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valdicava, brunello di montalcino, riserva madonna piano 2015
JAMES SUCKLING
100
ROBERT PARKER'S WINE ADVOCATE
96

2015 valdicava, brunello di montalcino, riserva madonna piano

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Why We're Buying

Valdicava Madonna del Piano Riserva is a textbook example of world-class winemaking. Valdicava only uses one vineyard to produce its Brunello and only uses harvests from exceptional vintages. Anything less than the best is unexceptionable. It’s part of the reason why a single bottle retails for more than $200.

Critics Scores

JAMES SUCKLING
100

James Suckling

Spectacular aromas of crushed fruit, plums, sous bois, porcini and black truffles. Decadent year, but fresh. Full-bodied, dense and linear on the palate, yet so much in balance and refined with incredible depth and consistency. The savory and juicy finish, with vivid acidity and fruit, is eye-opening. Greatest ever. Best after 2025, but can’t wait to try it again.

ROBERT PARKER'S WINE ADVOCATE
96

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The Valdicava 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano is a lovely wine that finds nice balance between power and elegance. You get the character of the fruit with dried cherry, cassis and cranberry and delicate nuances of grilled herb, cola and blue flower. The bouquet also shows lots of balsam intensity with root beer and rosemary oil. These two sides of the wine reach equilibrium, and the only thing needed here is more cellar aging time. There is a point of youthful tannic astringency that needs to unwind and integrate. I would not recommend opening this 25,000-bottles release before the 10-year mark.

WINE SPECTATOR
97

Wine Spectator

Cherry, berry and wild herb flavors mark this linear red, which is pure and vibrant, with refined tannins and bright acidity underlying it all. The mineral-tinged finish is fresh and long, with fine harmony in the end. Best from 2024 through 2049.

VINOUS
95

Vinous

There’s a mentholated freshness to the 2015 Madonna del Piano Riserva which draws you in, as a seductive display of crushed black cherries, cinnamon, sage and sweet white smoke holds your attention firm. It’s silky in feel yet far more lifted than expected, with wave after wave of tart wild berries and savory spices which drench the palate in concentrated fruit, as if you can feel the skins, pips and all. Just when you think that the 2015 will release you from its structured clenches, its coating of grippy tannins comes forward, and it remains throughout the tension-filled and purple-tinged finale. This will require many years of cellaring to reveal its charms, coming across as far more structured than most other Brunello Riservas from the vintage; yet there’s plenty of fruit to keep pace throughout the wine's evolution.