Gianni Brunelli Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2016 / 750 ml.

Item#: 56959

RP9898 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 17th Feb 2022
Here’s a wine I am very excited to taste, given the phenomenal performance of this vintage in the annata version released last year. The Gianni Brunelli Le Chiuse di Sotto 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva reproduces that same brilliant intensity and deep inner brightness, only this Riserva has seen one more year of aging, and it shows more spice and thicker textural heft as a result. This wine is penetrating and layered with a harmonious playlist of red and purple fruits, spice, tar, cola, licorice and grilled herb. The tannins are more austere in the case of this 2,993-bottle release, and you’d do well to age it longer before popping the cork. I love the spontaneous radiance and energy captured by this estate, especially in 2016.
VN97+97+ pts. - Vinous - Dec 2021
The deep, sensual 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva wafts up with spice-dusted cherries, sweet herbs and hints of flowery undergrowth. It fills the senses with rich yet tart black raspberries and exotic spice, along with a hint of citrus that sends sparks across the palate, creating a pliant yet nicely chiseled effect. The 2016 tapers off like a black hole of structure, turning quite savory but with a coating of fine tannin that seems to devour the coating of primary fruits beneath it. Masses of tobacco and brown spice linger. The sheer density, amazing minerality and balanced acidity make the 2016 Riserva an extremely exciting wine.
WE9696 pts. - Wine Enthusiast - 4/1/2022
Full-bodied and savory, this offers aromas of new leather, camphor, mature dark-skinned fruit and cedar. The firmly structured palate delivers dried Marasca cherry, blood orange, mocha and licorice framed in tightly wound, close-grained tannins. Drink 2028–2036.
JS9696 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Thursday, November 4, 2021
Cherries and dried flowers on the nose with some sandalwood. Some chocolate, too. It’s full-bodied, yet tight and compact, with firm and fine tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Racy and savory. Really delicious already, but will repay patience for three or four years.
SP9696 pts. - Wine Spectator - Web only – 2022
A beefy, muscular style, this red features black cherry, blackberry and plum fruit shaded by earth, iron and spice flavors. Reveals a tangy edge, partly from the bracing acidity, with wild herb and savory notes on the lingering finish. Best from 2026 through 2045. 271 cases made, 50 cases imported.

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Primary Grape: Sangiovese | All Grapes: Sangiovese

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Italy | Tuscany | Brunello di Montalcino

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Critical Acclaim

RP98 98 pts. / Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate (17th Feb 2022)

Here’s a wine I am very excited to taste, given the phenomenal performance of this vintage in the annata version released last year. The Gianni Brunelli Le Chiuse di Sotto 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva reproduces that same brilliant intensity and deep inner brightness, only this Riserva has seen one more year of aging, and it shows more spice and thicker textural heft as a result. This wine is penetrating and layered with a harmonious playlist of red and purple fruits, spice, tar, cola, licorice and grilled herb. The tannins are more austere in the case of this 2,993-bottle release, and you’d do well to age it longer before popping the cork. I love the spontaneous radiance and energy captured by this estate, especially in 2016.

VN97+ 97+ pts. / Vinous (Dec 2021)

The deep, sensual 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva wafts up with spice-dusted cherries, sweet herbs and hints of flowery undergrowth. It fills the senses with rich yet tart black raspberries and exotic spice, along with a hint of citrus that sends sparks across the palate, creating a pliant yet nicely chiseled effect. The 2016 tapers off like a black hole of structure, turning quite savory but with a coating of fine tannin that seems to devour the coating of primary fruits beneath it. Masses of tobacco and brown spice linger. The sheer density, amazing minerality and balanced acidity make the 2016 Riserva an extremely exciting wine.

WE96 96 pts. / Wine Enthusiast (4/1/2022)

Full-bodied and savory, this offers aromas of new leather, camphor, mature dark-skinned fruit and cedar. The firmly structured palate delivers dried Marasca cherry, blood orange, mocha and licorice framed in tightly wound, close-grained tannins. Drink 2028–2036.

JS96 96 pts. / JamesSuckling.com (Thursday, November 4, 2021)

Cherries and dried flowers on the nose with some sandalwood. Some chocolate, too. It’s full-bodied, yet tight and compact, with firm and fine tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Racy and savory. Really delicious already, but will repay patience for three or four years.

SP96 96 pts. / Wine Spectator (Web only – 2022)

A beefy, muscular style, this red features black cherry, blackberry and plum fruit shaded by earth, iron and spice flavors. Reveals a tangy edge, partly from the bracing acidity, with wild herb and savory notes on the lingering finish. Best from 2026 through 2045. 271 cases made, 50 cases imported.

Where It's From

Region / Tuscany

View more wines from Tuscany

There are few regions as picturesque as Italy's Tuscany. And there are few regions that produce finer wines, either. Tuscany is home to legendary wine regions Brunello di Montalcino and Chianti, among others, where the red wine grape Sangiovese is king. It's also home to "Super Tuscans," a category of Tuscan wines that don't officially fall within the Italian wine classification system.

Country / Italy

View more wines from Italy

Italy is famous for its powerful, sleek, and elegant reds wines from ancient growing areas with legendary names such as Chianti, Barolo, Barbaresco, Montepulciano. Italian white wines are also gaining popularity: Orvieto, Pinot Grigio, and Sauvignon are excellent examples of Italian white wines.

Wines of Italy are complex and flavorful, much like the culture that is their source and the cuisine that is their match.

More Information

SKU 56959
Product Type Wine
Alternate Name Gianni Brunelli Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
Country Italy
Region Tuscany
Product Location - Location-Appellation Brunello di Montalcino
Package Size 750 ml.
Proof/Alcohol by Volume 14.5%
Brand Gianni Brunelli
Bottles per Case 12
Vintage 2016
Bin Location 0
Can it be Shipped Yes
Premier Pick No
Wine Type Table Wine
Wine - Color Red
Grape(s) Sangiovese
Primary Grape Sangiovese
Dollar Sale (Y/N) No
Same Region, Same Vintage, Same Grape
SP9797 pts. - Wine Spectator - Jun 30, 2022
A taut, linear red, hallmarked by cherry, strawberry, green olive, rose, sanguine and iron aromas and flavors. This is packed with fruit, backed by a solid matrix of tannins and an aftertaste of wild herbs, fruit and tobacco. Best from 2026 through 2045. 400 cases made, 200 cases imported.
VN9696 pts. - Vinous - Dec 2021
The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Ad Alberto is sultry and dark, captivating the senses with its mix of crushed stone, wild herbs, red currants, dried roses and ashen earth. The textures here are like pure silk, seamless and polished, with potent black fruits and savory spices that penetrate deeply as fine tannins mount under an air of tobacco and dark inner florals. It leaves the palate reeling with a combination of residual acids, tart berries and sour citrus, all held firm in youthful poise. The 2016 Riserva Ad Alberto is absolutely stunning, but it will require a number of years in the cellar to reveal all of its charms.
RP9696 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 17th Feb 2022
The Caprili 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva AdAlberto (with only 5,000 bottles produced) is a standout wine, showing intensity, smooth integration and lots of varietal personality. “Classic” is probably the best word to apply here, and I use that descriptor with care. The tannins are expertly integrated, and even at this young age, the wine shows no rough edges. It is polished and integrated to the end. Fruit comes from a single hectare of vines with rocky clay soils that lock in important moisture during the summer months.
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Italy | Tuscany | Brunello di Montalcino

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Primary Grape: Sangiovese

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WE9898 pts. - Wine Enthusiast - 4/1/2022
Aromas of rose petal, dark spice, woodland berries and camphor form the nose on this fragrant, elegant wine. Loaded with finesse, the linear, savory palate features red cherry, orange zest, star anise and black tea alongside tightly wound, fine-grained tannins. Bright acidity keeps it impeccably balanced. It’s still youthfully austere, with fantastic aging potential. Drink 2026–2041. (Kerin O’Keefe)
RP97+97+ pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 20th Jan 2022
From a benchmark vintage, the Biondi-Santi 2016 Brunello di Montalcino reveals a gorgeous appearance with medium concentration highlighted by shiny hues of garnet and dark ruby. The first thing you notice is the compact dark fruit and rather robust textural fiber and power presented here. You almost bite into this wine, and you taste some fine grain linked to the young tannins. That, with the fresh acidity that is the hallmark signature of this estate, guarantees long cellar aging, and I would put my money on this vintage for long-long-term longevity. The fruit is compact and supple with dried cherry, blue flower, iron ore and candied orange peel. There is tobacco, balsam herb and gardening soil in a supporting role, and the wine is beautifully fleshed out but also rich in this balanced growing season. It surely needs more time to come together with pinpoint precision, but the wine’s elegance is a certainty. (Monica Larner)
VN9797 pts. - Vinous - Dec 2021
The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is a dark stallion of a wine that showcases both the depth and radiance of the vintage. At first, its bouquet is dark and earthy, yet quickly blossoms into an enthralling mix of musky red currants, wild peppery herbs, dusty rose and worn leather. While satiny in feel, it’s also sleek and lively, with a vibrant burst of sweet and sour citrus that enlivens its notes of tart cranberry and pomegranate, all wound tightly in a web of saline-minerals. Violet and lavender tones arch across the palate over a core of silky tannins that nicely frame the experience, as a hint of balsamic spice slowly tapers off. The 2016 is one of the most deep and balanced Brunellos that I’ve ever experienced from Biondi Santi. If this is the Annata, then I can only imagine what the Riserva might bring to the table. Something of note is that in 2016, production was down by 15% following the abundant 2015 vintage and the dry conditions in the early part of the season. (Eric Guido)
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Italy | Tuscany | Brunello di Montalcino

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Primary Grape: Sangiovese

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RP95+95+ pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 30th Nov 2020
The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino (with 56,000 bottles made) shows bold cherry, spice, crushed stone and balsam herb that come together in seamless fashion. This estate has honed a unique style that becomes a common theme traced to each new vintage. I’d describe it as delicate but also succulent with a rich and almost pulpy quality of fruit. The wine is fueled by the golden light that hits this part of Tuscany in those last hours of the day. Here is a wine that shows spirit of place.
JS9595 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Wednesday, November 11, 2020
Lots of red and blue fruit to this, evolving into wet leaves, freshly turned soil and brewed tea. Light herbal notes. Sweet cherries, too. It’s full bodied with silky, firm tannins. More minerality and tea notes on the finish. Elegant and driven. Drink after 2023.
SP9393 pts. - Wine Spectator - Jun 30, 2021
Light on its feet, this red evokes strawberry, cherry, earth, menthol and Tuscan scrub flavors. Shows a firm underlying structure, with a fresh and focused finish. Best from 2023 through 2042. 3,333 cases made, 1,000 cases imported.
VN9393 pts. - Vinous - Nov 2020
The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino from Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona places savory herbs, exotic spice and earth tones above ripeness of fruit. It’s decidedly dark and brooding on the nose, lifted by hints of fresh-picked mint and sage. There are depths of velvety textures in the mouth, offset by a tactile mix of tart wild berries, minerals and zesty acidity which adds vibrancy in spite of the tannic heft and primary intensity found here. The 2016 finishes with a monolithic feel, still wound up tightly in its youthful state but also promising many years of positive evolution in our cellars. This is gorgeous and a great value for age-worthy Brunello.
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Italy | Tuscany | Brunello di Montalcino

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Primary Grape: Sangiovese

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SP9898 pts. - Wine Spectator - Jun 30, 2022
Offers forthcoming aromas and flavors of blackberry, black currant, licorice, tobacco and vanilla backed by vivid acidity and dusty tannins, with a long, saline finish. Showing enough fruit and structure to absorb the oakiness over time, this is balanced overall and poised for a promising future. Best from 2026 through 2045. 800 cases made, 350 cases imported.
VN9797 pts. - Vinous - Dec 2021
Rich and deeply alluring, the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva wafts up to display crushed ashen stone mixed with hints of ginger, dusty florals and black cherry preserves. This is velvety-smooth and pliant in feel, lifted by cooling herbal and mineral tones, as an opulent wave of ripe red and black fruits washes across the palate, leaving a staining of minerals and spice in its wake. It’s long and structured, in need of further time to come fully into focus, yet somehow the 2016 Riserva remains completely fresh, tapering off to inner earth tones and hints of blueberry. Time will reveal further depths. This is an utterly classic Uccelliera Brunello in the making.
RP9696 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 17th Feb 2022
The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is a terrific wine: bold, well-defined, powerful and balanced. There are many good things to relate, but the high alcohol content (measured at 15.5%) is the only distraction. This is a trend in the Riserva category in the 2016 vintage. The bouquet shows black cherry, cassis, earth, leather and dried roses. The palate offers soft fruit flavors supported by firm oak tannins. Coming back to the bottle 24 hours later, I found impressive integration and smoothness that took away from that alcohol heat. Production is 9,600 bottles.
JS9595 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Thursday, November 4, 2021
This is really polished and refined, yet remains polished and beautiful, with cherries and berries, as well as light hazelnut and walnut undertones. Compact and silky. Drink after 2024, but already so attractive.
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Italy | Tuscany | Brunello di Montalcino

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VN9696 pts. - Vinous - Sep 2020
The 2016 Chianti Classico Riserva will thrill Sangiovese lovers. Ample and expressive in the glass, with tremendous nuance, the Riserva is simply exceptional in 2016. Black cherry, plum, leather, tobacco, incense, menthol and licorice bring out the darker side of Sangiovese. I would give the tannins a few years to soften. The 2016 is very clearly a special wine in the making. (Antonio Galloni)
RP9292 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 15th Apr 2021
The Tenuta di Capraia 2016 Chianti Classico Riserva Capraia is tightly packed with cherry fruit, raspberry and cassis. The wine’s primary aromas are lifted and bright, and the wine moves over the palate efficiently with fresh, mid-weight appeal. It serves to refresh and revive your palate during a course of Sardinian capra al profumo di alloro, or roasted goat with laurel essence. (Monica Larner)
SP9292 pts. - Wine Spectator - Mar 31, 2021
A harmonious texture and profile sets the stage for this red’s focused cherry, currant and floral notes. Mineral and tobacco accents sneak in as this plays out on the long finish. Shows excellent structure too. Drink now through 2040. 1,000 cases made, 500 cases imported. (Bruce Sanderson)
JS9191 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Thursday, November 7, 2019
Aromas and flavors of blue fruit, wet earth and hints of slate, following through to a medium to full body and chewy tannins. Needs to soften a little. Better after 2021.
WE9090 pts. - Wine Enthusiast - 3/1/2021
Made entirely from Sangiovese, this opens with aromas of violet, tilled soil and dark-skinned berries. The savory palate offers blackberry, tobacco and black pepper alongside polished tannins and firm acidity. Enjoy through 2027. (Kerin O’Keefe)
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Italy | Tuscany | Chianti Classico

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Primary Grape: Sangiovese

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RP95+95+ pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 9th Mar 2023
The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino does a great job of capturing the essence and the spirit of Sangiovese, a grape that delivers infinitely nuanced and complex results when in the right hands. This wine reveals wild cherry, blue violet, blood orange, rusty nail and sweet earth. There is a hint of scorched earth or baked clay that underlines the warmest months in this growing cycle. The results are balanced and fresh. I’ve mentioned alcohol content throughout this report, and although the 14% registered here is still quite high, is it below the average for its peers. This is a job very well done. Some 15,700 bottles, 200 magnums and 30 three-liter bottles were released. (Monica Larner)
VN9393 pts. - Vinous - Oct 2022
The darkly alluring 2018 Brunello di Montalcino grumbles up from the glass, with a mix of crushed plums and black cherries complemented by rubbed sage nuances. It’s soft-textured and deep, engulfing the palate in ripe wild berry fruit and spice, underscored by a savory herbaceous steak. A web of fine tannins is left to linger, creating a truly classic impression, as mentholated herbs and hints of wild strawberry linger on and on. This youthfully masked beauty will only require minimal cellaring to show its best. (Eric Guido)
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Italy | Tuscany | Brunello di Montalcino

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Primary Grape: Sangiovese

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Italy | Tuscany | Rosso di Montalcino

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Primary Grape: Sangiovese

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VN9292 pts. - Vinous - Dec 2021
The 2017 Brunello di Montalcino is deeply expressive, showing peppery red berries and pomegranate plus hints of tomato leaf and sage, reminding me of that moment you add fresh herbs to a just-finished ragù. This is pure silk on the palate, rich and pliant, as it slowly saturates the senses with mineral-laced red and hints of blue fruit. Intensely primary and licorice-tinged, it tapers off grippy and classically dry to lasting rosy florals. The 2017 is a bit like a tamed beast of a Brunello.
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Italy | Tuscany | Brunello di Montalcino

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