Wines

100 Points! The Antinori's 2021 Solaia is another wine that captures all of the potential I sensed when I tasted it some months ago. More than anything else, the 2021 is a fine example of the style Antinori favors these days, an approach that favors finesse more than opulence. Dark plum, mocha, licorice, chocolate, spice, lavender and menthol build effortlessly in the glass. Oak and tannin are impeccably balanced. The 2021 spent 18 months in wood, three months in once-used barrels during the malolactic fermentation and then 15 months in 100% new barrels for the rest of its aging. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

97 Points! All said and done, the Marchesi Antinori 2021 Solaia is a monument to perfect winemaking. This coiffed supermodel does not show a single hair follicle out of place. However, it doesn't quite have the same sex appeal of the Tignanello. In my conversations with Estate Manager Renzo Cotarella during this tasting, it was expressed this way: "Tignanello is unexpected. Solaia is expected." Whereas Tignanello is a wine of vertical lift and energy, Solaia is a wine of lasting power. The wine offers generous depth and layering with soft tannins and some of the spicy pink peppercorn you get from the 9% Cabernet Franc (added to 77% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Sangiovese). The finish is extremely velvety and soft, but I notice that the flavors seem to become sweeter and riper the longer this wine stays in the glass. This newest release will hit the market in September. - Monica Larner, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

97 Points! This is a beautifully curated Solaia with blackcurrants and raspberries plus lavender and violet undertones. Graphite highlights it all. Just some new wood coming through. It’s full-bodied with fine velvety tannins that run the length of the wine, caressing the palate. Give this three or four years to come around. Best after 2027. - James Suckling

98 Points! The captivating Baricci 2019 Brunello is another gorgeous wine from this storied producer. It offers enticing scents of woodland berry, new leather, camphor, pipe tobacco and dog rose while the full-bodied, elegantly structured palate delivers juicy Morello cherry, red plum, licorice and cake spice before a flinty mineral finish. A backbone of tight, refined tannins and fresh acidity provide support and racy tension. While it’s still youthfully austere, it already shows great balance and precision. - Kerin O' Keefe

97 Points! The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino is youthfully inward and darkly floral with an herbal tinge and hints of crushed ashen stone that give way to vivid black raspberry and exotic spice. This is juicy and spry, with racy cherry-berry fruit and stimulating acidity that creates a sensation of boundless energy, even as a saturation of primary concentration settles in toward the close. The 2019 finishes with incredible length and youthful tension, leaving balsamic spice, sage and licorice notes lingering over a bed of dusty tannins. - Eric Guido, Viinous Media

97 Points! Baricci shines with this stunning 2019, from the estate’s south- to southeast-facing plots at 300 metres on the Montosoli hill. It is still far too young, but everything is in place for a long and gratifying life. Preliminary cedar and vanillin nuances melt into sumptuous cherry, and there's a pronounced stony, mineral edge along with juicy blood orange to impart further intricacy. Refined and graceful with layered substance, it has long, chalky, perfectly ‘al dente’ tannins and sappy, mouthwatering acidity. - Decanter Magazine

98 Points! Filippo Chia and his team kill it in this vintage. The Castello Romitorio 2020 Brunello di Montalcino Filo di Seta is a beautiful and balanced wine. This estate is making some of the best Brunellos from Montalcino today. In the not too distant past, its vineyards were once considered too cool for ideal fruit ripening, but with climate change, the vines are now in a prime position for balanced phenolics, sugars and acidity. This wine shows a wide and complete bouquet, spanning many aromas, all delivered with direct vertical intensity. This is one of the delightful oxymorons that occurs with fine wine. It shows soft, building intensity, but most importantly, the fruit quality is bright and fresh (with 7,760 bottles made). This is a keeper. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

97 Points! A silky texture announces this cherry-, blackberry- and violet-flavored red, along with notes of graphite, tobacco and wild herbs. Well-structured, with profound yet finely wrought tannins and an extra dimension of finesse that stands out. Boasting superb balance and a seemingly never-ending aftertaste, this is multidimensional and focused. - Wine Spectator

98 Points! So floral and fresh with rose stem, sandalwood and orange blossom. Cherries, too. Full-bodied yet reserved and held back with creamy fine tannins and a beautiful finish. Shows brightness and finesse. Silky texture. One of the best I have had from here. A Brunello that emphasizes purity of fruit. Give this three to four years more. Try after 2026. - JamesSuckling.com

100 Points! The 2010 Brunello di Montalcino is every bit as thrilling as it was on the many occasions I tasted it from barrel. Black cherry, hard candy, plum, rose petal, menthol and lavender saturate the palate in a sumptuous, racy Brunello endowed with magnificent depth and pedigree. An utterly stunning, sensual wine, the 2010 constantly changes in the glass as it conquers all the senses with an exotic kaleidoscope of aromas, flavors and textures. I remember tasting the 2010 from cask a few years ago when Diego Molinari was too unwell to go down to the cellar. Nora Molinari tasked me with essentially serving myself as we went from vintage to vintage and cask to cask. For days after, I was mortified that I might not have closed some of the spigots tightly enough. Fortunately, that was not the case. In all of my years tasting the wines of Montalcino, I have only come across two wines with this level of textural unctuosity and sweetness; Gianfranco Soldera's 1983 Brunello and 1990 Riserva. Cerbaiona's 2010 Brunello di Montalcino will leave readers weak at the knees. It is every bit that profound. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

98 Points! The 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino pours a bright red color and shows more aromatic restraint than the 2021. The nose shows wild raspberries, darker berries, and dried floral tones, with a more muted, understated frame. Medium to full-bodied, it offers ripe tannins, balanced acidity, and solid length, although it feels a touch less polished than the 2021 at this stage. It should drink well over the next 12 to 15 years. Drink 2026-2041. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

98 Points! Intense, vibrant aromas of strawberries and raspberries, together with cola and flowery notes. Milk and mint nuances, too. Shows a lot of licorice elegance and blood-orange freshness on both the nose and palate with firm, velvety tannins and well-packed, brilliant acidity and a polished finish. Good aftertaste and amazing potential. Very classic. Drinkable now, but best from 2025. - JamesSuckling.com

98 Points! I really appreciate the dark-berry and burnt-orange aromas that follow through to a full body, very integrated tannins and a ripe, juicy fruit character. Savory, succulent and salty. Hints of chocolate and salted nuts. So juicy and gorgeous. A fabulous red. - JamesSuckling.com

100 Points! Complex aromas of walnut, dark fruit, stone, oyster shell, chalk and dried fruits. This shows fabulous intensity and balance with layer upon layer of fruit and polished tannins. Builds on the palate. It goes on for minutes. - JamesSuckling.com

95+ Points! Made from the estate's oldest vines, the 2010 Brunello di Montalcino is a bold and powerful wine that shows enormous precision and grit. On the Brunello scale, this expression from Siro Pacenti offers more dark fruit, plum, spice, tar and smoke. The wine reveals beautiful density and an important mouthfeel that hits the palate with seductive determination. This wine is holding up beautifully since I tasted it last and has even improved in terms of its complexity and overall elegance. It still has a long way to go. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com, 2019