“Another structured, layered red with blackberry, plum, walnut and cigar-box aromas and flavors. It’s full-bodied with depth and intensity. Tight and structured. A wine with a long future. Fine-grained and refined. Try after 2025.”

“The complexity and beauty to this is really something with cherry, walnut, tobacco and cigar-box character. Sweet cherries. It’s full-bodied and deep with super intensity and power. Layered and beautiful. Really refined tannins. Some whole-berry fermentation gives this added character. Goes on for minutes. Try after 2025.”

“The 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Millecento Riserva of Castiglion del Bosco takes no prisoners, boasting a striking bouquet of crushed medicinal cherry and plum complemented by confectionary spices. It floods the palate with velvety textures and dark ripe fruits, offset by vibrant acids and salty tension. There’s a density and primary feel to the Millecento which, combined with its fine-grained tannin, promises years of development. Baker’s chocolate and hints of cedar linger on the long and structured finish. The 2015 Riserva spent thirty-six months in thirty hectoliter French oak barrels and another six months in porous concrete vats prior to bottling. It’s a large-scaled yet balanced effort.”

“The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Campo del Drago places smoky minerals and minty herbs before fruit. It gains further depths of spiced orange, clove and medicinal cherry over time. The textures are silky, almost creamy in feel, giving way to polished red fruits laced with salty minerals, as zesty acids add a motivating and spicy flair. Stern tannins arrive toward the close, clamping down on the expression and leaving only hints of tart berries through the cheek-puckering finale. The 2016 Campo del Drago will require a good amount of time to resolve its hulking structure, yet there’s plenty of concentration and acidity to maintain balance throughout.”

“Opulent aromas of cherry, plum, dried meat and orange peel with some bark and cedar. Full-bodied with firm yet polished tannins that fill mouth and carry far down the wine to the end. It’s creamy-textured and chewy. Purity and integration. Very drinkable now, but needs another two or three years to come around. Try after 2022.”