The balance and beauty to this wine shows real Super Tuscan character. Aromas of flower, dark berry and licorice follow through to a full body, ultra-fine tannins and a flavorful and focused finish. A blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and sangiovese. Drink now or hold.

Opulent and expressive, featuring plum, blackberry, black currant, violet and spice flavors. Still a very youthful example of Il Blu, this is juicy, packed with ripe fruit, showing fine balance, power, finesse and length. Merlot, Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon.—Brancaia Il Blu Non-blind Retrospective (January 2022). Best from 2026 through 2043. — BS

94+ This is the wine that put Brancaia on the map of Tuscany's most celebrated estates. A blend of 70% Merlot, 25% Sangiovese and a smaller percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon (fermented with indigenous yeasts in conical steel vats and aged in new and neutral barrique for 20 months), the 2015 Il Blu is a wine that enthusiastically embraces the energy, heat and sunshine of the vintage. The fruit is dark and slightly sweet with aromas of black cherries and dried blackberries. Those flavors deliver rich, soft intensity. The wine is not quite full-bodied, because the mouthfeel is elegant and finessed, but it does deliver lasting power, freshness and polished tannins. - Monica Larner