Fuligni Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2016 (750ML)

99 KO / 99 JS / 98+ VM / 98 DE / 97+ WA / 96 WI / 95 WS / 18 JR

One of my favorite wines so far from Fuligni, the drop-dead gorgeous 2016 Riserva opens with compelling aromas of dog rose, botanical herb, wild berry and spice. It’s structured and elegant, delivering succulent Marasca cherry, cranberry sauce, licorice and tobacco notes accompanied by firm, fine-grained tannins. It’s well balanced, with bright acidity. A fantastic wine with serious aging potential. Drink through 2046. Abv: 14.5% Kerin O’Keefe May 2024. --Kerin O'Keefe

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.—James Suckling

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.—EG, Vinous Media

Fuligni’s Riserva is born in the San Giovanni vineyard at Podere Cottimelli, the estate’s original site. It is a selection of the best bunches from vines averaging 50 years of age. The 2016 is currently a brooding beast, but a remarkably handsome one at close glance. It starts with polished leather and walnut skin before disclosing hints of lavender, anise and freshly turned earth. The structure is even denser and drier than the annata, but the fruit is also sweeter and more concentrated. Finely chiselled tannins wrap around black cherry and red plum, and with an intense mineral drive this is fully charged. It will take a few more years, however, to lay bare all of its lurking intricacies. Drinking Window 2025 - 2045.--Decanter

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, The Wine Advocate

This 2016 Fuglini Brunello di Montalcino Riserva has a bright youthful tone but is more garnet at the rim. On the nose it has smoky, savory, tobacco leaf, truffle notes and light spice. On the palate it has intense and vibrant acidity and fine, sandy textured tannins. It has medium weight and concentration with a very long, juicy mouth-watering acidity and sweet and savory, tobacco flavors. It is less vibrant and immediate than I expected but this wine has a classically elegant style and a gentle charm. - Susan Hulme, Wine Independent

Deep lustrous ruby with orange tinges. Truly captivating nose of sweetly spiced cherry fruit of enormous depth. The supple, succulent cherry fruit literally rolls over the palate and is filled out with lots of polished, gravelly tannins. Very long, juicy and exciting while retaining an impeccable sense of elegance. - Jancis Robinson