2019 Il Marroneto Brunello di Montalcino DOCG Tuscany

(97 Points)  Alessandro Mori's wines are easy to spot in a blind tasting thanks to the soaring intensity and vibrant Sangiovese aromas they display. They are truly one of a kind. A wine that sees a relatively short and hot fermentation, the Il Marroneto 2019 Brunello di Montalcino respects local winemaking tradition and remains true in spirit. The steep verticality of the bouquet evokes almost-carbonic or lifted aromas of bright cherry, strawberry shortcake, lilac and heritage rose. You get straight to the heart of Sangiovese. The tannins are extremely fine and powdery and the freshness of the fruit is beautifully intact. This wine really pops in 2019.

Montalcino's Alessandro Mori makes of some of my favorite wines. He proudly follows a very traditional winemaking philosophy that is only a few steps removed from the olden days when wine presses were powered by donkeys.

He adopts hot and compact fermentation methods and presses early in order to lock in color, aromas, acidity and structure. After destemming, he lets the fruit rest for 24 to 36 hours. The process is delicate enough to leave a good amount of whole berries (which could be a contributing factor to the incredible aromas achieved in his wines). Fermentation kicks off with robust pump-overs that introduce oxygen. This creates what Alessandro Mori calls "a primordial broth" of berries, skins and pulp. He does not do pied de cuve. Ambient yeast withstands high temperatures (from 36 degrees Celsius and sometimes as high as 40 degrees), and skin contact lasts nine to 10 days for the Brunello di Montalcino and 14 or 15 days for the Brunello di Montalcino Madonna delle Grazie. Cap management is very delicate toward the end, with five minutes of pump-overs in the morning and five minutes at night. This approach fixes the elegant floral aromas of Sangiovese and the phenolic compounds. He presses at two "babo" (a measurement of sugar) or before fermentation is completed and moves the wine into barrel. The unique structure you taste is achieved with hard pressing at 350 atmospheres followed by long barrel aging (lasting up to 41 months) to polymerize or soften the tannins.  Wine Advocate