Montalcino produced something in 2016 that happens perhaps twice in a generation. Here is what to buy before it disappears.
Twice in a generation, Montalcino aligns: even flowering, a dry August, cool September nights. 2010 was one such year. 2016 is the other, and the window for buying it intelligently is closing.
What distinguishes 2016 is not power but completeness — perfume, structure and acidity in unusual equilibrium. These are wines that will reward twenty years of patience yet do not punish curiosity today.
Our advice to members has been consistent: prioritise single-vineyard bottlings from estates that declined to release a Riserva in weaker years. Discipline in bad vintages is the best predictor of greatness in good ones.
