2016 Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona Brunello di Montalcino 750 ml

Even before Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona established itself as one of the most sought-after Brunellos in Tuscany, it had a fantastic story. The estate, dotted with olive groves and teeming with wildlife, had been in the family of the Countess Elda Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona for a century. Yet when the unpredictable Countess passed away in 1985, she stunned everyone by leaving the entire place to someone outside the family: her estate manager, Giuseppe Bianchini.

For the next 20 years, Bianchini planted vines and focused on elevating the estate’s wines. After he passed away in 2004, his son Paolo took over, and the young winemaker quickly established himself. He placed a 2007 Brunello at #9 on Wine Spectator’s Top 100, and landed a 2012 bottle on Italian magazine Gazzetta dello Sport's list of the world’s top 50 wines.

His 2016, grown in a vintage that the Wine Advocate scored as Brunello’s best ever, earned 97 points and Cellar Selection honors from Wine Enthusiast. Aromas of black cherry, red plum, and rose petals preview an elegant palate of balsamic-glazed strawberry, licorice, and pipe tobacco carried on velvety tannins. A first-class Brunello, it will shine next to nearly any Italian or American dish you can whip up.

Southeast of Montalcino, in the medieval village of Castelnuovo dell'Abate, Ciacci’s organically farmed vineyards sit in the region’s warmest sub-zone, but they’re perched at over 1000 feet of elevation, where they have the benefit of cool breezes and nights. The vines here experience Montalcino’s hallmark combination of aridity and maritime influence, which yields some of Tuscany’s most well-structured Sangioveses—and few strike a better balance of power and grace than this one.