BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO
2016 Riserva Fuligni
Ripe and harmonious, this red features cherry and berry flavors augmented by earth, mineral, tobacco and thyme accents. Fresh and firms up as it winds down on the long, fruit-, mineral- and spice-tinged finish. Best from 2024 through 2042. Drinking range: 2024 - 2042 Rating: 95 Bruce Sanderson, The Wine Spectator (Mar 2022)
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Deep lustrous ruby with orange tinges. Truly captivating nose of sweetly spiced cherry fruit of enormous depth. The supple, succulent cherry fruit literally rolls over the palate and is filled out with lots of polished, gravelly tannins. Very long, juicy and exciting while retaining an impeccable sense of elegance. Drinking range: 2022 - 2032 Rating: 18 Walter Speller, www.jancisrobinson.com (Mar 2022)
Fuligni’s Riserva is born in the San Giovanni vineyard at Podere Cottimelli, the estate’s original site. It is a selection of the best bunches from vines averaging 50 years of age. The 2016 is currently a brooding beast, but a remarkably handsome one at close glance. It starts with polished leather and walnut skin before disclosing hints of lavender, anise and freshly turned earth. The structure is even denser and drier than the annata, but the fruit is also sweeter and more concentrated. Finely chiselled tannins wrap around black cherry and red plum, and with an intense mineral drive this is fully charged. It will take a few more years, however, to lay bare all of its lurking intricacies. Drinking range: 2025 - 2045 Rating: 98 Michaela Morris, Decanter (Mar 2022)
Here's one of the show-stoppers in this report. The Fuligni 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is a layered and important wine with deep renderings of wild berry, ripe fruit, oak spice, pressed flowers and garden herbs. This Brunello lives up to its Riserva designation with extra textural richness, more oak definition, structure and a bigger, longer-lasting aromatic profile. The wine closes with hints of cola, rosemary and wild rose. Drinking range: 2024 - 2050 Rating: 97+ Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate (www.robertparker.com) (Feb 2022)
The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva seduces the senses as it mixes savory and sweet, the dusty rose and crushed stone aromas giving way to wild strawberry and dried cherry. A velvety textural wave saturates the palate with salty minerals and tart raspberry fruits, lifted by stunning acidity and cooling herbal tones that create a cascading feel to the crunchy red fruits. While structured and dry, it"s also incredibly long, crystalline in nature, and lingers on notes of salted licorice and savory spice. This shows all of the best qualities of the vintage, expertly matched to the classic stylings of Fuligni. That said, the 2016 is a sleeping giant, in need of cellaring to show its best. Deciding between this and the estate Brunello from 2016 is like splitting hairs, but what I can say is that the Riserva has the potential for a longer life and possibly a higher score when at full maturity. Drinking range: 2026 - 2040 Rating: 98 Eric Guido, www.vinous.com (Dec 2021)
The complexity and beauty of this wine is something else on the nose, offering perfume, cedar, dried flower, black cherry, blueberry and crushed stone. Orange peel, too. Full-bodied with incredible layers of ultra-fine tannins that give this wine horizontal depth that almost seems endless. Extremely long and lightly chewy at the end. This is one for the cellar. Try after 2026. Drinking range: 2026 - Rating: 99 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Oct 2021)
Fuligni
Founded in 1923 by Giovanni Fuligni, the estate today is co-owned by Robert Guerrini Fuligni and his delightful aunt Maria Flora Fuligni. Together with his aunt, Roberto makes the wines with oenologist Paolo Vagaggini and his son Jacopo, while agronomist Federico Ricci looks after the vineyards.
The estate covers 100 hectares, of which 25 are under vine, almost all planted with Sangiovese, with a small amount of Merlot for the IGT blend. 4 plots, Semiti, San Giovanni, Ginestreto and Cotimeli produce Sangiovese for the Brunelli and Rosso and each vineyard is kept separate during fermentation. What is important is the combined height of the vineyards (350-440m), the density of planting, age of the vines (12-30 plus) and the 'galestro' soils on which they are planted. Fuligni's wines have reached international recognition for their purity of expression, strong backbone of acidity and polished tannins.
These are simply the finest wines of Brunello, epitomising all that is great from the region. The 'Rosso' now comes from a defined part of the vineyard, on clay and tufa rather than the marl of the Brunello. It is made from the outset as a Rosso, with different clones and the intention to make a wine which will be approachable at a much younger age.
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2023 LATEST ITALIAN RELEASES OFFER FAQ
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