Tenuta Luce Brunello di Montalcino DOCG Tuscany 2017

James Suckling  96 pts

The freshness and the floral aromas with citrus fruit and berries are startling for a 2017. The palate is full and extremely refined with elegant tannins and vivid fruit and orange-peel undertones. Racy and bright at the finish. Drink or hold.

Robert Parker  94 pts

Here's a handsome bottle inside and out. The 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Luce is an exuberant and flashy expression of Sangiovese. Just like the etched label design that features sunbeams, the wine radiates fresh fruit, cherry, spice, tar, licorice and grilled herb. The house style favors a contemporary and rich style of Sangiovese, and the wine's velvety approach is measured against the ample texture and fruit weight presented here. This warm 2017 vintage is well interpreted by the folks at Tenuta Luce (even with that high 15% alcohol). Production is 30,000 bottles.

Owned by the Frescobaldi family, this estate has weathered a billion mind-bending name changes over the years, all linked to the concept of light, or "luce" in Italian. My editors and I sat down to try to clean up the database and merge wines from a brand that existed as Luce, Luce delle Vita and Tenuta Luce at various points (with common and understandable misspellings such as Luce della Vita or Luce delle Vite). The word "viti" is "vines" in Italian, and "vita" is life. The top-shelf Tuscan red blend they make has been named Luce or Luce delle Vita at various times. To make things even more confusing, the estate introduced a new wine (with, you guessed it, another "light versus vines" inspired moniker) called Lux Vitis. You'll find that reviewed here. Dealing with the name/branding overlaps has been a game of three-dimensional chess, but we hope we've been able to make sense of it. Big exhale.

Falstaff  95 pts

Rich ruby with a bright garnet edge. Fine, rich, dark cherry, with tree-fresh plum, some tobacco in the background. Fruit like cherries and raspberries are already developed on the palate, then opens up with grippy tannins, embedded in sweet melting.

Wine Enthusiast  92 pts
Underbrush, violet and baked plum are some of the aromas you'll find on this bold red. Big and savory, the warm palate is brawny but polished, offering fleshy black cherry, licorice and tobacco framed in velvety, enveloping tannins. It's already almost accessible but also offers good midterm aging potential. Drink through 2027. 

Wine Spectator  91 pts

Jancis Robinson  16/20