#15 WINE SPECTATOR TOP 100 2024
The 2019 Brunellos are arriving in force! After the potent, rich 2017s and elegant, open-knit 2018s, many are calling 2019 a wonderfully classic vintage. Throughout the Montalcino area, the growing season imbued wines with a magical balance of depth and lift, concentration and finesse. The character of the various nooks and crannies of the Montalcino region, even allowing for a winery's personal style, seem clearer in such a vintage. These are fantastic wines to age, but they also have an immediate charm that's hard to resist!
Our first featured 2019 Brunello comes from Caprili, a smaller family-owned winery southwest of Montalcino, in the warm, breezy area of Tavernelle. Here wines typically have little problem with developing some power in their profiles, but Caprili's location and traditional winemaking style also endows them with elegance: nuances that create intrigue and depth, and refined textures that offer less resistance to drinking.
For winemaker Giacomo Bartolommei, their 2019 Brunello is distinctively "crunchy" for the region: the succulent, just-ripe fruit profile, crispy, fine-textured tannins and vibrant acidities all work to imbue the wine with a mouthwatering sense of energy and minerality. The complex aromatic spectrum is evident from the range of notes critics found on vivid display in Caprili's 2019 Brunello: violets, lavender, steeped plum, tart wild berries, mint, earth, tobacco, wild herbs, truffle, mocha and cherry pie. Just give this time in the decanter, and take your time smelling and sipping... and don't forget some flavorful dishes with grilled or braised meats, mushrooms, tomato-based sauces and aged cheeses (a wild boar ragú topped with Parmigiano Reggiano would do)!
WINE SPECTATOR 96 POINTS - "This red is all about finesse, delivering superb balance and complexity, with cherry, raspberry, earth and wild herb aromas and flavors. Succulent and charming, yet with a solid base of tannins and vivid acidity, this remains focused through the long aftertaste."
KERIN O'KEEFE 96 POINTS - "Tobacco, truffle, violet and hints of mocha and cherry pie unfold on this beautiful Brunello. Classically crafted and elegantly structured, it delivers flavors of ripe Morello cherry, wild raspberry, baking spice and licorice alongside enveloping, refined tannins. Fresh acidity keeps it nicely balanced. Drink 2028–2039. Abv: 14.5% Kerin O’Keefe November 2023 ©kerinokeefe.com"
VINOUS MEDIA 95 POINTS - "The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino is remarkably pretty, wafting up with a blend of violets and lavender before giving way to steeped plum lifted by mint. This is racy and sleek, with cooling acidity and mineral tones that excite the palate. Juicy acidity enlivens tart wild berry fruits. The 2019 finds its center through the finish, as fine tannins emerge and a crunchy sensation lingers. Licorice and bitter blackberry notes taper off slowly. In a word, fantastic. The balance of complexity, structure and energy places the 2019 very high in my book. " - Eric Guido
WINE ADVOCATE 95 POINTS - "The Caprili 2019 Brunello di Montalcino reveals a very pretty bouquet with a level of ripe fruit and pure cherry essence that does not come easily to a wine aged five years following the harvest. The primary fruit remains intact in this vintage. This village bottling shows velvety richness and concentration that stems directly from that exceptional fruit quality. There is rich texturing and fine chalky tannins to close. Some 55,000 bottles were made."
The 2019 Brunellos are arriving in force! After the potent, rich 2017s and elegant, open-knit 2018s, many are calling 2019 a wonderfully classic vintage. Throughout the Montalcino area, the growing season imbued wines with a magical balance of depth and lift, concentration and finesse. The character of the various nooks and crannies of the Montalcino region, even allowing for a winery's personal style, seem clearer in such a vintage. These are fantastic wines to age, but they also have an immediate charm that's hard to resist!
Our first featured 2019 Brunello comes from Caprili, a smaller family-owned winery southwest of Montalcino, in the warm, breezy area of Tavernelle. Here wines typically have little problem with developing some power in their profiles, but Caprili's location and traditional winemaking style also endows them with elegance: nuances that create intrigue and depth, and refined textures that offer less resistance to drinking.
For winemaker Giacomo Bartolommei, their 2019 Brunello is distinctively "crunchy" for the region: the succulent, just-ripe fruit profile, crispy, fine-textured tannins and vibrant acidities all work to imbue the wine with a mouthwatering sense of energy and minerality. The complex aromatic spectrum is evident from the range of notes critics found on vivid display in Caprili's 2019 Brunello: violets, lavender, steeped plum, tart wild berries, mint, earth, tobacco, wild herbs, truffle, mocha and cherry pie. Just give this time in the decanter, and take your time smelling and sipping... and don't forget some flavorful dishes with grilled or braised meats, mushrooms, tomato-based sauces and aged cheeses (a wild boar ragú topped with Parmigiano Reggiano would do)!
WINE SPECTATOR 96 POINTS - "This red is all about finesse, delivering superb balance and complexity, with cherry, raspberry, earth and wild herb aromas and flavors. Succulent and charming, yet with a solid base of tannins and vivid acidity, this remains focused through the long aftertaste."
KERIN O'KEEFE 96 POINTS - "Tobacco, truffle, violet and hints of mocha and cherry pie unfold on this beautiful Brunello. Classically crafted and elegantly structured, it delivers flavors of ripe Morello cherry, wild raspberry, baking spice and licorice alongside enveloping, refined tannins. Fresh acidity keeps it nicely balanced. Drink 2028–2039. Abv: 14.5% Kerin O’Keefe November 2023 ©kerinokeefe.com"
VINOUS MEDIA 95 POINTS - "The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino is remarkably pretty, wafting up with a blend of violets and lavender before giving way to steeped plum lifted by mint. This is racy and sleek, with cooling acidity and mineral tones that excite the palate. Juicy acidity enlivens tart wild berry fruits. The 2019 finds its center through the finish, as fine tannins emerge and a crunchy sensation lingers. Licorice and bitter blackberry notes taper off slowly. In a word, fantastic. The balance of complexity, structure and energy places the 2019 very high in my book. " - Eric Guido
WINE ADVOCATE 95 POINTS - "The Caprili 2019 Brunello di Montalcino reveals a very pretty bouquet with a level of ripe fruit and pure cherry essence that does not come easily to a wine aged five years following the harvest. The primary fruit remains intact in this vintage. This village bottling shows velvety richness and concentration that stems directly from that exceptional fruit quality. There is rich texturing and fine chalky tannins to close. Some 55,000 bottles were made."
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