Winemaker Notes
Ruby red, tending to garnet red with aging. A broad, ethereal and compound smell with hints of violet and a pleasant hint of wild berries and vanilla. Dry, warm and velvety, denoting a richtexture and fine breed.
Pair with roasted red meat, noble game and medium aged cheese.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Cherry, leather and iron notes mark this suave, elegant red. A bit reticent now, but the fruit is fresh and long on the finish. The dense tannins leave a mouthcoating impression, but this opens up beautifully over a few hours. Best from 2021 through 2035.
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Wine Enthusiast
Marking the winery's 40th harvest, this vintage offers classic Sangiovese fragrance: wild berry, blue flower, baking spice and a whiff of new leather. The palate is sleek and elegant, doling out juicy red cherry, crushed raspberry, cinnamon and star anise, framed by lithe, polished tannins and fresh acidity. It's loaded with finesse and tempting now but will be even better with a few more years in bottle.
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James Suckling
A juicy Brunello with plum and dark-chocolate character, yet this always remains subtle and fresh. Medium to full body, firm and silky tannins and a fresh finish. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Altesino is now celebrating the release of its 40th harvest. In fact, the 2012 Brunello di Montalcino is inscribed with the words "our 40th Harvest" in gold letters on its front label. This is a truly delicious wine that exceeds my expectations. I love the way it takes full command of the slightly bolder and more opulent dark fruit aromas produced in this hot vintage. Black cherry, plum and crème de cassis converge on the bouquet. Grilled herb, forest floor, licorice and exotic spice play supporting roles. The finish offers moderate acidity on the Sangiovese scale. This means the wine is mush fresher and more tonic than most Tuscan reds. The finish is long and silky.
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.