Lots of savory tones to this with aromas of mushrooms, beetroot and dried leaves. Intensely flavorful with a unique umami quality. Olives and porcini mushrooms. This is full-to medium-bodied with chewy tannins. A little lean at the end now, but the tannins will soften nicely. Racy. Drink after 2024.

The Mastrojanni 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is dark and velvety in appearance, boasting rich fruit concentration. The bouquet shows dried cherry, blackberry, spice, leather, tar and all the good things you get when Brunello lives a trouble-free childhood in the winery. I recall the 2015 vintage showing enhanced density and richness, and this wine unfolds in a very similar manner. Perhaps the difference between the two vintages is more clearly enunciated in terms of mouthfeel. This 2016 vintage gives the impression of being more linear, tight and structured. Elegant mineral tones define the long and polished finish of this 55,000-bottle release. - ML

Earthy aromas of underbrush, wild herb and rose mingle with woodland berry and toasted nut on this full-bodied red. Combining finesse, structure and concentration, the smooth palate doles out ripe morello cherry, licorice and bitter almond alongside a backbone of firm but refined tannins. Drink 2024–2036. - Kerin O’Keefe

The core of cherry and plum flavors is framed by tar, earth and tobacco in this robust red, whose ripe fruit stands up easily to the foundation of drying, dusty tannins. Fruit, earth and iron accents converge on the finish. Put this away for a few years. Best from 2025 through 2048. 2,600 cases made, 590 cases imported. –BS

The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is dusty, floral, dark, yet inviting, even a bit backward and earthy. It’s silky and enveloping with rich red and black fruit, orange and spice. A mineral tinge adds a lovely depth along with vibrant acidity. This finishes salty with bitter blackberry, licorice and fine-grained tannins that linger long—maturing beautifully with years to go. -- Eric Guido

Originally founded in 1975 by lawyer Gabriele Mastrojanni, the estate was sold to the Illy group in 2008. It still boasts some of the original vines planted over 40 years ago at some of the highest elevations in the southeastern quadrant of Montalcino. Pepper-flecked strawberry meets iron and a seductive hint of truffles on the nose. Uncomplicated and almost midweight, with some grainy tannins and stony grit, it incorporates darker blackcurrant fruit and leaves the palate energised.