2016 Fanti Brunello di Montalcino Tuscany 750 ml

When we hit “Brunello Black Friday”—the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino’s annual Benvenuto Brunello event—we always make a beeline for the stellar values. And Fanti is always one of our first stops.

We had to miss the 2021 event, but there was absolutely no way we were about to miss Fanti’s 95-pointer from a vintage that the Wine Advocate scored as high as any in their history. It took some extra legwork, but it was 100% worth it to score one of the estate’s best bottles ever. 

“I don't remember a new release as confident and impactful as this,” Wine Advocate’s Monica Larner said, calling it “a classic expression of the vintage with some of the extra texture and power.” And there’s consensus: Gambero Rosso gave it a Tre Bicchieri designation (their top award)—putting it beside $400+ Brunellos from Biondi-Santi and Poggio di Sotto—and Vinous praised it as “age-worthy Brunello that overdelivers.”

Tenuta Fanti is one of our tried-and-true sources of fantastically priced, high-quality Brunello. The family has deep roots in Montalcino, having owned their property in the celebrated Castelnuovo dell’Abate zone since the early 1800s. The gorgeous property is over 700 acres, 123 of which comprise Filippo Fanti’s meticulously farmed vineyards. 

South-facing and consisting of sandy and poor soils, Fanti’s vineyard land is ideal for grape cultivation, and Filippo and his daughter Elisa do it the hard way, removing weeds manually and using only natural fertilizers. As a result, both the old vines and the new plantings of low-yielding modern clones produce impeccably balanced Brunello that always shows beautiful generosity in its youth. 

Fanti is always a savvy Brunello buyer’s dream.