2016 Talenti Brunello di Montalcino

When we tasted last year’s Talenti Brunello, we didn’t think under-$60 Italian reds could get any better. 

Then we tried the 2016.

Vinous called Talenti “one of the best values in age-worthy Brunello in the market,” and Wine Enthusiast’s Kerin O’Keefe—who wrote the definitive book on Brunello—gave the 2016 a 97-point score, which put it on the same plane as $120 bottles like Altesino’s Montosoli and Canalicchio di Sopra, and ahead of $200+ icons like Poggio di Sotto and Gaja’s Pieve Santa Restituta Rennina.

The Talenti story begins with Pierluigi “Piero” Talenti. A renowned enologist, he was hired by the illustrious Brunello producer Il Poggio, then went on to become what Antonio Galloni of Vinous would call “one of the leading winemakers in Italy of his age.”

While helping craft Il Poggio’s timeless legacy, Piero found an estate after his own heart: some 98 acres just south of Montalcino in the valley of the Orcia river—remote, rolling land wooded with Holm oaks and orchards. In the 1970s, Talenti planted the tiny vineyard that provides the grapes for this wine, showing his traditionalist streak by opting for 100% Sangiovese.

Situated on a slope with a perfect south-easterly exposure, Galestro clay contributes profound nuance to the low-yielding vines, which grow 1,345 feet above sea level. In 2016’s warm-but-not-hot growing season, Piero’s grandson Riccardo, Talenti’s current winemaker, coaxed out a lively wine of fantastic concentration and stunning aromatics.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 14.50%
• 1 hour
• Now – 2035
• % Sangiovese
• Serving temperature – 60°
• Cork