Winemaker Notes
Initially shy bouquet with notes of red cherry, plum and violet accompanied by herbs and balsamic flavors. With the passage of time it fills out while increasing in intensity. Succulent red of notable character with crisp and persistent fruit, ample density and energy yet softness that is never excessive. The palate is savory, tempered by smooth tannins and fruity notes in a long finish of great finesse.
A wine to enjoy through an entire meal with a notable penchant for stews, roasts and grilled meats and medium aged cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A medium red color, the 2020 Brunello Di Montalcino opens to notes of wild strawberries, fresh, sweet herbs, herbes de Provence, and fresh purple flowers. Medium-bodied (although it expands through the palate), it's fruity up front, with ripe tannins, and has a complete feel with a savory richness that fleshes out the wine. Drink 2026-2046.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Le Chiuse 2020 Brunello di Montalcino (made with organic fruit) is a wine that prizes transparency and tension with cassis, Rainier cherry and raspberry coulis. I really love the bold fruit intensity that shines in this wine. To the palate, it offers subtle sweetness contrasted by bright acidity and silky tannins. This is a solid Brunello choice from 2020.
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Vinous
A beguiling bouquet of crushed roses, violets and a flourish of exotic spice leads to dried strawberries and wet stone as the 2020 Brunello di Montalcino blossoms in the glass. This opens on the palate with a pretty inner sweetness, displaying textures of pure silk and an unexpected richness that's perfectly offset by tantalizing acidity. While nearly fleshy in feel, the balance within is otherworldly. The 2020 finishes with a staining of grippy tannins offset by a tinge of sour citrus, leaving the senses salivating for more. This possesses the exuberance of the vintage but also the harmony to mature beautifully over the medium term.
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James Suckling
Evolved nose of coffee candy, crushed black cherries and restrained flowers. Soft and ripe attack with candied-fruit flavor, medium body, lifted acidity and refined, velvety tannins.
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Wine Spectator
Bright and peppery, this red evokes cherry, eucalyptus, iron and earth flavors, along with flashes of black pepper. Tight and dense with resonant tannins, showing tension on the long, expansive finish. Drink now through 2040.
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.