This is an important Brunello arrival- to quote critic Kerin O’Keefe, it’s one of the best wines of the vintage! 

2020 Baricci Brunello di Montalcino Montosoli $104.99 with shipping included on 6 bottles or more

When it comes to vineyard aristocracy in Montalcino, a few places really stand out and those planted atop and around Montosoli Hill are perhaps the crème de la crème of the appellation.  This free standing hill sits at the northeastern part of the appellation and its 20 hectares of vines, farmed by only six producers, have created some of the most noble examples of Brunellos ever made. And, from among those six, the Baricci family has a particular pride of place and history. Nello Baricci was the Brunello Consorzio’s very first signatory in 1967 and the Baricci winery proudly will own forever Badge #1 on the roster of Brunello producers. But Nello, himself, was hardly an aristocrat. In fact, Montalcino-born Nello was a sharecropper who began working the land at a very young age. By squirreling away a little bit every chance he could, he managed, in 1955, at the age of 34, to purchase some of the land he farmed, about 5.5 hectares of the best exposures on the hill. Producing his first vintage of Rosso di Montalcino in 1968 and his first Brunello in 1971, the Baricci name now sits alongside a very few greats as Montalcino’s most venerable and venerated properties. With the third generation of the Baricci family now at the helm, this very small cantina finds itself at the very top of its game making it a true pleasure to sit down and taste the 2022 and 2023 Rossi (the only Rosso di Montalcino labeled Montosoli) and the just-arrived 2020 Montosoli Brunello with Francesco Buffi, Nello’s affable grandson. And while the Rossi were really fabulous ($44.99 and will be on our shelf too) it was the spellbinding 2020 Brunello di Montalcino that truly got my attention. Here was the Sangiovese Grosso grape, to my mind, in its most perfect iteration- pure, focused, thoroughly appealing but truly deep and complex too: Ripe but cool, immensely structured but impeccably balanced, supremely elegant and full of character. A true Montosoli! I hate to explain the attributes of a wine by telling you what it’s not, but there’s no rusticity, pushy tannins or excessive wood as we sometimes see in wines that seem to be trying too hard. It’s just, simply, a truly delicious and very noble bottle of Brunello that will cellar well and drink young too. With only around 18,000 bottles produced and a lot of critical attention, we’re not getting a lot. Worth it! 

Kerin O’Keefe: The captivating Baricci 2020 Brunello Montsoli is one of the best wines of the vintage. Showing the combination of power and finesse that has made Montosoli famous, it opens with heady aromas of forest floor, new leather, ripe dark-skinned berry, fine tobacco blend and camphor. Full-bodied and delicious, the palate has tension and structure, delivering ripe black cherry, plum, star anise and cake spice enveloped in velvety tannins. Fresh acidity keeps it balanced and lifted. Drink 2028–2038 98 points

Vinous Media: The 2020 Brunello di Montalcino opens slowly in the glass, dark and earthy at first, gaining freshness as a cascade of violets and lavender accentuate red plums and hints of spice. It opens with a balanced inner sweetness offset by mineral-inflected red berries and brisk acidity carried over a wave of pure silk. The 2020 leaves a note of sour citrus, adding mouth-watering quality, classically formed tannins and a bitter blackberry tinge that keeps the taster going back for more. This comes across as classic in style despite the warm vintage. 96 points

Wine Spectator: Ripe and succulent, featuring cherry, plum, earth, graphite and wild herb aromas and flavors. Vibrant acidity provides tension and drives this red to the prolonged aftertaste. Harmonious and complex, with terrific energy and length. Drink now through 2043. 95 points