Cerbaiona, Brunello di Montalcino 2020

Cerbaiona is one of Montalcino's true legends, a minuscule estate whose Brunello trades on whispered reputation rather than marketing. From the warm, charming 2020 vintage, this is Sangiovese Grosso at its most expressive: a wine of perfume, length and the unmistakable Cerbaiona signature of stone and air.

Luminous garnet-ruby. The bouquet is heady and evolving: macerated cherry, dried rose, sweet tobacco, leather, balsamic herb and forest floor. The palate is built on tension, vibrant acidity and fine, chalky tannins carrying red and dark fruit with weightless authority. A mineral, almost saline thread runs beneath. The finish is profound, savoury and astonishingly long, unwinding slowly in the glass.