Le Ragnaie, Brunello di Montalcino, 2015

WSET-Style Notes

The wine appears pale ruby.

It has medium plus intensity on aroma. I smelled cherry wood, strawberry, red plums, tobacco, leather, game, savory herbs, vanilla, blackberry, warm bread, truffle, and earth.

On the palate, it is medium intensity. The wine is dry, medium plus acid, medium tannin, high alcohol, medium plus bodied, with a long finish. Strawberry, black cherry, black tea, oregano, plum, leather, meat, mint, medicinal, and a note of fresh jujubes.

This is an outstanding wine, and as of 2022, is still developing.

Experiential Notes

This bottle of Le Ragnaie was very satisfying to drink, but its payoff did not come immediately. I gave the wine some time to breathe, had it with a tri-tip roast dinner, and slowly sipped the rest with my wife over the next few hours.

At the start of the evening, the wine was incredibly inviting with upfront fruit, a little savoriness, and hints of wood. It was well-integrated, and indicated that it had more to offer if I had the patience to stay a while and taste. But one might miss that invitation if they judged the wine on its intensity of flavor and aroma right off the bat. This is a subtle drink, and even though its smell and taste grew over time (for me, it took an hour to really notice the change), it never discards its own inherent well-mannered personality. Le Ragnaie asks you for your time and in return delivers satisfying complexity.

This is the type of wine I would save for an evening where I could slow down and be present. Le Ragnaie does not seem to be the bottle for a boisterous celebration, lest you miss out on all that the wine has to offer.