Brunello di Montalcino, Il Marroneto 2016

Out of the gate, the Il Marroneto 2016 Brunello di Montalcino shows exciting purity and red fruit intensity. Compared to the Madonna delle Grazie, this wine has an ever-more lifted quality to the bouquet, whereas the Madonna has a firmer underlying texture that bodes well for longer aging. The character here is fresh, lively, youthful and vibrant. In fact, I would recommend drinking this wine while all those elements are still intact. The bouquet is crazy fun to describe: I get whiffs of black cherry, macchia mediterranea (which is not too different from what we call chaparral in California), peppercorn, dried cranberry and even a whiff of something that reminded me of the delicious rosemary herb mix you stuff inside roast porchetta. The base of the wine is light, almost weightless, but its structure and firmness do eventually catch up on the long finish. 2024-2044