Winemaker Notes
The "Costa Grande" selection, used since the 1980s for Boscarelli's wines, has been vinified and bottled on its own, as a Cru, since the 2015 vintage. An average of 4000 bottles are produced per year.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Menthol, ripe black-skinned berry, iris and oak-driven spice aromas take shape in the glass. The full-bodied, elegantly structured palate showcases ripe Morello cherry, orange zest and licorice before closing on a note of roasted coffee bean. Tightly knit, fine-grained tannins provide firm support while surprisingly fresh acidity for the hot vintage keeps it balanced.
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Wine Spectator
Saturated with aromas and flavors of violet, black currant, blackberry and spice, this red is velvety and deftly balanced. This is also open and ready to enjoy, though the underlying structure suggests this will continue to develop over the next decade or so. Drink now through 2035.
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James Suckling
A perfumed nose of plum, raspberry, earth and baking spices. Medium-to full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins and fresh acidity. Creamy, with a chalky texture. Savory finish with excellent length.
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.
This significant Tuscan village—not to be confused with the red grape of the same name widely grown in Abruzzo and the Marche regions—was home to one of the first four Italian DOCGs granted in 1980.
Based on the Sangiovese grape (here called Prugnolo Gentile), the village’s prized wine called Vino Nobile di Montepulciano ranks stylistically in between Chianti Classico, for its finesse, and Brunello di Montalcino for its power. With a deep ruby color, heavy concentration and a firm structure given by the village's heavy, cool clay soils, most Vino Nobile di Montepulciano will demand some bottle age.