Dry red wine, 100% Sangiovese grapes. This Riserva of Brunello is made with a special selection of grapes collected from our best vineyards in Montalcino. The ageing in barrel and in bottle is longer than the one for a regular Brunello, thus the wine has a deeper concentration and a wider complexity of aromas.
Grapes Sangiovese 100%.
Vineyards Property of Fattoria dei Barbi, located in the district of Montalcino and registered for Brunello di Montalcino production. Soil: marl. Altitude: 400 mt slm. Average age: grape vines planted between 1975 and 2017. Orientation: South East. Vine Training System: Cordone libero. Vine Stock per hectar: 5.000. Yeld per hectar: 60 ql.
The Year 2017 In 2017 the Spring was on the seasonal average. April and May were mild and quite dry, followed by a temperate and dry climate in June. The Summer was very hot and led to an early the ripening. July was also sunny and brought drought stress to the vines. The hardest moment was in the second half of August, when an anticyclon from Africa made the climate hot and drier than the usual. The heat lasted for two weeks, fastening the ripening process. In the beginning of September a few rainfalls brought some balance to the ripening speed, leading to an early harvest, with good grapes.
The harvest went on from September 8th until the 22nd.
Vinification Before the fermentation the grapes were subjected to a cold pre-fermentative maceration which consists in cooling the grapes at a temperature of 16°C in an environment protected by CO2. This process increases the extraction of polyphenols and aroma compounds. The regular alcoholic fermentation followed and lasted 16/17 days at a controlled temperature of 27°-28°C. After the racking and the malolactic fermentation the wine aged in small-medium size oak barrels (2,25 – 15 hl) for the first months. Later it completed the aging in larger oak barrels, for a total period of three years and then is bottled at least 6 months before the release.
Chemical Analysis Alcohol 14.50 % – Total Acidity 6 g/l – Residual sugars < 0.5 g/l – pH 3,25.
Sensory Analysis Colour: intense and concentrated ruby red. Bouquet: plum, blackberry, licorice, cocoa, a tiny hint of tobacco. Taste: ample, persistent sip, round tannins. Very long finish.
Food Combinations Wine for important occasions, matches roast or braised meat, game and mature cheeses.
Serving Temperature Serve at a temperature of 18°C.
Capacity of ageing 20-80 years.
Conservation and storage Keep the bottle horizontally in a dark place at a temperature of 12°-14°C.
Format wine Bordeaux style bottle 0.75 Lt.
Enviromental Labeling
Issue: 2023
Score: 94
Rich and wrought with cherry, black currant, tar, iron, leather and spices. Maintains focus, thanks to vibrant acidity, and persists on the fruity, minerally and savory aftertaste. Best from 2025 through 2042.
Bruce Sanderson
Issue: March 9, 2023
Score: 92
Packaged in its distinctive red label, the Fattoria dei Barbi 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva shows dark color saturation and thick texture, and all of this extra density is linked to a very hot growing season that produced tiny, concentrated berries. Those hot-vintage themes come across clearly in a wine that already shows a more open or oxidative character best suited to near or medium-term drinking. Choose this Riserva if you are looking for a more extracted and powerful alternative, but don’t choose it for cellar aging. Only 4,000 bottles were made. Drink Date 2024-2035 | Stefano Cinelli Colombini acquired 4.5 hectares of new vines last year, with 1.5 hectares registered to Rosso di Montricino. This historic estate skipped over its no sulfites’ Sangiovese in 2022 because rhere was not enough acidity in the grapes to make the wine they wanted. Fottoria dei Barbi has vineyards at a cool 200 to 550 meters in elevation.
Monica Larner
Issue: December 2022
Score: 90
A dusty mix of black cherries and lavender gives way to nuances of spiced orange peels as the 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva opens slowly in the glass. This is soft-textured, almost transparent in feel, with dried red berries offset by hints of citrus. Grippy tannins are left to linger, as the 2017 finishes with only medium length and dry. This may not be as astringently tannic as many of the 2017s, but it is instead fragile in feel. Drinking Window: 2024 – 2029. Tasted: October 2022
Eric Guido
Issue: February 7, 2023
Score: 91/100 Part of Brunello Riserva 2017 & late releases report: 17 wines to buy
For many years, Barbi was one of the only estates – along with Biondi Santi -to produce a Brunel lo Riserva. While quantities are down in 2017, this is crafted, as always, from a selection of the best grapes among the estate’s oldest vineyards. It is very sweet/savoury in character: cinnamon and prune meet leather and roasted meat. Generously packed, the palate leans to brawniness. The tannins have mellowed but finish with a drying rustic edge, while its sappy acidity is a definite plus. Drinking Window: 2023 – 2030.
Michaela Morris
Issue: February 2023
Score: 92/100
Barbi 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. Wild herb, dog rose, forest floor and camphor aromas appear in the glass. The full-bodied palate is austere,recalling dried cherry, orange zest, fennel seed and thyme alongside tight, rather grainy tannins that leave alean finish. Drink 2024–2029. Abv: 14.5% Kerin O’Keefe February 2023 ©kerinokeefe
Kerin O’Keefe
Issue: September 1, 2023
Score: 94/100
Barbi 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 94.Good red. Juicy and fruity, with plenty of easy to like orange nectar, lemon peel, red cherry, mineral and sour red berry aromas and flavours. Finishes long and suave, with a gentle texture. A really pretty wine and one of the best 2017 Brunello Riservas I tasted this year, made in the typically polite Barbi style. Drinking window: 2027-2037
Ian D’Agata
Issue: March 6, 2023
Score: 94
The 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is sunny and opulent, with black cherry lozenge, sassafras, sage, and menthol. It is generous through the mid-palate as well, with ripe and fleshy tannins, potting soil, and more cherry fruit throughout. A persistent wine, it is drinking well now but will continue to improve over the coming 10 to 15 years. Drink 2023-2038.
Audrey Frick
Issue: February 6, 2023
Score: 90
Bright pale ruby red in colour. Heady mix of violet and crushed rose petal aromas. Red cherry, loganberry, dark plum, redcurrant, balsamic notes, clove, star anise and cedar. Warm entry. Lightly textured. Sour acidity notes bring attention to mid palate which in turn introduces a tight drying sensation to the close.
Tony Wood
Issue: February 6, 2023
Score: 95
Well done Barbi. Well judged Riserva from 2017, more tannic than many, fruit substance so very close to being perfectly equipped to handle the task. Drying sensations occur, here and there, with bursts of freshness and piques of spice in between. A massive attack at once, then slower machinations when that kind of temperance is required. Barbi moves in and out of action and slumber, raciness and controlled movements. It knows what we need and also what is must own. Those who taste this wine must be left with an impression, of vineyards coalesced and centuries of experience distilled. Barbi’s is the kind of Riserva to tell a story, not just of a vintage wine aged longer but also where its fits with what came before and what is still to come. This 2017 will help to explain the democracy of 2016 and transparency as succinctly as any in the territory. It is a sangiovese predicated on acids, of fruit picked and connected in a most pragmatic way, the result ready and yet willing to travel deep into the future. In Bourgogne there are wines that go through dumb phases and rise up to freshen and excite again. Could this be how Barbi Riserva ’17 travels through its life? Definitive. Drink 2024-2033. Tasted November 2022.
Michael Godel
Issue: March 7, 2023
Score: 94
Yair Kornblum Koren
Issue: February 2023
Score: 91
Thomas Rydeberg
Issue: March 3, 2023
Score: 90
Klare, geschliffene, recht feine Nase nach roten und schwarzen Beeren mit angedeutet tabakigen und zedrigen Aromen sowie ganz leicht ätherischer Würze. Recht straffe, klare, saftige Frucht, sehr feines, jugendliches Tannin und etwas Biss, nussige Anklänge und ein Hauch Kakao, angedeutet Salz im Hintergrund, gewisse Tiefe, geradliniger Stil, nicht ewigt tief, aber sehr gekonnt gemacht, sehr guter Abgang. Trinkempfehlung: Mitte 2023 bis 2030+. Zuletzt bewertet: 23. März 2023
Issue: November 18, 2022
Score: 94+
Fattoria dei Barbi’s Riserva is the expression of both tradition and great drinkability. To the nose wild plum, with touches of pepper leaf, recalls of cloves and mentholated finish. Very juicy to the palate, with return on fruit and officinal sensations, and mentholated return on the finish.
Luca Gardini
