Sweet black cherries with some blackberries, as well as cherry blossom in both the nose and palate. Medium to full body with firm tannins and a chewy finish, but it will soften and come together nicely with bottle age. Try after 2025.

This is a wine to watch, thanks to some exciting new changes to come. The Antinori family purchased new vineyards located at the highest point in the appellation at the romantically named Passo del Lume Spento (Pass of the Extinguished Lantern) where higher altitudes make for cooler growing conditions. This new acquisition complements the estate's current holdings in Pian delle Vigne (translated as the "flatlands of vines") located at much warmer lower elevations with heavier reddish soils. That means future vintages (wines to come after the 2018 Brunello that is already in bottle as I write this) may see a blend of fruit from the two sites, giving the winemaking team much more latitude to blend from both cool and warm parcels. Or the Passo del Lume Spento fruit could end up in its own single-vineyard bottling. It will be interesting to see how the estate uses its new fruit and its new winery. The Marchesi Antinori 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Pian delle Vigne takes us back to a classic profile for the estate in which you perceive an open and approachable bouquet. This is textbook Pian delle Vigne. The wine's foundations are rooted in ripeness with dried cherry and blackberry, and there are earthy notes with some powdery licorice and iron ore. Pian delle Vigne performs nicely in the celebrated 2016 vintage; however, this wine remains far more accessible than its peers, and I suggest a near to medium-term drinking window as a result. It was racked out of barrel and went into glass sooner in order to preserve the aromatic integrity of the vintage. Prioritizing glass over barrel aging is a trend we are seeing across the appellation. Some 190,000 bottles were made.

The 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Pian delle Vigne was tasted (after a double decant) among the other wines from the Chianti Classico appellation made by Marchesi Antinori. That's a change because I usually taste this wine in a peer group of fellow Brunelli. You'd be forgiven for forgetting how different Sangiovese from these two geographically close (but philosophically distant) wine regions ultimately tastes. This expression from the warm 2015 vintage is loosely knit and less fine-tuned. It offers a broad-brush interpretation of the grape, with textured blackberry, spice, tar and earthy aromas. There is a touch of heat or extra ripeness in this wine that tends to flatten out the more nuanced details of the grape. The wine feels a bit evolved even at this young tasting date. Some 172,000 bottles were released in January 2020.

The 2014 Brunello di Montalcino Pian delle Vigne works very nicely all said and done. It presents the light and undertone character of the vintage against the ripe and more opulent style that is associated with this vineyard site at the lower parts of southern Montalcino. These two elements result in a balanced and forthright performance. The wine opens to a dark garnet color and ripe aromas of dark cherry and blackberry followed by potting soil, rose bud and grilled herb. Some 150,000 bottles were made.

The 2013 Brunello di Montalcino Pian delle Vigne shows a level of increased volume and texture that appears less frequently in its peers. This wine has always marched to its own drumbeat, and this newest release is no exception. A warmer microclimate characterizes the spot where these vineyards are located, and the fruit is opulent, ripe and exuberant as a result. The Antinori house style also comes through, and the wine has a more contemporary or international outlook as a result. What I really want to say is that Pian delle Vigne shows great results in this vintage. The Pian is back.