2017 San Filippo Le Lucere Brunello di Montalcino Tuscany 750 ml

Ask any championship team: Delivering top performances in back-to-back years is incredibly difficult, and notching a three-peat is even harder.

But San Filippo has made it look effortless. After putting out exquisite Le Lucére bottlings in 2015 and 2016, they punctuated their incredible run with Decanter’s highest-scoring Brunello of 2017.

From a single 3.5-hectare vineyard, the 2017 Le Lucére boasts exceptional grace and poise. Ruby-hued and aromatic, it shows sour cherry, dried rose, tobacco, and spice on the nose, leading to a multidimensional palate with excellent acidity and generous tannins. Dense and velvety, yet fresh and elegant, it’s a wonderfully balanced wine.

Surrounded by forest, Le Lucére is an east-facing amphitheater of vines planted on predominantly silty soil. While the wine shares some of the woodland character of the estate Brunello, the vineyard lent this wine a distinct floral personality, which charmed Decanter Italian wine expert Aldo Fiordelli, who awarded 96 points.

Since purchasing San Filippo in 2003, ex-realtor Roberto Giannelli has slowly restructured the 24 acres, replacing international varieties with the traditional Brunello (the local name for Sangiovese Grosso), updating the winery, reducing yields, and embracing organic growing methods. Giannelli brought in legendary enologist (and Tuscan native) Paolo Caciorgna to craft the wines and develop their individual personalities.

After fermentation, Caciorgna gives La Lucére 24–28 months in barrels and barriques, developing its impressive structure and balance. After ten more months in bottle, this 2017 fully evolved into a graceful, fragrant masterpiece—marking a triumphant trio of excellent vintages for this single-site Brunello.