Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino 2016
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Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Attractive aromas of balsamic, tea, dark berry, walnut and coffee bean. Full-bodied, yet tight and very intense with ripe tannins that are fine and reserved. Racy and polished. Beautiful length to this wine. Needs at least two to three years to come. Try after 2024.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Brunello Di Montalcino pours a rich ruby hue yet remains transparent, with savory, layered aromas of red cherry, saddle leather, cedar, damp forest floor, and wild herbs. It is medium to full-bodied, with a ripe yet structured feel, ample tension, and notes of red plum, currant, dried roses, orange rind, and white pepper. Persistent and linear, with a long finish, it will continue to mature into more umami tones of shitake and tea leaf.
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Wine Spectator
Fleeting aromas of cherry, cedar, sanguine and leather give way to a beam of ripe cherry, berry and earth flavors in this elegant red. Firm and resonant, with a matrix of dusty tannins on the long finish. Best from 2024 through 2045.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Valdicava 2016 Brunello di Montalcino shows a subtle bouquet that needs extra time to open. In fact, I suggest you open your bottle about four hours before serving. This Brunello takes its time, but it inches over the senses with carefully increasing intensity. Wild cherry, toasted almond and even a touch of sweet apple or orange peel distinguish the bouquet. The tannins are firm and young, but all they need is extra time to evolve. This wine is like being introduced to a stranger who takes his time to reveal his personality, but who then turns into a true friend and confidant. Patience is required when approaching this 40,000-bottle release.
Other Vintages
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Montalcino is home to the opulent of the Sangiovese grape. At our precise latitude of 43 degrees, the warmth of the nearby Tirrean Sea, the protective barrier of the "Monte Amiata," the coolness of the wooded areas, the breeze and the moderate rainfall all coincide to facilitate the growth of these grapes to fragrant, full maturity. Valdicava is located in the Montosoli area which is famous in Montelcino for creating wines with great balance of body and aromas. We pay the utmost attention towards maintaining the individual characteristics of our wine in order to exalt the spirit of the place, the 'genius loci' of our estate.
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.