Displays ripe berry and orange peel character with hints of other citrus fruits. Full-bodied with soft tannins and a beautiful underlying acidity. Long flavorful and dense in structure. Best wine ever from this producer. Best after 2011. 2500 cases made.

The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Le Lucere is a quirky idiosyncratic wine. High-toned mentholated aromatics lead to a core of dark fruit in this firm classically built Brunello. This is a decidedly more structured style than the more forward fruit-driven 2005s. The overt oak and rising bouquet suggest volatile acidity that is at the higher end of the range most tasters are likely to find acceptable. Readers who can look past those imperfections will find a very pretty Brunello to enjoy over the next decade or so perhaps longer. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2022. -Antonio Galloni