2016 Siro Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino Pelagrilli
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Tasting notes
Tart cherries come together with nuances of dried flowers, citrus and old spice box as the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Pelagrilli opens in the glass. It’s silky and round, yet a core of salty minerality creates a savory tension, as bright red berries and inner florals amass toward the close. This finishes lightly structured with tart fruits and a hint of wild herbs. The Pelagrilli comes from the winery’s vineyards in the north, where the higher content of clay adds an attractively plush weight, which, coupled with 24 months in barrique, makes for a wonderfully opulent but balanced wine.
Critic scores
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
Mid to deep ruby. Subdued but rich cherry and dark-fruit nose with touches of sweet oak. Embryonic sour-cherry fruit followed by a layer of drying tannins, which need more time to integrate. Right now this ends a little dry. (WS)
The aromatics of the 2016 Pelagrilli are dark fruited and luxurious, with supple oak, warm baking spice, vanilla, and fresh black plum. The palate is consistent and inviting, with silky tannin and a rounded mouthfeel, with notes of cocoa and dried black cherry. Modern styled, it displays generous wood tones that are polished and which I believe will be well-integrated with some time. Enjoy over the next 15 years. Located northeast of the town of Montalcino, Giancarlo Pacenti has helmed this estate since 1988, when he first began to bottle the family’s wine under the Siro Pacenti label.
Siro Pacenti is the estate behind some of the most contemporary and fruit-froward wines made in Montalcino. That said, the wines can sometimes feel a bit monotone and lacking in nuance because of the very powerful oak (especially when tasted this young). For sure, the Siro Pacenti 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Pelagrilli is decidedly more focused on black fruit aromas rather than red fruit brightness, and it follows through with a healthy delivery of cedar, toasted spice, pencil shaving and campfire ash. Blackberry, fresh prune and plum cede to those oak-driven aromas. Like the other wines from this producer, I found that the oak tannins are not approachable in the near term. You really need to give this wine more time in the bottle. Siro Pacenti farms beautiful and carefully manicured vineyards on the north side of Montalcino. This is a 25,000-bottle production.