the normale bottling since the 2004 vintage, the 2016 purity, balance, and elegance is at another level.

Le Potazzine is another wine from the North, which is not very well known or revered widely, and a singular example of purity, harmony, and elegance. The secret will be out with 2016. The 2019 Rosso di Montalcino is Eric Guido’s highest scoring RdM to date at 93 and among the highest scoring RdM’s ever rated on Vinous. And the wine costs under $30/bottle retail.

And, of course, Baricci 2016 is assuredly stunning and, year in and year out, as traditional example of Brunello produced. I can not wait to taste the 2016.

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Agreed on Potazzine, awesome wines for the money. Would add Salicutti here too although it’s pushing the $100 level.

My enthusiasm for Barbi has perhaps waned a bit, but I still like the wines and think they’re an important benchmark for someone like Owen who is maybe just getting into Brunello.

For clients from the Netherlands, from this March I can offer 180 bottles and some Magnums of the 2016 Le Chiuse Brunello di Montalcino.

Also, another fan of Conti-Constanti and Eredi Fuligni over here.

And off course Biondi-Santi; Cerbaiona; Cerbaiola; Poggio di Sotto and especially Soldera are all fantastic!

Price quality you can not go wrong with Il Poggione…

italianwine.blog by Tim Heaton is a good resource. It appears he has not posted about the 2016 Brunellos yet, but the 2015s should give an idea of producer style.
You can check his reviews on CT, too. He tastes a lot of Tuscan wine.

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I just bought a bunch but dont know for sure what I will open this year since I am going in wide with many producers rather than deep with 1 producer.
4x Casanova di Neri
3x Casanova di Neri Tenuta Nuova (not opening for many years)
6x Il Poggione
6x Talenti

These below I hope to try in March/ April to see if I want to buy more.
1x Fanti
1x Caprili

I was lucky enough to be out there at harvest and producers were completely buzzing about the vintage. I know I know I know, we expect them to say that. But, the ones I went to were very honest about 11/12/13/14 and I felt like they were being honest to me about their feelings.

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So far for me, just a case of Livio Sassetti Pertimali.

I’m likely forgoing my typical purchases of Fuligini, Valdicava, and CdN Tenuta Nuova as the price increases (tariffs?) are getting annoying. With the price inflation Bordeaux has better QPR for my palate.