2016 - Brunello di Montalcino PS Vecchie Vigne, Siro Pacenti

The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Vecchie Vigne is a total pleasure to the senses. A whiff of tobacco and dried herbs complicates black cherries and hints of cedary spice. Silken in feel, it presents tart red and black fruits guided by brisk acidity, while a crisp mineral tinge adds form toward the close. It leaves a pleasantly bitter saturation of dark chocolate and a coating of fine tannins, finishing with excellent length.

I tasted this wine from barrel a few years back, and it's great to follow up on its evolution. Looking back at my notes, I remarked on the generosity, depth and fruit-driven bounty of the Siro Pacenti 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Vecchie Vigne. Those are the same words I would use to describe the wine today. Indeed, they could sum up the house style that underlines concentration, careful berry selection and an elaborate oak regimen with new French barrique. Fruit from old vines represents a blend of two sites, one with rocky soils to the south and another with clay soils to the north. This wine opens to a nicely saturated appearance with dark berry, spice and tobacco. The wine is structured and firm, owning its tannins to both the fruit and the barrique. I do find the tannins to be astringent at this young stage, so I would hold off from opening this 25,000-bottle release for a long while. Like many of the other producers in Montalcino, Giancarlo Pacenti has captured the linearity and focus of the vintage, but his house style ultimately leaves a bigger mark on the fruit.

Lustrous ruby. Brooding rich fruit underneath hints of creamy oak. Lush cherry fruit on the palate followed by a layer of drying tannins with a slightly earthy undertone. Ends rather dry. Two samples tasted. (WS)