Winemaker Notes
The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Montosoli, thanks to its generosity but also great coherence of the territory, represents a wine which reveals the characteristics of this splendid hill through a harvest which brings out its strength and tension. It is a zone which, thanks to its soil that is more marl and mineral, expresses itself in verticality, minerality, and sapidity, length and depth, but also with a more pronounced tannin. The 2019 vintage is perhaps one of the vintages which best expresses this Terroir the in recent years.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This is a gorgeous wine that really takes off in this vintage. It starts off with gentle floral aromas of lilac or dried violet and a hint of fragrant rose. The Canalicchio di Sopra 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Montosoli boasts an impeccable nose with elegant berry fruit and light minerality. All this beauty is transferred to the palate, where the wine shows very fine-grained tannins. The fruit flows steadily over a long, rich finish. The challenge is to get a fruit finish this long, considering Brunello's strong tannins, but this wine definitely succeeds.
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James Suckling
Aromas of sweet berries, flowers, sandalwood and ink follow through to a medium body with firm, silky tannins and a fresh and clean finish. Savory at the end. Linear and racy. Best in two or three years and onwards.
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Wine Spectator
This red shows some distinctive balsamic notes -- tomato leaf, eucalyptus and mint -- that mingle with the cherry and strawberry fruit. Iron and tobacco accents chime in as this builds to the long, sinewy finish. All the elements are there, but this just needs a few years to integrate. Best from 2027 through 2043. 600 cases made, 137 cases imported.
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.