Siro Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino Riserva (1.5 Liter Magnum) 2015
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Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert
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Winemaker Notes
PS is well structured, elegant and potent, possessing the unique character of the land where it is born.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The PS is the sole single vineyard bottle produced by Siro Pacenti, with only 1000 bottles and 200 magnums being produced. PS is sourced from vines planted by Siro Pacenti in the early 1970s on the northwest side of Montalcino and is only produced in the best vintages. The 2015 PS is rich and inviting, with sweet blackberry and plum fruit, licorice, and crushed lavender. The palate is full, though it has more freshness than the nose would suggest, with gripping tannins and energetic acidity to match. The warmth of the vintage is tangible, and for that reason I believe the 2016 will have some edge in the long haul for aging potential. As with the rest of the Brunello line-up, the PS spent two years in French oak of 225 liters that is noticeable but poised for a polished style. Enjoy over the next 15 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Franco Pacenti 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva (with 6,500 bottles made) is a dense and nicely concentrated wine with plush and rich fruit flavors. Blackberry, plum and wild cherry cede to spice, potting soil and blue flower. There is an underlying mineral component as well. Although this Riserva has integrated nicely in the six years since the harvest, the fruit feels fresh and youthful nonetheless. Give it a few more years in your cellar.
Rating: 94+
Giancarlo Pacenti is one of the leaders of the younger generation of innovative Montalcinesi who take inspiration and new ideas from outside of the zone and often beyond Italian borders. His two vineyards lie in two very different areas of Montalcino: one to the northeast of the town, where the wines develop full, ripe qualities; and one to the hotter southwest area near Sant’Angelo in Colle, which produces a more powerful, minerally wine. The Rosso is considered to be one of the very best, with the fruit’s inherent structure delicately enhanced by a brief passage in barriques (the 2006 vintage has just received 90 points from Parker). Since the 1995 vintage, his Brunello has repeatedly won Gambero Rosso's most prestigious Tre Bicchieri (Three Glass) award in addition to 90+ scores from all the major international publications.
Among Italy's elite red grape varieties, Sangiovese has the perfect intersection of bright red fruit and savory earthiness and is responsible for the best red wines of Tuscany. While it is best known as the chief component of Chianti, it is also the main grape in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and reaches the height of its power and intensity in the complex, long-lived Brunello di Montalcino. Somm Secret—Sangiovese doubles under the alias, Nielluccio, on the French island of Corsica where it produces distinctly floral and refreshing reds and rosés.
Famous for its bold, layered and long-lived red, Brunello di Montalcino, the town of Montalcino is about 70 miles south of Florence, and has a warmer and drier climate than that of its neighbor, Chianti. The Sangiovese grape is king here, as it is in Chianti, but Montalcino has its own clone called Brunello.
The Brunello vineyards of Montalcino blanket the rolling hills surrounding the village and fan out at various elevations, creating the potential for Brunello wines expressing different styles. From the valleys, where deeper deposits of clay are found, come wines typically bolder, more concentrated and rich in opulent black fruit. The hillside vineyards produce wines more concentrated in red fruits and floral aromas; these sites reach up to over 1,600 feet and have shallow soils of rocks and shale.
Brunello di Montalcino by law must be aged a minimum of four years, including two years in barrel before realease and once released, typically needs more time in bottle for its drinking potential to be fully reached. The good news is that Montalcino makes a “baby brother” version. The wines called Rosso di Montalcino are often made from younger vines, aged for about a year before release, offer extraordinary values and are ready to drink young.