Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2009 Brunello di Montalcino is a standout expression with long and polished notes of dried fruit and tobacco presented in a smooth and seamless fashion. It shows good structure and balance but an even prettier nose with ethereal balsam herbs, tar, licorice and pressed violets that emerge as the wine evolves in the glass. The wine hints at a greater evolution to come. Drink: 2017-2022.
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James Suckling
A wine with pretty dried-orange and cocoa character, plus ripe cherries. Full body, integrated tannins and juicy finish. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
Opening aromas recall underbrush, red berry, white mushroom, truffle and thyme with a whiff of leather. The palate offers restrained wild cherry accented with white pepper, mint and sage alongside tightly knit tannins. While the tannins need to unwind, this wine isn't made for long-term cellaring. Drink 2015–2019.
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Wine Spectator
An elegant, fruity version, exuding cherry, balsamic and earth flavors allied to a vibrant structure. The medium tannins recommend this to a few years of cellaring, but this could be enjoyed now if decanted and paired with a beef or lamb ragù. Best from 2016 through 2024.
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.