2016 Brunello di Montalcino

Fabian Schwarz, owner and winemaker of La Magia, is always looking to the future and willing to experiment, whether through vine training, cask sizes or even the use of amphorae. This estate boasts bio/organic certification throughout their fifteen hectares, all dedicated to Sangiovese and the production of Brunello. The southeast-facing vineyards overlook the abbey of Sant’Antimo at 400-450 meters, and are planted in poor stony soils with a layer of water-retaining clay found beneath. The Brunello is always a pleasure to taste from year to year, southern in character with just a touch of oak. This year was also the first time I was able to taste the single-vineyard Ciliegio, produced using the estate's oldest vines and named for the two cherry trees that mark the borders of this parcel. It’s a fruit-forward and vibrant wine, wonderfully balanced, and you’ll swear that you can smell fresh picked cherries the moment you put your nose to the glass. Unfortunately, their Riserva in 2015 is a heavily oak-influenced effort which seems to have robbed the expression of some of the freshness and energy that I’ve come to expect from La Magia.