Frescobaldi Castelgiocondo Brunello di Montalcino 2015

Marchesi Frescobaldi’s Castelgiocondo 2015 is sugar frosted almonds and red bramble berries on the nose. The entry is damson plums and red cherries with a weighty mid palate bodied soft texture, ending in a baked spice, wood ember, touch of iron finish. With a few hours decant, candied orange peel, Vermouth bittersweet herbs and spices; oregano, anise, vanilla, cinnamon and clove sport the ancient alluvium and oaking, while a dash of rose petal Turkish delight dulcet and jammy wafts mark the optimum ripening of this stellar vintage.

This is very much primary and secondary at this stage with a flattering generosity masking the fact that this is still quite young by Brunello standards and can comfortably cellar to a gilded profile of tertiary complexity if given half the chance. Ribbons of satiny textures to the tannins speak volumes of the deepish galestro clays that form the heart and soul of this wine justifying its good popular ratings while the spice inflected ancient sands add layers to the secondary profile to make this seem richer than a normale.

Reminds me somewhat of the generous Poggione in its profile and shape sharing a similar geography southwest of Montalcino in the village of Castelgiocondo where a 300 metre altitude ensures the acidic backbone is there to accompany the advantageous ripening edge that is a characteristic of this family of Brunello wines. This would explain how with a normally reserved broad-shouldered vintage like 15 you get some of the rich approachability more common to the legendary 16 in this neck of the woods.

Very good value and worth buying and cellaring, this is only going to get better in a decade to come.

Supplier details: Charles Grech has a vast selection of Brunello and Italian wines.

Charles Grech, Palazzo Ca’ Brugnera, Valley Road, B’Kara.

Tel: 00356 2144 4400 (Sliema 00356 2132 3731, Ibragg 00356 2137 8609, Ta’ Xbiex Seafront 00356 2131 5064). Web charlesgrech.com