2016 Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona, Brunello di Montalcino, Pianrosso

Lots going on here with black plums, ripe cherries, cedar, smoke and cocoa on the nose. Ash, chocolate, crushed walnuts and some praline. Mushrooms. This has firm, ripe tannins and a full body. Flavorful and juicy finish. Very structured. Drink after 2025.

The Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Pianrosso is a single-vineyard expression that draws its fruit from an 11.7-hectare parcel with moderately thick galestro soils with ancient marine material. This special site, awash under the brilliant light of a big, open sky, does indeed deliver a more pronounced mineral signature, with wild berry, rose and rosemary essence. This is a beautiful wine, taut and silky, with elegant tannins that will endure ambitious bottle aging. Production is 37,000 bottles.

Dark, rich and deeply alluring, the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Pianrosso boasts a display of ripe black fruits encased in an air of crushed stone, sage and exotic spice. While velvety and almost creamy in texture, it finds harmony through juicy acids and a mix of ripe black cherry and plums. Hints of licorice and baker’s chocolate balance the Pianrosso’s salty minerality and fine-grained tannins through the long and dramatic finale. There’s beautiful symmetry here for a wine with such power. Place this in the cellar for ten years or more; but don’t make the mistake of not checking in from time to time, because I expect the 2016 to enjoy a long and open drinking window. Eric Guido

Considered the estate’s most representative vineyard, Pianrosso was replanted in the 1980s. It sits on iron rich marly soil and reaches 360 metres above sea level. Weightier and richer than the estate Brunello, it is also more mineral-laden. A promising nose of pungent potpourri and cherry orchard leads to plum cake on the palate. Layered velvety tannins clasp substantial fruit while offsetting hints of orange oil and fennel that provide refreshment.

From a single 11.7-ha vineyard at between 240 and 360 m above sea level. Fermentation in stainless-steel and glass-lined concrete tanks. Aged for 36 months in 7.5- to 62-hl Slavonian oak casks, followed by eight months in bottle. Mid ruby. Quite concentrated and rich but with more tension than the very accessible straight Brunello. Purer fruit too. Succulent and edgy at the same time. Polished, long and already approachable. (WS)