Fuligni Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2016

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

About Fuligni

Established: 1923
Owners: Maria Flora Fuligni & Roberto Guerrini Fuligni
Winemakers: Roberto Guerrini Fuligni & Paolo Vagaggini
Production: 46,000 bottles
Hectares under vine: 11
Viticulture: Conventional

This beautiful property, surrounding a 16th century Medici villa, was founded in 1923 by a descendant of the Venetian Fulignis. Although the wines labels still bear that city’s symbol, the lion of St. Marco, the family has long been thoroughly Tuscan.  The present generations are Maria Flora Fuligni and nephew Roberto Guerrini Fuligni, a.k.a  Professor of Criminal Law at Siena University, who styles the wines with oenologist Paolo Vagaggini.

The property is on an almost continual strip on the eastern side of Montalcino, divided into four vineyards: San Giovanni, Il Piano, Ginestreto and La Bandita. The vineyards are predominantly east facing at 380-450 metres on rocky terrain. The soil is low in organic components and conducive to minuscule yields, further restrained by the age of the vines (mostly between 15-35 years with peaks of 55 years). Over the last decade, Roberto’s profound revision of the winery’s quality criteria – drastically reduced crops and even stricter selection of grapes that are vinified separately according to cru – have maximized the superb potential of his terroir and propelled Fuligni to be amongst the finest in the region. The wine is aged for three years in a combination of Slavonian oak barrels and tonneaux, followed by a year in the bottle. Stylistically, the wines capture the middle ground between modern and traditional, bursting at the seams with plum and cherry fruit sustained by a firm, full structure and polished tannins.

Vintage 2016

Doubling up to make a pair the 2016 & 2015 vintage comparisons will be made for many years to come.

Eric Guido of Vinous had this to say:

If I had to think of one way to universally describe the majority of wines from the 2016 vintage, I would offer that they are like a well-muscled black stallion in its prime. They are dark yet radiant, expressive, nearly explosive at times, yet pure, poised and structured. These are wines that capture your imagination; and no matter how youthfully tense they are today, you simply can’t help but revisit a glass over and over again; because in many cases, the aromatics alone are intoxicating. I frankly cannot remember the last time I tasted young wines from Montalcino that possessed such symmetry from start to finish. The best part is that this success was widely spread throughout the region; and while there was a mix of the bad, the good and the otherworldly, finding a solidly performing bottle of 2016 Brunello di Montalcino won’t be difficult for any consumer. 

Where in the World is Fuligni?

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