Winemaker Notes
Many wine lovers around the world already consider it a classic - perhaps because it has established a distinctive identity throughout all its vintages, reflecting the character and quality of our vineyards in the Chianti Classico.
Blend: 70% Merlot, 25% Sangiovese, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The balance and beauty to this wine shows real Super Tuscan character. Aromas of flower, dark berry and licorice follow through to a full body, ultra-fine tannins and a flavorful and focused finish. A blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and sangiovese. Drink now or hold.
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Wine Spectator
Opulent and expressive, featuring plum, blackberry, black currant, violet and spice flavors. Still a very youthful example of Il Blu, this is juicy, packed with ripe fruit, showing fine balance, power, finesse and length. Merlot, Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon.—Brancaia Il Blu Non-blind Retrospective (January 2022). Best from 2026.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This is the wine that put Brancaia on the map of Tuscany's most celebrated estates. A blend of 70% Merlot, 25% Sangiovese and a smaller percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon (fermented with indigenous yeasts in conical steel vats and aged in new and neutral barrique for 20 months), the 2015 Il Blu is a wine that enthusiastically embraces the energy, heat and sunshine of the vintage. The fruit is dark and slightly sweet with aromas of black cherries and dried blackberries. Those flavors deliver rich, soft intensity. The wine is not quite full-bodied, because the mouthfeel is elegant and finessed, but it does deliver lasting power, freshness and polished tannins.
Rating: 94+
Legendary in Italy for its Renaissance art and striking landscape, Tuscany is also home to many of the country’s best red wines. Sangiovese reigns supreme here, as either the single varietal, or a dominant player, in almost all of Tuscany’s best.
A remarkable Chianti, named for its region of origin, will have a bright acidity, supple tannins and plenty of cherry fruit character. From the hills and valleys surrounding the medieval village of Montalcino, come the distinguished and age-worthy wines based on Brunello (Sangiovese). Earning global acclaim since the 1970s, the Tuscan Blends are composed solely of international grape varieties or a mix of international and Sangiovese. The wine called Vine Nobile di Montepulciano, composed of Prognolo Gentile (Sangiovese) and is recognized both for finesse and power.