San Giorgio Ugolforte 2016 Brunello di Montalcino

This is a full-bodied red with ripe blackberry, smoked-meat and burnt-orange notes. Strong tannins with a lots of chewiness. Quite tight on the finish. But there is pureness and beauty to this. More opulent than the 2015. Drink after 2025.

Deep, dark red fruits and exotic spices give way to hints of menthol, flowery undergrowth and tobacco as the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Ugolforte unfolds in the glass. It’s silky-smooth and cool-toned with ripe woodland berries, hints of clove and blood orange. Fine tannins coat the palate, but energy remains high due to vibrant acidity, as this tapers off with a salty, almost silty minerality under rosy inner florals. The 2016 spent only six months in second-pass barriques before being completed in 30-hectoliter Slavonian oak for another 40 months. Retasting this wine with another year of bottle age was a total pleasure.

The 2016 Ugolforte Brunello has aromas of black raspberry, violets, and dusty earth. The palate is inviting with ripe cherry fruit, licorice, dried herbs, and fine-grained tannin's. This will certainly be a fun property to watch and there is an elegance to the 2016 that I feel is a wonderful introduction to the new ownership. Drink 2022-2035.

The San Giorgio 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Ugolforte shows immediate richness and softness, with a smooth vinous texture that is fleshed out with ripe cherry, plum and dried blackberry. This expression offers extra dimension with a broad textural approach and attractive softness that is both velvety and elegant. There are earthy notes and hints of sour cherry on the close. Best after 2023.

Blue-flower, star anise, coffee-bean and crushed mint aromas take shape in the glass. On the austere, linear palate, taut, close-grained tannins accompany sour cherry, blood orange and licorice while firm acidity keeps it light on its feet.