L'Aietta, Brunello di Montalcino 2017

98 points Wine Enthusiast
"This stunner boasts enticing scents of perfumed berry, pine forest, new leather and dark spice. Precise, vibrant and supremely elegant, the savory palate delivers juicy strawberry, red cherry, baking spice and star anise framed in taut, refined tannins. Bright acidity imparts great energy and keeps it well-balanced. Even a scorching vintage like 2017 couldn't stop winemaker and owner Francesco Mulinari from achieving remarkable focus and finesse. One of the very best of the vintage. Drink 2025–2037." *Cellar Selection*

Vinous Reverie
Importer: I had already given up before starting my search for a Brunello. How could it be possible that there was a fascinating, hand made, organic, small production Brunello being made that wasn’t already imported into the US, and that I hadn’t already heard about. On a whim we called Castelnuovo dell’Abate native, and our friend Federico Marconi who low and behold, said, “well there is a young friend of mine, but he is super tiny, barely any production… you probably couldn’t be interested he is so small.” Valeria and I left for Tuscany immediately to go meet young Francesco. With a total production of 580 cases a year, Francesco also thought we were just there for a ‘visit,’ and that we couldn’t be possibly interested in someone as small as him for the United States. So wrong… his wines were so incredibly refreshing, they brought me back to the early 90’s when I had my first taste of Brunello – and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. Francesco himself was also a breath of fresh air… he was humble, serious about his wine but not without a sense of humor. He laughed at his little cellar, and his tiny fermentation room, but was serious about what was in the barrel, and after tasting a few different barrel samples I saw that he was also a bit of a perfectionist. Living in Piedmont and working primarily with natural wine makers, reduction on wines in the barrel just goes without saying… Francesco on the other hand was completely bothered and concerned about a whisper of reduction on a particular barrel – the same barrel I found the most intriguing. Go figure! We sold out immediately of our first drop of both the Brunello and the Rosso… true to Indie philosophy another example of ‘bigger is not always better,’ and ‘good things come in small packages!’