2015 - Brunello di Montalcino Helichrysum, San Polino

Full ruby-red. Aromas of cherry nectar, blackberry, licorice and minerals. Juicy and tightly wound but essentially pliant, with an austere quality to the youthfully chewy black and red fruit and licorice flavors complicated by fresh herbs. Partly barrel fermented, this has noteworthy depth but is still a baby today that needs plenty of cellaring. Finishes long.

This 2015 San Polino Brunello di Montalcino Helichrysum has lots of red and black ripe cherry fruit and even some wild strawberry notes on the nose, all with a certain exuberance. The tannins are a little firmer and drier than in the 2017 and 2018 but this is balanced by a good concentration of fruit in the middle of the palate where more powerful flavors of bright, black cherry mingle with creamy, charred oak notes. 2015 was a very good vintage in Tuscany, it was a hot and sunny and produced ripe, fruity wines. The palate continues with cherries soaked in alcohol, a note of sun-dried fruit and sweet licorice; there are some pretty flavors encased in a firm tannic structure.

The San Polino 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Helichrysum shows loads of dark fruit and depth. If the estate's other Brunello from this vintage (both of them 8,000-bottle yields) is all about the red fruit, the Helichrysum embraces black fruit aromas of prune and plum instead, giving the wine a heavier center of gravity, more determination and momentum. This warm vintage would make a fantastic pairing to the classic Tuscan bistecca alla Fiorentina.

Poured from magnum. Certified organic (ICEA).Lustrous mid concentrated ruby. Rich, intense yet not sweet multi-layered nose with hints of white pepper and marasca cherry. Lush, with gorgeous juicy acidity. Amazingly youthful, you wouldn’t know this is now 10 years old. Bags of crunchy tannins. Genuine and immediate, this still has years ahead of it. (WS)