Fuligni Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2016 DOCG [1.5L MAGNUM]
(Tuscany, Italy) - [JS 99] [WE 99] [VM 98+] [WA 97+]

About the Winery:
Fuligni was founded in 1923 in the province of Siena. Today the winery is owned by Roberto Fuligni and the winemaker is Paolo Vagaggini. Fuligni currently has 30-32 acres under vine. The Fuligni range is a complete cross-section of Montalcino offerings, Rosso, Brunello, Super Tuscan, and yearly production goes from an average of 50,000-60,000 bottles.

About this Wine:
100% Sangiovese. Fugligni's Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is a classic interpretation of the time-honored wine, made from pure Sangiovese grapes, grown exclusively from the estate's oldest vineyards. The vines are close to thirty years old, with excellent exposure and stony tuffaceous soil dating back to the Eocene epoch. The grapes are harvested in early fall, and macerate for about eighteen days in stainless steel, where the wine continues to age for five more months. It then spends thirty-six months in Slavonian oak barrels and six months in bottle before release. This masterpiece of a wine features a generous and vast aromatic profile that ranges from black cherry, to orange, ginger and rhubarb. The wine is extremely cellarable, even decades, if storage conditions are right.

Tasting Notes:
Deep garnet color with remarkable elegance, balance and extract; a beautiful bouquet of raspberry, orange, pepper and licorice. Black cherry, ginger and rhubarb and a creamy orange liqueur are pleasing on the structured palate; a lovely and persistent finish.

Food Pairing:
Pairs well with rich, structured dishes, red meat,
game, aged cheese.

Ratings & Reviews

99 Points - James Suckling:
"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." (Oct 2021)

99 Points - Wine Enthusiast:
"Delicate aromas recalling forest berry, rose, violet and wild herb shape the enticing nose. The savory, elegantly structured palate features juicy red cherry, spiced cranberry, star anise and a hint of tobacco set against taut, fine-grained tannins. Fresh acidity keeps it well balanced and focused. A wonderful expression of the fantastic vintage from one of Montalcino's most historic producers, it boasts great aging potential. Drink 2026–2046. – Kerin O’Keefe (4/1/2022)

98+ Points - Vinous Media:
"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." - Eric Guido (Dec 2021)

97+ Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"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." – Monica Larner (Feb 2022)