2021 Talenti Brunello di Montalcino

Supple and boasting pure cherry, raspberry and floral aromas and flavors, this red is elegant and resonant. Focused by vivid acidity, with lift from finely wrought tannins, this expands on the palate, with eucalyptus and mineral accents to the long aftertaste of red fruit and savory elements. Shows fine complexity and nuance. (BS)

It is a common mistake to associate the southern sector of Montalcino (Sant'Angelo in Colle) exclusively with solar power and heavy extraction. In a perfectly balanced vintage like 2021, Talenti dismantles this preconception, giving us a Brunello that vibrates. The nose has an immediate balsamic drive. You won't find sweet or overripe fruit here, but rather a core of "crunchy" cherry and blood orange, wrapped in notes of Mediterranean scrub (macchia), wild mint, and a distinct earthy minerality. On the palate, it is straight, tense, and vertical. It completely bypasses that mid-palate heaviness that sometimes afflicts the southern quadrant; instead, it drives forward with an enviable saline tension and nerve.