Winemaker Notes
The Castello di Brolio expresses the refined elegance that is only specific to the terroir of Brolio. It is a "seamless wine" achieved by selecting the best grapes of Brolio, matured in barriques, with a long fining in the bottle that enhances its noble elegance. Sangiovese with a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot
With this harvest, it was finally possible for the Sangiovese to express itsmaximum potential. Intense ruby color with garnet tinges, it has a beautifularomatic complex bouquet. Chocolate/coffee and spices palate, it possesseselegant tannin content and a lingering finish.
Chianti Classico is especially perfect as a compliment to meat-based main courses, such as porchetta allo spiedo, tripe, bistecca alla fiorentina, Colonnata lard, cold cuts and finocchiona di cinta senese. Chianti Classico also goes well with semi-mature Pecorino Toscano cheese, crostini alla toscana and fagioli al fiasco. The wine should be served at a temperature of 60-65°F.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Shows amazing aromas of blackberry, with hints of vanilla and flowers, along with black licorice and crushed berries. Full-bodied, with wonderfully caressing, ultrafine tannins. Very balanced and long. Best after 2011. 6,170 cases made.
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Wine Enthusiast
Born at the heart of the dreamiest of Tuscan landscapes, Castello di Brolio is a monumental Chianti Classico with rich notes of berry fruit, leather, exotic spice and blackberry. The wine is incredibly smooth and polished in the mouth with enduring berry flavors and silky tannins.
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.
One of the first wine regions anywhere to be officially recognized and delimited, Chianti Classico is today what was originally defined simply as Chianti. Already identified by the early 18th century as a superior zone, the official name of Chianti was proclaimed upon the area surrounding the townships of Castellina, Radda and Gaiole, just north of Siena, by Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany in an official decree in 1716.
However, by the 1930s the Italian government had appended this historic zone with additonal land in order to capitalize on the Chianti name. It wasn’t until 1996 that Chianti Classico became autonomous once again when the government granted a separate DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) to its borders. Ever since, Chianti Classico considers itself no longer a subzone of Chianti.
Many Classicos are today made of 100% Sangiovese but can include up to 20% of other approved varieties grown within the Classico borders. The best Classicos will have a bright acidity, supple tannins and be full-bodied with plenty of ripe fruit (plums, black cherry, blackberry). Also common among the best Classicos are expressive notes of cedar, dried herbs, fennel, balsamic or tobacco.