Acclaim

The Conti Costanti 2016 Brunello di Montalcino shows warm fruit layering with cherry, wild raspberry and plum. You might also notice some touches of sweetness with candied orange skin and lavender honey. At the back of it all, you get tilled earth and a touch of black olive. This wine reveals good complexity to the bouquet and follows up with a streamlined, mid-weight mouthfeel. I found this vintage to be shorter compared to the 2015 edition tasted earlier in the year. Production is 35,000 bottles. – Monica Larner

Boasting dark fruit, scorched earth and savory spice, the Conti Costanti 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is a wine of broad shoulders and a lasting aromatic imprint. It is fleshy and even a bit flashy, thanks to that abundant and generous aromatic display. To the palate, this Riserva is soft, thickly textured and enriched by the ripeness of its fruit fiber and the warmth of the Tuscan sun. This wine draws its fruit from a 10-hectare site with Galestro soils. Production is limited to 9,000 bottles. – Monica Larner

The Fuligni 2016 Brunello di Montalcino shows balance and symmetry with plenty of primary intensity to ensure a long cellar life. The bouquet opens to dark plum, dried raspberry, spice, aniseed and grilled herb. I get a lot of Mediterranean lavender and rosemary essence. This is a mid-weight Brunello with aromas that prove elegant and buoyant. If you have visited the Fuligni estate, you may agree that it occupies one of the best positions in the appellation with open views onto the enormous expanse of the Val d’Orcia that plays out until the horizon ends. This is one of Montalcino’s historic cellars with many stories to tell. Luckily for us, much of that narrative unfolds in the beauty and the elegance of a wine like this. – Monica Larner

Fuligni gives us a truly special expression from this sunny and warm vintage. What I notice first in the 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is the elegance of the aromas and those dusty, almost salty mineral notes of crushed limestone that frame the delicate fruit packed tight within. There are other distinctive aromas here, such as balsam herb, dried mint and powdered licorice root that add more layers to the bouquet. That layering continues to the palate where the wine excels on all fronts—balanced concentration, structure and freshness. This is a unique creation and a very precious wine. It is one of the stand outs of the year. – Monica Larner

All about finesse, this ethereally elegant red opens with scents of rose, crushed mint, red berry and hints of new leather. The polished, precise palate features strawberry compote, spiced cranberry, star anise and a dash of white pepper. It’s well balanced, with fresh acidity and taut, refined tannins. Drink 2024–2036. – Kerin O’Keefe