Le Chiuse Brunello di Montalcino 2018

Le Chiuse Brunello di Montalcino 2018
97JD 94WA  93VM 
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97 pts Dunnuck (Audrey Frick not Jeb reviewing)
Expressive and beautifully pure, the 2018 Brunello Di Montalcino offers a gorgeous, sweet perfume of perfectly ripe raspberry eau de vie, crushed roses, delicate baking spice, and well-integrated cedar spice. It is medium-bodied, though it is generous and round with fruit in a long arch, fine tannins, and a soft, stony, mineral texture. Polished with riper raspberry, oolong tea, and fresh thyme, it is approachable now but will certainly improve over the next 15-20 years.

94 pts Robert Parker Wine Advocate
Released in numbered bottles, the Le Chiuse 2018 Brunello di Montalcino (a certified organic wine with fruit sourced from across six hectares) shows punchy and bright aromas that recall dried grape skins or fermentation aromas. It suggests an open or immediate personality. There is a pleasant rawness or authenticity presented here with black cherry, plum, blue flower, cola and rusty nail. This is a true expression from a warm vintage that delivers mid-weight texture and well-managed tannins. It concludes with a hint of sweet cherry liqueur. I tasted number 192 of 18,300 bottles produced. Lorenzo Magnelli's Le Chiuse was born with Tancredi Biondi Santi in 1946. The legendary Brunello vintner sourced fruit from this site for his Riserva. The property would eventually make wine under its own brand when Simonetta Valiani (Lorenzo's mother) inherited the estate in 1992. Farming is organic and biodynamic.

93 pts Vinous
The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino is youthfully coy and a bit reductive at first. Swirling brings about nuances of dusty rose, dried cherries, flowery underbrush and hints of animal musk. It glides across the palate with finesse, impressing more on its purity of fruit, petty inner florals and delicate nature than power. The 2018 finishes with medium length, showing sweet inner herbal tones, a twang of sour citrus and a gentle tug of fine tannin. This is such an understated beauty. - By Eric Guido on October 2022

As in the past, this year Le Chiuse presented both their Annata, the finessed and understated 2018 Brunello, as well as a 10-year late release of their classic 2013 Riserva Diecianni. The Magnelli family now tends to vineyards originally planted using massal selection from clones specifically picked by Tancredi Biondi-Santi. The vineyards span across the north hill, between the town of Montalcino and Montosoli, averaging around 330 meters, with soils that are a unique mix of schist, rocks and fossils over a water-retaining layer of clay only two meters below.

Father and son team Nicolò and Lorenzo Magnelli currently run the estate based on tradition and always with an open mind to the future. During my conversation, we spoke in detail about 2018 and the vintages that followed. Lorenzo Magnelli describes 2018 as having a cool and wet spring and warm summer without any heat spikes, followed by cooler weather and rain that lasted into September. These conditions made vineyard work extremely important to counter the onset of mold and help grapes reach proper concentrations. In addition, the juice was treated delicately in the cellar to “enhance the elegance” and then refined only in large neutral barrels. However, production was down by 15%, but the resulting wine is a beautiful translation of terroir and vintage character.

While a bit closed aromatically today, I expect amazing things down the road. As for the future and the new normal of dry and hot conditions, Lorenzo Magnelli believes that the biodynamic practices they now use will help improve the health of the vines and soil to combat hydric stress. Magnelli is also looking to use older, large barrels and concrete tanks to maintain freshness in the wines. Le Chiuse is both geographically positioned and managed to continue to be one of Montalcino’s top producers through the foreseeable future.