Dark, inward and intense, the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is a towering effort that will thrill collectors for many years to come. It arrives in waves, first black fruits evolving to red, then sage and earthy minerals, followed by brown spice and, finally, hints of tobacco. Youthfully dense, velvety and in no hurry to unfurl the complex web of fruit, minerals and tannins found within, this instead leaves you guessing at what’s to come. That said, there’s perfect symmetry here, along with the combination of structure and primary intensity to guarantee many years of positive maturation. Hints of licorice, currant and baker’s chocolate linger long. This is simply gorgeous.
99 POINTS WINE ENTHUSIAST
98 POINTS R. VECCHIONE WINE CRITIC
98 POINTS VINOUS
97 POINTS WINE ADVOCATE
Fugligni’s Brunello di Montalcino is a classic interpretation of the time-honored classic, made from pure Sangiovese grapes, grown exclusively in Montalcino in estate-owned vineyards. The vines are close to thirty years old, with excellent exposure and stony tuffaceous soil dating back to the Eocene epoch.
Paolo Vagaggini, one of the top and most skilful Sangiovese experts in Tuscany, takes care of the Fuligni wines, maintaining the long-standing relationship between the Fuligni and the Vagaggini families which dates back to the sixties, when Fuligni collaborated with Paolo’s father, Francesco Vagaggini. The special relationship with the Vagaggini family has recently become richer as young Jacopo Vagaggini, after graduating from Oxford and specialising in Bordeaux, started collaborating with his father.
The Fuligni Estate spreads over approximately one hundred fully cultivated hectares of land in an almost continual strip on the eastern side of Montalcino where, historically, the most authentic production of Brunello emerged. The wines, covering fourteen hectares, are primarily located in Cottimelli, at altitudes varying from 380 to 450 metres above sea level.
Here, the land, which predominantly faces north-east, belongs entirely to the Eocene Santa Fiora (marl) geological formation with a predominantly rocky terrain. Other vineyards specifically destined for the production of Rosso di Montalcino and IGT wines are located east, around Villa San Giovanni a Semini, which dates back to the 17th century and is today an agriturismo.
The Fuligni Viscounts
The Fuligni Family, of ancient Venetian origin, moved to England in the 14th century to lead a Free Company supporting Edward III, receiving favours and honours from the Crown. When the Habsburg-Lorraine became head of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Luigi Fuligni moved to Tuscany as a general of the new rulers. Giovanni Maria Fuligni moved to Montalcino at the beginning of the 1900s, where he started to produce wine, as his family had done before him in their lands in Maremma, mainly in Scansano. The Fuligni winery of Montalcino has been managed for decades by Maria Fuligni. The estate spreads over approximately 100 hectares of land with varying exposure. The vineyards, of almost 400 hectares, are on the north-eastern side of Montalcino, with the classic Brunello exposure. There is a cellar in the historic seat of Fuligni, a 17th century palazzo where the Medicean Grand Dukes used to reside, although the majority of the cellars are situated in Località Cottimelli, 3 km from Montalcino in the direction of Siena. The tasting rooms are in this same venue, in an ex-convent of nuns, dating back to the 16th century, which has recently been renovated. Since the passing of Giovanni Maria Fuligni in 1971, the winery has been managed by his daughter Maria Flora, a graduate in philosophy and a true woman of wine, who lovingly manages the inherited lands with the same wisdom and passion as her ancestors.
Maturation: This Brunello ages forty-eight months in total, including at least thirty in oak.
