From the Frescobaldi family of Florence, the Luce della Vite (or Tenuta Luce) 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Luce is a wine of depth and intensity. This 2016 vintage goes further and offers more substance than most of the recent vintages we've seen. It reveals a dark color and appearance with cocktail cherry, balsam spice and a touch of white chocolate. The tannins are dry, but the wine compensates with a good dose of that concentrated fruit richness that defines this classic vintage. This is a 30,000-bottle release.

Well-marked by spicy, toasty oak, this plum- and black cherry-flavored red is broad and muscular. Smooth, with fine structural support and hints of chocolate and coffee on the lingering aftertaste. Sangiovese and Merlot. Best from 2021 through 2040. 840 cases imported.

The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Luce from Frescobaldi lifts up with a heady display of medicinal cherries, cinnamon and cloves with a dusting of cedar and white smoke. It's silky and seamless, coasting effortlessly across the palate with ease, while gaining tactile grip as notes of tart raspberry and minerals slowly settle in. There's ample acidity to balance this large-scaled effort, as it unabashedly tapers off to a black currant-cocoa-mocha-coffee mixture throughout the structured finale. The 2016 Luce della Vite had me right up until the finish, where it unfortunately leaves a harsh impression of wood instead of fruit.