2015 San Filippo Le Lucere Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 750 ml

Roberto Giannelli, the owner of the preeminent San Filippo estate in Montalcino, warned us there was absolutely no wine left to sell before we visited in January this year. Buyers had been clamoring for the remarkable 2015 releases—especially the knockout 100-point Le Lucére Brunello di Montalcino DOCG. Finally, after a late night and innumerable bottles of wine at his Montalcino villa, we persuaded him to “find some” for our members from the estate’s library.

This supple, truffle-scented stunner reached mythical status in collector circles before its release— those lucky enough to taste it praised its layers of muscle combined with feminine beauty, chocolate, and wild berries. 

This release is almost impossible to come by. Demand for the limited-production wine from this Tuscan estate is outlandishly high every year, but when the 2015 Le Lucére was listed as the #3 contender for James Suckling’s “2019 Wine of the Year,” the tiny 1,300 case production almost instantly vanished, claimed by long-established allocations. 

James Suckling credits this release’s perfect score in part to the 2015 “fairy-tale vintage” in Montalcino: “We admit that it is tempting to say that 2015 is Brunello di Montalcino’s best vintage ever.” A warm, dry summer led to minuscule and deeply concentrated Sangiovese berries, giving the wine an elegant drama. 

At every sip, the layered complexity of this perfect Sangiovese pulls us in for more. Spectator calls it a “supple and harmonious red” with “terrific length and complexity.” We call it our Happy Place. 

Legendary winemaker and Tuscan native Paolo Caciorgna is the set of hands behind the top-scoring San Filippo wines. The famed oenologist has consulted for over 25 estates in Italy, including prestigious houses such as Montalcino’s Altesino and Etna’s pioneering winery Tenute delle Terre Nere. Even British rock star Sting called on Caciorgna to make his wines when he launched his Sister Moon label in Tuscany. Surprisingly, this was not the first A-lister to be associated with San Filippo. Hollywood actor Richard Gere selected an earlier vintage of San Filippo Le Lucére Brunello for his private label at his New York-based Relais & Châteaux property Bedford Post. 

With yields down on this already scarce production, it’s not likely that our 168 bottles from this highly-sought-after release will be available for long. It took us several days on the property to uncover this hidden allocation, and we may not see another like it until the next party in Montalcino.