A textbook Brunello, mingling cherry and berry fruit with bitter almond, iron, sanguine and tobacco notes. Well-structured and harmonious, this should rein in the tannins with a few years of aging. Best from 2020 through 2033. 8,000 cases imported.

Castello Banfi's 2012 Brunello di Montalcino is a textbook expression of the vintage. This wine faithfully reflects the warmth of the vintage thanks to aromas of plump cherry, blackberry, spice, grilled herb and rosemary. The bouquet offers a very Mediterranean quality that is saturated, rich and succulent. There's a distant mineral vein that fits perfectly within this aromatic portrait of Sangiovese. Castello Banfi has done a good job building up the mouthfeel in a vintage that has produced many thin and lean wines. This expression offers respectable dimension and depth. Eighty percent of the wine is aged in botte grande and the rest goes into French barrique for two years.

Shy aromas suggesting ripe black-skinned fruit, espresso and a whiff of dark spice emerge in the glass. The medium-bodied palate offers dried black cherry, mocha and grilled sage alongside fresh acidity and taut tightly knit tannins. Drink after 2019.