Since so many of you asked about what Pacenti 2016 Brunello was available, I’ve put together a modest offer for the few precious cases of the Vecchie Vigne (old vines) cuvee still at our disposal.  These are coming directly from Pacenti’s longtime importer and are in immaculate condition.  Pacenti, as many of you PRIMA old-timers will already know, has been associated with PRIMA since the 1988 vintage when our own Joel Butler MW first convinced Giancarlo Pacenti he could sell his Brunello in California.  This was back in the day when that was no mean feat!  Anyway, these plush, stylish wines immediately struck a chord here and, before you know it, the Pacenti name was on every Brunello lover’s lips, not only ours.  Our allocation of Pacenti’s 2016s sold out in a matter of minutes last year- part of the general frenzy that surrounded the 2016s in general.  We thought this cuvee, our favorite of his three 2016s, was long sold out, but a conversation regarding the just-arrived 2019 Rosso di Montalcino revealed that the importer did still have a modest stash he had originally saved for a few restaurants of which some, like ours, were no longer a factor.  Thank you very much!  We’ll take ‘em.  Like all Pacenti wines, this 2016 cuvee is aromatic, textural and deep, deep, deep.  Despite the generous use of luxurious French oak, the wine is still a transparent expression of the old vine Sangiovese from two separate sites that create the cuvee.  All that luscious cherry-inflected fruit covers a core of Montalcino’s iron-y mineral and tannin and you would be well advised to give this a good long decanting if you decide you can’t lay your hands off it in the near term but, really, find a dark, cool spot at the back of the cellar and let this wonder do its thing.  Not too long ago, a customer opened for us a 1988- and this was well before Giancarlo had decided to segregate these particular old vine sites- and it was simply fabulous!  I don’t have much but what I got is yours!   

 James Suckling: Such wonderful opulence and beauty. The nose shows dried flowers and minerals with blackberries and black cherries. Purity is the word. Full-bodied with incredible depth and structure and polished, silky tannins that envelop your palate. The length is really impressive. 97 points 

Jeb Dunnuck: The 2016 Vecchie Vigne Brunello is introspective and complex on the nose, with tobacco, baked earth, dried black plum, cedar, and lavender. The palate is concentrated and brooding, with cola, balsamic black fruit, and tea leaf, and the wine is full-bodied, with chiseled structure, powerful tannin, and balanced acidity. Spending two years in French oak of 225 liters, the oak influence is present but has finesse and is well-integrated for the style. This wine warrants time in the cellar and will be fantastic drinking for those who gravitate to a more polished, modern style. 96 points  

Vinous Media: The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Vecchie Vigne from Siro Pacenti is dark and youthfully folded in upon itself. This pulls you closer to the glass, as it slowly reveals a nuanced display of olive-tinged blackberry and plum, with hints of mocha, balsamic spice and tanned leather. It’s deeply textural, with velvety waves of ripe black fruits laced with tactile minerals, propelled by vibrant acids which carry its medium-bodied weight with ease. Youthfully dense, poised and geared for the long term, the 2016 Vecchie Vigne will require a good amount of cellaring to show all of its charms. Hints of licorice and violet florals echo throughout the long and structured finale. 95 points     

Wine Advocate: 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. 94 points