2015 Le Ragnaie Brunello di Montalcino 750 ml

Dubbed by legendary sommelier and author Rajat Parr as one of the top three Brunello di Montalcino producers, Le Ragnaie has shot to icon status for its elegant expression of Sangiovese. Their 96-point 2015 Brunello di Montalcino is a graceful and beautifully restrained classic from one of the best vintages of the decade.

Wine Advocate remarked, “This is textbook Brunello on all levels, and I am happily excited by this particular vintage,” and Vinous promised it will “thrill lovers of Sangiovese,” saying, “In 2015, Le Ragnaie hit it out of the park!” This is a classic from a top Brunello producer at a price that belies its outstanding quality.

In The Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste, Parr notes that the best vines of Montalcino are planted on the hillsides surrounding the town, where Brunello’s forefathers first conceived of the site's potential greatness: Biondi-Santi ($170), Salvioni Cerbaiola ($147), Il Marroneto ($194), and Le Ragnaie, which Parr singles out as a classic. Le Ragnaie’s organic vineyard sits at 2000 feet above sea level—the highest vineyard in all of Montalcino—where cooling breezes and limestone soils set the tone for the region’s prettiest expressions of Sangiovese.

Wonderfully balanced, Le Ragnaie wines maintain the rustic, earth-driven elements you’d expect from Tuscan Sangiovese in a combination that’s impossible to imitate because of the estate’s singular terroir.

Native-yeast fermentation in concrete tanks and aging in large Slavonian oak casks for three years, with an additional year in bottle before release, bestows polish, sophistication, and balance. This is a phenomenal bottle from one of Brunello’s greatest vintages ever.