2018 Talenti - Brunello di Montalcino (750ml)

The Talenti estate sits south of Montalcino, near the medieval village of Sant'Angelo in Colle, and is now led by Riccardo Talenti, who took over from his grandfather Pierluigi while carrying forward the family's clonal nursery work from the 1970s. Riccardo farms roughly twenty-one hectares, sixteen of them planted to Sangiovese, and has brought new energy to an estate long known for reliability, pushing it from dependable into standout territory in recent vintages.

This Brunello comes from five of the estate's older Sangiovese parcels, planted back in 1981 across south and southeast-facing slopes at elevations between 250 and 400 meters, where sandy loam soils rich in clay and galestro marl help shape the wine's structure. After temperature-controlled fermentation in steel, the wine ages at least twenty-four months, split between 500-liter French oak tonneaux and larger Slavonian oak casks, followed by further time resting in bottle before release.

The 2018 shows a deep ruby color with garnet highlights, opening to notes of dried fruit, blue flower, and balsamic herb. The palate is full and velvety, with sweet, refined tannins and real length. It's an excellent pairing for a fine steak, grilled game, or a rich pasta with meat ragù.