Winemaker Notes
A Brunello with great personality. Intense ruby red color with a complex aromatic structure, highlighted by notes of blackberry and plum jam, combined with spicy hints of tobacco. On the palate, it is balanced and elegant, with soft, mature, and well-integrated tannins. The finish is persistent.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Castello Banfi 2021 Brunello di Montalcino Poggio alle Mura offers a silky entry to the palate, followed by good tension and energy, with fruit sourced from estate parcels closest to the castle walls that historically deliver greater precision. Although Castello Banfi has one of the largest vineyard holdings in Montalcino, this wine stands apart for its density, layered flavor profile and power (with a 15.5% alcoholic content).
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Jeb Dunnuck
A step up from the Castello Banfi and pouring a darker, saturated ruby/red color, the 2021 Brunello Di Montalcino Poggio Alle Mura is smoky and lush with aromas of cedar, incense, black cherries, and menthol. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is snappy with bright acidity, crisp tannins, and mouthwatering accents of orange zest and saline, with a good deal of richness that lasts through the finish. Drink 2026-2046.
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James Suckling
A rich, plush Brunello that’s certainly flavorful and upfront, with full body and compact tannins. Dense and a little extracted, with a long, tight finish. Drink from 2026.
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Vinous
The 2021 Brunello di Montalcino Poggio alle Mura is a rich blend of mocha and plum, revealing nuances of mint as it evolves in the glass. Juicy in character, it offers lifted textures and crisp wild berry fruits. The wine tapers off with impressive length, gently tannic with a sweet blackberry twang.
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.