Le Chiuse Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2016 750mL

On this 6ha vineyard, 15 year-old cordon spur-trained Sangiovese Grosso vines are planted at a density of 4,500 plants/ha. The grapes are harvested by hand in the last week of September, are then crushed and transferred to tank by gravity. The Brunello endures 18 days maceration / fermentation period (29C) with natural yeasts and frequent punch-down of the cap during the first week to promote extraction. The wine is then racked 2/3 times until March, when it is transferred to oak. The aging process takes 3 years in 20HL Allier and Slavonian botte followed by 2 years in bottle. 14,000 bottles produced.

Le Chiuse Brunello is a clear wine, bright garnet red in colour. It has an intense persistent fragrance, pure and full-bodied. Various fragrances can be recognize, from forest fruits to light vanilla. To the taste the wine is smooth and elegant, dry with an excellent persistent of aroma. It ages well, improving with time. It should be served at a temperature of 18-20°C, the bottle having been left in a warm place for at least 24 hours and uncorked several hours before serving. Every vintage has its own determining characteristics and features. In the best vintages, 20% of the production is seat to age in our cellars for a further year thereby becoming “Reserve”.” –Simonetta Valiani

Grape Varietals:

100% Sangiovese Grosso

Colour:

Deep strong ruby red with bright garnet hues. Brilliant.

Bouquet:

Intense scent with easy memories of blueberry, small fruits, black currant and cherry. It is easy to appreciate also notes of violet, mineral hints of flint and spicy scents.

Flavour:

Great body and elegance. Neat with good complexity. In the mouth it shows all the character of a great wine, with good persistence, elegant and refined tannins.

Food Pairings:

Perfect with every roasted meat and game, braised beef, aged cheeses and all the tasty dishes.

100 Points - Wine Enthusiast, Kerin O'Keefe, April 7th, 2021. "This gorgeous wine opens with fragrant aromas of violet, wild berry, new leather, tilled earth and spice. Showing the estate's hallmark elegance, structure and precision, the focused, full-bodied palate delivers cherry, crushed raspberry, star anise and tobacco before finishing on a note of black tea. Taut, refined tannins and bright acidity keep it vibrant and balanced. Drink 2024–2046."

100 Points - Jeb Dunnuck

98 Points - Wine Spectator

97+ Points - The Wine Advocate, Monica Larner, November 30, 2020. "Le Chiuse's 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is a wine buzzing with energy and spirit. You sense this in the sheer crunch and snap of the primary fruit that recalls wild berry, cassis and sour cherry. Those lifted red fruit aromas are framed by light smoke, tar, potting soil, blue flower and crushed mineral or limestone. This is an extremely elegant wine that has been shaped by an epic vintage. The wine draws its fruit from an eight-hectare parcel with limestone clay. Le Chiuse's star is rapidly rising, and this new release from 2016 just thrust that shooting star into hyper speed. With 13,576 bottles made, this estate gives us one of the best buys of the vintage. Lorenzo Magnelli and the team at Le Chiuse are currently enlarging the winery to make room for a late-release program that will see Brunello Riserva held back for 10 years. Indeed, the legendary Biondi Santi family once sourced fruit here to put into their most age-worthy vintages. Le Chiuse's late-release wines promise to be very exciting. A 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva was produced, but instead of releasing it now, that wine will hit the market in 2025. Good things come to those who wait."

97 Points - Vinous

18/20 Points - Jancis Robinson