Frescobaldi - Tenuta Castelgiocondo : Ripe al Convento 2012

The 2012 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Ripe Al Convento is a plushly layered and exuberant red wine. Dark fruit pops from the bouquet with intensity and exciting immediacy. Blackberry and Morello cherry is followed by exotic spice, leather and sweet tobacco. The more evident oak use here gives the wine a contemporary and modern approach, with sweet tannins and a more succulent mouthfeel.

This is ripe, boasting plum, raisin, vanilla and sweet oak flavors, with touches of leather and cigar box. Complex, if a bit rigid now, underscored by dense, pointed tannins. Best from 2021 through 2033. 1,080 cases made, 300 cases imported.

This Riserva is sourced from a selection of parcels mainly on schist soils, from Castelgiocondo's vineyards in the southwest of Montalcino. It spends the first year in used French barriques to stabilise colour and allow some oxygenation, before spending the rest of the time in large Slavonian oak casks. The nose is quite dark and brooding, while the palate shows the vintage's heat with dried plum and warming alcohol. Mediterranean herbs, cedar, pine and dusty earth flavours bring complexity, and gripping tannins need to unwind.

Definitely a more complex style, with graphite and some fresh cedary wood on offer. Also shows cigar tobacco, dried red berries and herbal accents. The palate has ripe, smoothly rendered tannins with intense acidity lifting the wine. Long, fresh and regal, this wine needs some time. Try from 2022.

Exotic spice, coconut, blue flower and baked-plum aromas mingle with whiffs of French oak. The concentrated, enveloping palate delivers spirits-marinated cherries, prune, roasted coffee bean and licorice alongside firm, close-grained tannins. Drink from 2022 through 2030.