2021 L'Aietta Selezione Alberelli Brunello di Montalcino

Founded in 2001 when an 18-year-old Francesco Mulinari discovered his family's steep picnic plot beneath Montalcino's fortified town walls was officially registered for Brunello, L'Aietta has evolved into one of the region's most compelling micro-domains. Recognised as the smallest estate in Montalcino, Mulinari works entirely by hand, farming high-altitude, ancient-terraced bush vines in sandy, rocky soils alongside a secondary site in Castelnuovo dell'Abate. His vines are farmed organically, and the wines made with minimal intervention, utilising ambient yeasts, fermentations without temperature-control, and aged in traditional Slavonian oak casks. The result are exceptionally pure, terroir-driven Sangiovese wines prized for traditional restraint, natural balance, and structural integrity.

Other Reviews...
First made in 2019, Alberelli marks its second edition with the 2021 vintage. It is a selection from bush vines planted in 2004 on ancient stone terraces just outside the town’s walls. Lifted floral top notes progress to darker nuances of cured leather, walnut, mocha and hints of smoke. Still a diamond in the rough, this is tightly wound, vertical and electric. It carries no excess baggage yet is somehow still densely packed. Sumac and redcurrants are strewn with wild alpine herbs. Puckering, piercing acidity makes tannins bristle all over the palate and the mouthscrubbing finale lingers with tantalising cherry. A miniscule production of just 300 bottles. Drink 2029-2043.
97 points
Michaela Morris - Decanter

Loaded with intensity and finesse, the L’Aietta 2021 Brunello Alberelli is a staggeringly beautiful wine, starting with its fragrance of lavender, eucalyptus, new leather and forest floor. Linear and showing racy tension, the savory palate delivers ripe Marasca cherry, spiced plum, licorice and blood orange before a mentholated finish. Made with the estate’s bush-trained vines, it is a rarity and an absolute stunner. It’s also youthfully austere – a good thing for a wine destined for lengthy aging – so give it plenty of time to fully unwind.
99 points
Kerrin O’Keefe