- 2015 Baricci Brunello di Montalcino - 94 PTS ($80-$99)
- 2015 Le Ragnaie Brunello di Montalcino - 94 PTS ($63-$99)
- 2015 La Gerla Brunello du Montalcino - 94 PTS ($55-$72)
2015 San Lorenzo Brunello di Montalcino Bramante
- Nuclear Level of Aromatics on the Nose
- Palate: Delicious Incredible Intense Deep Cherry Fruit
- Crazy Levels of Spice and a Hint of Licorice
- Almost Savory
- Delicious Wine but Also a Wine Drinker's Wine
- Phenomenal Juiciness
- 94+ Points VINOUS for $41.99 each (on 4)
- Special Case Price Of $39.99 A Bottle
- Should Cost Double This Price
- A Vintage to Stock the Cellar
2019 San Lorenzo Rosato
- 91 Points, Eric Guido Vinous
- Absolutely One of My Favorite Roses
- Glorious Sangiovese Fruit
- Wonderfully Vinous
- Combines Classic Sangiovese Fruit and Spice...
- ...with the Light Refreshing Profile of Rose
- A Wine You Can Enjoy But Also Contemplate
- Blows Away Almost Every Boring Rose from Provence
- We Only Sell 3-4 Still Roses a Year So Stock Up if You Want Some
2018 San Lorenzo Rosso di Montalcino
- 92 PTS, Eric Guido, Vinous for $24.99
- The Elegant Style of Rosso
- Gorgeous Cherry Flower, Spice Aromatics
- Medium Bodied Fruit - Stunning Delineation
- Gorgeous Spice and a Hint of Licorice
- So Perfectly Integrated
- Spectacular Juiciness
- Inexpensive Enough to Drink on a Tuesday...
- ...but Has Very Good Complexity
- You Can Drink This Any Time Without Regret
This is another one of those agrodolce (sweet and sour) E-Mails. Sweet because Luciano, who is the salt of the earth, is finally getting recognized as one of the top winemakers in Montalcino. Sad because with recognition usually comes price increases and allocations. This may be the last year we can offer these wines at these prices.
The Style
The style here is one of gorgeous fruit expression. I'm not just talking about the cherry fruit aspects of the fruit. I'm talking about the full expression of the totality of Sangiovese. Lorenzo's style is incredibly clean and precise - he's one of the best winemakers in Montalcino. This is not big, blowsy modern Brunello. The wines here are stylistically the same as our top wineries in Burgundy, the Rhone, Germany and the rest of Italy. They're just made from Sangiovese.
The Wines
I am thrilled to offer the 2015 San Lorenzo Brunello di Montalcino Bramante for $41.99 each on a 4 pack and $39.99 each on a case purchase. This is an absolutely knockout genius bottle of Brunello that should cost double what I am charging. Every now and then I go out into the world and am blown away how expensive wine is. And don't get me started how cheap it is in Europe.
The nose is just heavenly and classic Brunello. The aromatics are so complex and vibrant that the wine is almost alive. You can feel it tickling your inner nose. A crazy melange of spices: clove, cinnamon, piquant spiciness. Like your nose is over a mortar and pestle that is continuously generating fresh spice. Just an unreal level of vivid spice. Nebbiolo-like in it's breadth but classic
The palate is total Fass Selections. A lot of Brunellos are about being clobbered over the head with fruit (and sometimes alcohol and wood). Yeah, I'm not selling those. Ever. The palate has fruit, of course. 2015 leans towards restraint as well so the style here is just to die for. Just delicious incredible intense deep cherry fruit mixed with spice and a hint of licorice that grows more prominent with extensive air. It has that intensity and concentration that you want in Brunello. But man it has that Fass Selections balancing acidity. Just great balance. The freshness is unreal.
The finish lingers. It's a marvel as it such a beautifully made wine you feel a tiny bit guilty how inexpensive it is. That's classic Fass Selections guilt. Don't worry about it. It's part of the experience. It's a delicious wine but also a wine drinker's wine and you can marvel at how well made it is.
This is in our wheelhouse for small production wineries. The Brunello is made traditionally with approximately 4 years in large wooden barrels and an additional 4 months in the bottle before release. Below is the 94+ point review by Ian d'Agata of Vinous. 94+ Points. $39.99. Neck-breaking QPR.
"Full, bright red. Very ripe pure red fruits, hazelnut, vanilla cream and blood orange on the nose. Rich, sappy and deep, with the underlying mineral element giving the wine superb vibrancy and an impression of airiness. Stone fruit flavors are complemented by an enticing note of marzipan on the fresh, precise very pure and long, steely finish. This is one of the few 2015 Brunellos that I think might actually turn out to be better than the 2016 from the same estate." 94 Points, Ian d'Agata, Vinous
The second wine is a rarity at Fass Selections. I mostly avoid rose because I find that the process of making rose makes them all have a similar taste profile. I always politely taste them but rarely offer them unless they are truly interesting. And the 2019 San Lorenzo Rosato IGT Toscana for $24.99 each on a 3 pack purchase is absolutely one of my favorite roses. They only make 600 bottles and this will be allocated! First, it's made from 100% Sangiovese and has just glorious Sangiovese fruit. I mean it's just fantastic. Dark berries with a hint of spice, but, of course, it's rose so it's light, refreshing and beautifully acidic. Some serious minerality as well. Deep and sappy, yet rose, yet also Fassy. It also got 91 Pts which is pretty good for a rose.
"Pink-red. Enticing aromas and flavors of strawberry, sour red cherry, candied violet and peach. Juicy and dense with lovely saline lift nicely extending the floral flavors on the long suave finish. Knockout Rosato that doesn't taste of industrial yeasts like far too many modern Rosatos, and delivers a real wallop of flavor; in fact, this tastes more like a light red wine than it does a Rosato."
91 Points, Ian d'Agata, Vinous
The last wine is the 2018 San Lorenzo Rosso di Montalcino for $24.99 a bottle each on a 4 pack. For some crazy reason I've never offered this. Maybe because the Brunello is so inexpensive I wanted people to buy that. But I sort of have to offer it this year because it got 92 points. Not that I mind, because the wine is amazing.
There are 2 styles of Rosso di Montalcino. One is basically a baby Brunello but not as good. These Rossos are rather larger framed and burlier and ... well baby Brunellos but still Brunello-like. The second style is more focused on making a lighter-framed wine so that you can really focus on the aromatics and secondary characteristics of the Sangiovese. Plus, you don't want Brunello every night even if you can afford it. Drinking Brunello is often a serious endeavor as it's a powerful wine.
As noted above, this is a category 2 Rosso. I really just love this wine and I'm glad we're finally selling it. The nose is that lovely cherry flower fruit and a hint of licorice. Swirling Sangiovese spice just fills every nook and cranny of your nose. The aromatics here are the work of a master and you get more of the secondary characteristics because the fruit is less powerful.
The palate is just gorgeous. The fruit is so great and so clean and so precise. Just incredible. Medium cherries with spice and some licorice. So perfectly elegant. So integrated. It has that Champagne-like laser-like precision. Wow. Stunning levels of juiciness, of course.
The Brunello is a knockout wine. But I would advise at least trying a 4 pack of these. You won't regret it. This is a wine you can open without regret and enjoy.
"Ruby-red. Flint, black cherry and underbrush with a strong violet topnote. Juicy, vibrant and steely, with flavors similar to the aromas. Finishes very long with repeating flinty and floral nuances. This really exudes an enchanting violet perfume that lingers in the memory and on the taste buds long after you've swallowed. Aged one year in three to ten years old barriques and tonneaux." 92 Points, Eric Guido, Vinous
The Winery
The winemaker at Sanlorenzo is Luciano Ciolfi. Luciano is a fairly typical Fass Selections producer. Young, very intelligent, serious and possessing of a modesty that is great for making wine but not for promoting it. He learned how to make wine the hard way. He worked at the estate when he was young and then for 8 years at a neighboring estate. Luciano is the grandson of the founder, after whom this wine is named. He's a really, really great guy.
2015 San Lorenzo Brunello di Montalcino Bramante - $43.99 ($167.96 4-pack, $479.88 12 bottle case {$39.99})
2018 San Lorenzo Rosato IGT Toscana - $26.99 - ($99.96 4-pack)
2019 San Lorenzo Rosso di Montalcino - $26.99 ($99.96 4-pack)
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