One of three single-vineyard expressions, the Val di Suga 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Spuntali is the most representative of the estate philosophy and the Sangiovese grape. This classic Brunello shows the thick lines and ripe fruit that this vintage is known for, but it also offers mineral notes or crushed stone and iron ore that add contours and framing to the fruit. There is an almost saline or salty note on the close that you don't get with the other wines in this series. Some 12,000 examples of this lovely cru were bottled in early April 2019.

Good medium red. Fresh, almost tight aromas of red cherry, sweet spices and peppermint oil, complicated by blood orange and marzipan nuances. Rich and round, with minty acidity leaving a penetrating quality and an impression of greater verticality than some other recent vintages of this wine. Clearly refined, nicely sweet and pure on the long, multifaceted finish. One reason behind this wine's success in 2015 is that while the Spuntali area is usually fairly dry, it actually rained in 2015 (somewhat paradoxically, given the 2015 growing season weather characteristics - warm and dry - I thought Spuntali would have been the last spot it would rained, but so it did). A superb wine.