Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is not the perfect 100-point 2006, but damn close. Loads of black cherries and spices on the nose. Full-bodied, with a beautiful core of fruit. Long and gorgeous finish. This is so long and beautiful to taste. Lasts for minutes. Try after 2015.
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Wine Enthusiast
Gorgeous, opulent and rich, Tenuta Nuova is an unforgettable wine. It has body, power, persistence and loads of plush personality. It is layered with chocolate, cherry, blackberry, spice, leather and savory notes. There's a deep mineral layer as well. Compelling and lovely.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2007 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova saturates the palate with masses of super-ripe dark fruit, tar, licorice and new leather. The Tenuta Nuova is an especially full-bodied, seamless Sangiovese deeply influenced by the Mediterranean climate of this warm site in the south of Montalcino. Layers of fruit build to an effortless, resonant finish laced with considerable aromatic nuance. This is another terrific showing from Giacomo Neri and his talented team. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2027.
Rating: 95+ -
Wine Spectator
Effusive aromas of ripe cherry, plum tart and cedar lead to a macerated cherry flavor, with plenty of spice accents as this gains steam. Just a touch hot on the balance now, with assertive tannins, yet this blossoms after a few hours in the glass. Best from 2015 through 2030.
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.