Fattoria dei Barbi's 2011 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva shows thick lines and excellent composure. The warm 2011 vintage tends to offer more jammy fruit aromas and you get a fleeting sense of that here. There is extra suppleness and softness that comes from a hot summer growing season. The wine's basic building blocks may indeed be bigger and more robust, but they still fit together like precision patchwork. Dark fruit and prune segues to tobacco and barbecue smoke. The finish shows succulent sweetness and greater textural richness. Only 10,000 bottles are produced.

Monica Larner, February 2017