Professional Ratings

• 99 Wine Spectator
  Shows excellent color and richness for a Sangiovese, with aromas of sultana, coffee, toasty oak and vanilla bean. Full-bodied, with masses of fruit and chewy tannins. The concentration and depth of fruit and layers of tannins leave me speechless. A blockbuster.
• 98 Decanter
  2006 was a hot year but one with significant thermal amplitude. It fluctuated between 30°C in the day and 10°C at night from late August through to September. While 2006's potential has been evident from the start, it is only now starting to reveal the breadth of its charms. Still very youthful, it opens up leisurely to become positively fragrant with evocative Mediterranean herbs such as sweet anise and mint. The palate offers remarkably pure fruit, with licorice and dusty baked earth along with polished yet assertive tannins and mouthwatering acidity. An exceptional demonstration of finesse and power.
• 94 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

  The two bottles of the 2006 Flaccianello della Pieve opened during this retrospective were both below my admittedly high expectations. I had bad luck with a vintage that has every reason to impress, seriously impress, and for that reason, I am putting a question mark next to my score. There is a vegetal note that is out of place, and although it appears only in brief and contained pluses, I kept finding it each time I returned my nose to the glass. It reminded me of green olive or dried garden herb. The bouquet delivers dark plum, prune, earthy notes, menthol freshness, camphor ash and pronounced minerality. The wine shows beautiful elegance, freshness and silkiness in terms of mouthfeel. This vintage was characterized by extreme diurnal shifts that reached as high as 30 degrees Celsius during the days toward the end of August, and dropped down to ten degrees Celsius at night.