2016 Brunello di Montalcino Montosoli

The 2019s from Altesino are some of the best new releases I can remember tasting at this address. The Brunello, a blend of vineyards throughout the region, is stunning with its depth, complexity and energy combination. However, in recent years, Altesino has worked to secure more vineyards in the north, except the Lavacchio vineyard, a new acquisition in the extreme southwest. As for the single vineyard Montosoli, a true northern wine, it's easily one of the vintage's top Brunellos. Its radiance is off the charts, and that helps push the terroir marker even higher. Both wines are refined for 24 months in large Slavonian oak casks. The 2019 reminded Alessandra Angelini of vintages of the 1990s, like 1990, 1996 and 1999.

The Altesino winery is located on the northern side of Montalcino, yet it farms vineyards throughout the north, south and eastern parts of the region, with elevations ranging from 180 meters in the east, up to 300 meters in the north on the hill of Montosoli. Consulting enologist, Paolo Caciorgna, believes that it’s within the diversity of their many different terroir that they are able to succeed in most vintages, a comment that is validated by the straight Brunello and Riserva of the house, both of which I’ve ranked highly amongst their peers in most vintages. This brings up another point about Altesino, one which I believe sets them apart: their regard for terroir over winemaking. A perfect example of this can be seen throughout their range of Brunello, all of which come from a different blending of vineyards, or just the one in the case of Montosoli; yet all share the same process of élevage in the winery. From the Brunello, through the Montosoli and also the Riserva, the wines are refined for a total of twenty-four months in large Slavonian oak casks. When it comes to the Riserva, this gave Altesino the upper hand with the 2015, a wine that maintains the vibrancy of the vintage and was scored accordingly.