Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino 2017

This is the so-called "green label" Brunello with proprietor Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini's signature on the front of the bottle. Her classic 2017 Brunello di Montalcino is sharp and tonic with wild raspberry, cassis, lilac, earth and garden herb. There is a sweet note of sour cherry on the mid-weight finish. This is an ample 160,000-bottle production made in a traditional approach with two years in casks made with both Slavonian and French oak.

Pretty aromas of blue flowers and wild berries mix with new leather and botanical herbs. On the linear, already approachable palate, fine-grained, polished tannins accompany juicy Morello cherry, star anise, crushed mint and mocha. Drink through 2027.

Bright fruit flavors mark this harmonious red, offering cherry, strawberry, eucalyptus and sanguine notes. Lightly dusty tannins come to the fore as this winds down on the finish. Best from 2024 through 2042. 12,500 cases made, 5,000 cases imported.

The 2017 Brunello di Montalcino is hauntingly dark and floral, pulling you close with an alluring mix of black cherries, sour citrus and mentholated herbs. It impresses further with soft textures and fleshy red fruits that are nicely contrasted by a salty core of minerality. This loses a bit of concentration through the midpalate, but it finishes structured, persistent, yet fresh, with hints of inner violet and licorice tones. The 2017 is a fine effort in a difficult vintage.