The Verbena Brunello di Montalcino Le Pope 2015 comes from a careful selection of the bunches during the harvest period. The grapes come from the older vineyards and have a lower than typical yield, therefore suitable for a more long-lived and therefore a more elegant wine. Fermentation begins immediately after the destemming of the grapes, lasting for about 12-15 days. After this period is the racking of the grapes; the wine produced is mostly decanted again in stainless steel barrels for malolactic fermentation and then partially decanted in French oak barrels. After the malolactic fermentation, all the wine is transferred to Slavonian oak barrels and aged for about a year and then it is decanted entirely into French oak barrels, to finish the refinement for about 14 months. After the total refinement of the wine, it is passed in steel to begin the first bottling processes.
All this was made possible thanks to the winery Verbena’s grapes, to the careful curation in the vineyard and to the precise cellar management. In particular, according to the Critic, Le Pope releases in the glass an outstanding experience of Brunello 2015.

Lots of blue fruit with black-cherry and black-truffle aromas that follow through to a full body with round and velvety tannins and lots of ripe fruit and creamy undertones. The tannins just melt into the wine. Drink in 2022, but already so delicious. (10/2019)
95 points James Suckling