Podere le Ripi 2016 Brunello di Montalcino "Cielo d'Ulisse" 750ml

Podere le Ripi farms vines on both the eastern and the western flanks of the appellation. The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Cielo d'Ulisse comes from the warmer, western flank in a spot not too far away from Camigliano with vines planted in 1990. This 15,000-bottle release offers dark cherry fruit at its core with sweet spice, cedar smoke and pretty herbal renderings. I guess you could call this the entry-level Brunello (based on its price point), but you get lots of deep, complex and dark fruit rendering nonetheless. The personality of this wine is soft, rich and fruity. Aging takes the wine through large oak casks for three years and an additional eight months of cement for a final and important phase of integration.

Score: 94+ points -- Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate, 2020