Winemaker Notes
Brunello di Montalcino was Italy’s first wine to be accorded DOCG status, a testament to its aristocracy, balance and fabulous proclivity for aging.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Youthful profile here with almost vinous character. Abundant violets and roses on the nose, together with cherries and pomegranates. Fruity again on the medium- to full-bodied palate with firm, velvety tannins, a lot of freshness and good length. Plenty of substance and alcohol. It will need time to integrate. Best after 2026.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Castello Banfi 2020 Brunello di Montalcino opens to a velvety character that includes the softness and generosity of a warm and dry vintage. The bouquet is redolent of cherry, blackcurrant, grilled herb and sweet rose. This Brunello is open-knit and accessible. It has sweet tannins on the close.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Brunello Di Montalcino is a bright red/ruby color and is pretty on the nose with aromas of baked strawberries, sweet spices, dusty earth, and hints of lavender. Medium-bodied and weightless on the palate, with fine, dusty tannins, an elegantly fruity feel, it's a charming, approachable Brunello that retains good freshness and finesse.
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Wine Spectator
Aromas and flavors of graphite, cherry, blackberry, pomegranate and wet earth highlight this energetic, powerful red. Vibrant and focused, with a long aftertaste embedded in its muscular tannins. Best from 2029 through 2045.
Among Italy's elite red grape varieties, Sangiovese has the perfect intersection of bright red fruit and savory earthiness and is responsible for the best red wines of Tuscany. While it is best known as the chief component of Chianti, it is also the main grape in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and reaches the height of its power and intensity in the complex, long-lived Brunello di Montalcino. Somm Secret—Sangiovese doubles under the alias, Nielluccio, on the French island of Corsica where it produces distinctly floral and refreshing reds and rosés.
Famous for its bold, layered and long-lived red, Brunello di Montalcino, the town of Montalcino is about 70 miles south of Florence, and has a warmer and drier climate than that of its neighbor, Chianti. The Sangiovese grape is king here, as it is in Chianti, but Montalcino has its own clone called Brunello.
The Brunello vineyards of Montalcino blanket the rolling hills surrounding the village and fan out at various elevations, creating the potential for Brunello wines expressing different styles. From the valleys, where deeper deposits of clay are found, come wines typically bolder, more concentrated and rich in opulent black fruit. The hillside vineyards produce wines more concentrated in red fruits and floral aromas; these sites reach up to over 1,600 feet and have shallow soils of rocks and shale.
Brunello di Montalcino by law must be aged a minimum of four years, including two years in barrel before realease and once released, typically needs more time in bottle for its drinking potential to be fully reached. The good news is that Montalcino makes a “baby brother” version. The wines called Rosso di Montalcino are often made from younger vines, aged for about a year before release, offer extraordinary values and are ready to drink young.