Juicy and expressive nose of crushed tomatoes, potpourri, and red plums with some coffee and cedar. Full-bodied with solid tannins and balanced acidity. Orange aftertaste. Savory and complex. Fascinating now but will go even further after 2028.

This red is beefy and closed, with the dense, powerful structure putting the brakes on cherry, kirsch, plum and white pepper flavors for now. Yet there is plenty in reserve as this plays out on the lingering finish. If anything upsets the balance, this is a tad dry on the finish today, but give this the benefit of the doubt. Best from 2026 through 2045. 333 cases made, 63 cases imported.??–BS??Region: Italy / Brunello di Montalcino Select to Add

The Fattoria dei Barbi 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna del Fiore reveals a fine and elegant personality that gives the wine a pop of brightness and vertical lift. The texture of the wine is very silky and smooth, giving this vintage a pleasantly lean to mid-weight approach. The wine closes with hints of iris root, dried cherry and rusty nail that we do see in the other wines from this estate, but they appear more balanced in this bottle. The wine successfully underlines its Sangiovese identity. There were 4,000 bottles made.

Opulent, boasting loamy clay, plum, cherry, tobacco and mineral flavors, this red is backed by a matrix of beefy tannins. Resonates on the finish, finding equilibrium in the end. Best from 2025 through 2042. 300 cases made, 50 cases imported.??–BS??Region: Italy / Brunello di Montalcino Select to Add

The Fattoria dei Barbi 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna del Fiore is always distinguished by that extra level of dark intensity and concentration that comes from this special site selection of fruit. This is always one of my favorite wines from this estate, and some of that magic is played forward in this hot-vintage expression. I also think Vigna del Fiore, thanks to its structure and the purity of its aromas, is better suited to a longer aging window. The bouquet offers lots of dark fruit, plum, earth and wild rose. This 4,000-bottle release was born in a site characterized by a mix of limestone alberese and schistous galestro soils that are typical of this part of Tuscany.