Winemaker Notes
#44 Vinous Top 100 of 2025
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Brunello Di Montalcino Vigna Montosoli displays a bright red/orange-tinged color and is bright with notes of pomegranate, raspberries, tangerine, dusty earth, and dried herbs. Medium-bodied, it's elegant and refined, with ultra-fine tannins, even acidity, and a floating feel that's balanced and never austere. A very pretty wine, it has a haunting perfume on the back palate and is delicious now, although it should age gracefully over the next two decades.
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Vinous
The 2020 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Montosoli is dreamy, with a darkly floral bouquet that blends dried rose and violet with hints of sour cherry, blackberry and Tuscan dust. This is silky-smooth and round in feel, with fresh acidity that adds a lovely lift as vibrant wild berry fruits swirl throughout. Tactile mineral tones add traction as the 2020 finishes long and staining, with a coating of fine-grained tannins that gently tug at the palate. This is a radiant and generous Montosoli with the balance necessary to mature beautifully in the cellar.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
There's no doubt that Vigna Montosoli is the hottest vineyard site in the appellation at the moment, and it remains virtually impossible to purchase land in this prized subzone. The Canalicchio di Sopra 2020 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Montosoli has a distinct character with reinforced concentration and bold black fruit flavors. I get a hint of Turkish coffee and sweet earth. The bouquet also reveals a mineral side with petrichor, iron ore and peat moss. Of the new releases in this portfolio, I think you will find this wine to be the most complete and age-worthy. Sadly, only 4,133 bottles were created.
Rating: 96+ -
James Suckling
A medium-bodied red with plum and orange-peel character. Ripe, polished tannins and plenty of energy at the end, suggesting that three or four years of bottle age will improve this. A structured and energetic young Brunello from a top vineyard site. Better after 2027.
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Wine Spectator
A pretty red, this exhibits cherry, raspberry, floral and mineral notes, with hints of fresh herbs. Harmonious, and all of its components are in the right place. This is also open and succulent. Enjoyable now if decanted for an hour or two. Best from 2027 through 2045.
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.