2016 Brunello di Montalcino Campo del Drago

Campo del Drago is a small single vineyard at high elevation of 450 meters above sea level. The 2016 was aged for two years in a combination of new French barrique and large barrels. The 2016 Campo del Drago Brunello is rich with ripe black plum, lavender, cedar, and tobacco. It has an amplified core of crunchy black cherry fruit, licorice, and an iron-rich mineral feel, with present but well-integrated tannins. A wonderful job done by winemaker Cecilia Leoneschi. Drink 2022-2042. Tuscan born Cecilia Leoneschi began working with the estate in 2003. Today she manages 42 hectares, with the main vineyards having southwest exposure. The fermentations occur in stainless steel, and the wines are aged in cask (70%) and barriques (30%). She has begun to utilize and experiment with a small proportion of whole bunches in the fermentation to add complexity to the wines.

The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Campo del Drago (with only 8,000 bottles made) comes from a little vineyard measuring just 1.5 hectares. It is located at a high 450 meters above sea level, and what this parcel lacks in size, it makes up for in terms of view and exposure. The entire Castiglion del Boco property is surrounded by thick shrub oak forests, as the very name of the estate suggests ("bosco" means "forest" in Italian), with wild boar, roe deer and foxes (plenty of foxes). You most certainly smell aromas of underbrush and forest floor in this wine along with dark fruit, cherry and plum.

The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Campo del Drago places smoky minerals and minty herbs before fruit. It gains further depths of spiced orange, clove and medicinal cherry over time. The textures are silky, almost creamy in feel, giving way to polished red fruits laced with salty minerals, as zesty acids add a motivating and spicy flair. Stern tannins arrive toward the close, clamping down on the expression and leaving only hints of tart berries through the cheek-puckering finale. The 2016 Campo del Drago will require a good amount of time to resolve its hulking structure, yet there’s plenty of concentration and acidity to maintain balance throughout.