Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
As you can well imagine, the 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto was absolutely explosive on the palate, and even more so because it followed the stylistically traditional, more understated and more ethereal wines from Montalcino in this tasting--such as Cerbaiona and Salvioni. Giacomo Neri's Brunello would stand tall among the wines from Bolgheri and coastal Tuscany, given the thicker extraction, textural richness and power he strives to achieve. Despite the more robust Bordelaise style, the wine maintains a brilliant sense of balance, finesse and poise that is only evident in the greatest expressions of Brunello. When Robert Parker and I asked our audience to name their favorite wines in this flight of ten, the Cerretalto and the Masseto garnished the most votes. The wine is supple and velvety in texture with a long, polished finished. My favorite quality in great Brunello are the balsam herb aromas you get with Sangiovese that is ripened with deep diurnal shifts between day and nighttime temperatures right before harvest. This wine delivers those in spades.
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James Suckling
Fascinating aromas of mushrooms, dark berries and new leather follow through to a full body, soft and velvety tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Very lush and intense, even exotic. One of the wines of the vintage. Drink now or hold.
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Wine Spectator
Very powerful and rich, with blackberry, licorice and light toasty oak. This has pure fruit. Turns exotic and decadent. Full-bodied, with dense, powerful tannins, but velvety and beautiful. Big and powerful. Layered and gorgeous. Best from 2011 through 2018.
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.