2012 - Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Paganelli Riserva, Il Poggione

Here's a beautifully rich and succulent Brunello that drinks very nicely straight out of the gate. The 2012 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Vigna Paganelli delivers a warm, inviting and velvety presentation. This bold wine is redolent of black cherry and dried blackberry with sweet almond, toasted spice and balsam herb on the long finish. What stands out most, however, is the wine's rich texture that floods the mouth from front to back. That richness is fueled by the warmth of the vintage but also by the magnificent oak integration. This Riserva is aged in botti grandi for four long years. Bottle production is 45,000 strong.

Deep red. Sweet spices, ripe red cherry and licorice on the broad nose. Rich, ripe and suave, showing insidious sweetness to the red cherry and herbal flavors, this big wine is balanced enough to hide its 15% alcohol very well. Less graceful than the 2013 Brunello from Il Poggione, but that has mostly to do with the hotter 2012 vintage.

Deep ruby. Spicy and a little savoury/reductive at first. Concentrated while perfectly balanced and richly tannic. Very youthful and still a little unsettled. (WS)