2012 Brunello di Montalcino, Cerbaiona, 10 year Library Release, Tuscany, Italy

Cask sample 1: Deep ruby with a narrow orange rim. Cool fruit and herbs on the nose. Remarkable sweet and ripe fruit on the attack with firm, bitter tannins. A successful balancing act, showing great concentration while keeping perfect focus and poise.Cask sample 2: Lustrous ruby with a narrow orange rim. More ethereal but at the same time bags of concentration and raspberry on the nose. Perhaps just a tiny hint of undergrowth. Firm powdery tannins, which are less bitter. Really complementary to sample 1. Drink 2020 - 2036Walter Speller, JancisRobinson.com (May 2016)

Only a slight fading at the rim reveals the 10 years of maturity that the 2012 Brunello di Montalcino has undergone, yet from its bouquet—a brilliant mix of dusty rose, dried strawberries, plum skins, lavender and a hint of tobacco—you’d never know. “Ethereal” is the word, as silken textures wash across the palate weightlessly, yet unleash an array of wild berry fruits, cloves, allspice and dried citrus that totally captivates. Still lightly tannic yet amazingly energetic, the 2012 tapers off potent and long, leaving nuances of liquorice and a hint of balsamic spice that lingers on and on. There is no fear of decline here; in fact, it’s still on the steady path of evolution, and collectors who have the 2012 Cerbaiona should consider themselves very lucky. It’s a total charmer.Drink 2022 - 2028eric_guido, Vinous.com.com (January 2023)

Cerbaiona's 2012 Brunello di Montalcino is a nuanced and delicate wine that offers ample power, intensity and length. What the wine does best is paint a portrait of the grape in its most pure and naked state. It offers crisp outlines with loads of wild berry, blue flower and moist earth on the inside. That balanced ensemble of flavours adds to the long and polished persistence you feel in the mouth. Give this wine another 10 years of ageing to best appreciate its slow evolution and budding complexity.I tasted this wine last year at the estate just before its commercial release. Estate Manager Matthew Fioretti asked me to refrain from publishing a review, and I respected his wish. However, I bought a bottle of the wine during my stay in Montalcino. I was curious to chart its evolution roughly one year later, and the results are phenomenal. I was unable to taste the 2013 vintage because it had not yet been released as we went to press.Drink 2020 - 2040monica_larner, Wine Advocate (February 2018)