The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino pulls the taster close to the glass with its dark and earthy blend of crushed ashen stones, giving way to rosemary, cedar, exotic spice and a core of raspberry preserves. Enveloping and serene, this flows across the palate like pure silk, steadily building in tension as tart wild berries and orange hints give way to a sweet herbal thrust. The 2019 finishes with tremendous length and is classically structured, as crunchy tannins resonate and violet inner florals slowly fade over a tactile coating of minerality. Il Poggione has captured the radiance of the vintage, yet this is just a baby today.

Saturated dark red in color and coming from 25- to 60-year-old vines, the 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino is a brooding and serious wine on the nose and needs a little air on opening at this youthful stage, with aromas of cigar box, vanilla, smoky cedar, blackcurrants, tobacco leaf, and charred rosemary. Opulent and rich, this full-bodied Brunello reveals rich, velvet tannins, warming richness, and spice, and its oak-noted frame enhances the richness. It's deserving of several years of proper cellaring to harmonize and is a lovely, warming wine to enjoy over the coming 15- 20 years. It was raised for 3 years in large French oak barrels.