2017 CastelGiocondo Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Ripe al Convento

The 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Ripe al Convento di CastelGiocondo (with a black label) is definitely shaped by oak spice and toast, but the wine also shows thick layers of black fruit, cooked plum, sweet earth and fragrant cedar. This is a full-bodied Brunello from a hot vintage and one that expertly carries its extra fruit weight and oak-driven flavors. Like other Riservas from this hot vintage, the wine is ready to drink now.

A challengingly hot and dry vintage in Brunello, and not an immediate choice for Riserva wines perhaps, but there is excellent punchy spice on this, white pepper, turmeric, soy, saline minerality, delicous wine that has a real vivacity and life. Red fruits, right on target in terms of Brunello signature, leather, black tea and grippy tannins. Good stuff, no need to wait to begin drinking. 235ha estate, owned by Marchesi Frescobaldi.

Dark and brooding in the glass, the 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Ripe al Convento di Castelgiocondo smolders up with a blend of exotic spice and crushed stone giving way to mentholated black cherries. It washes across the palate with a dense textural wave of ripe red and black fruits, as grippy tannins mount toward the close. The 2017 finishes with power and immensely structured, lashing the tongue with youthful concentration, as hints of balsam and sour citrus slowly fizzle out. Few wineries chose to produce a Riserva in 2017, but I must admit that Castelgiocondo did an admirable job here. While this will need time to soften, I don’t expect it to mature well through its tenth anniversary.