Winemaker Notes
Capanna Brunello di Montalcino is a deep ruby red color with garnet hues. The bouquet is ethereal, with notes of red fruit and vanilla. The harmonious palate shows excellent tannins and structure, with a very persistent finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Brunello Di Montalcino is ripe with cherry leather, a bit of umami with dried shitake, and licorice candy. It is medium-framed but has elegant concentration, with wild strawberry, fresh herbs, and lavender. It is a very attractive wine to drink 2024-2036.
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Wine Enthusiast
A classic Brunello nose features aromas of cherry, orange peel, soil and graphite, along with a fresh burst of fennel and mint. The cherries, soil and bitter orange notes define the palate, but a sprinkling of anise brings subtle, pleasing spice. Acid flows over round, smooth tannins like a river polishing stones.
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James Suckling
Sour cherries, lemons, dried roses, porcini mushrooms and rosemary on the nose. Medium-bodied, bright and savory, with tasty layers accompanied by fine tannins. Excellent freshness. Drink from 2024.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino shows an open quality that is a little oxidative in character. This is a very accessible wine with a strong 15% alcohol content. It is best consumed in the near term. Like many other Brunellos from this vintage, I would not put my money on long cellar aging times. There is concentrated fruit, with dried cherry, blackcurrant and fresh acidity. The bouquet is also redolent of old spice, tar and leather.
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.