Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Black cherry, bark, cedar and orange peel aromas follow through to a medium body with juicy tannins that give a crunchy and lightly chewy texture. Some orange peel with cherry and berry undertones. Needs another two or three years to soften, but it’s already impressive and finely structured.
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Vinous
The 2020 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva Sotto Casa first tempts the imagination with a burst of exotic spices before evolving with notes of mentholated black cherry, rosemary and cedar dust. It splashes across the palate, energetic and cool-toned in feel, with silken waves of mineral-doused wild berry fruits that add a slightly crunchy sensation toward the close. The 2020 leaves the palate drenched in primary concentration, structured and long yet still fresh. It comes across as atypical of the vintage in that its structure is balanced and perfectly harmonious with the fruit within. It's beautifully done.
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Wine Enthusiast
Indulgent but savory aromas merge with decadent sweetness on the nose, as spices and pine needles swirl with cherry syrup, vanilla bean and candied orange peel. The palate is equally luxurious, developing the flavors of cherry, blackberry, dark chocolate and mint. Polished tannins create structure, while acid provides just enough of an edge.
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Wine Spectator
Cherry, blackberry, iron, sanguine and wild herb aromas and flavors highlight this muscular red. Thick, burly tannins leave a strong grip on the finish. This is a touch bitter in the balance, but food will help mitigate that. Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2027 through 2043.
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.