Rosso di Montalcino 2016 – five stars with caveats

At the beginning of this year the Consorzio of Brunello di Montalcino, the Brunello producers' association, released a glowing report on the 2016 vintage and gave it its highest rating of five stars. These star ratings always tend to be on the positive side – perhaps not a surprise for an organisation that protects and promotes the region’s wines. 

The first wine to provide evidence of that supposedly stellar quality is the 2016 Rosso di Montalcino, which requires much less ageing than Brunello and may be released on...