Winemaker Notes
This Brunello di Montalcino is aged in Slavonian oak barrels for about 30 months and in the bottle for a year. It was born in their historic vineyards. Its constant high quality is further enhanced by its elegance and finesse. The vineyards lie to the south of Montalcino, a zone of Brunello marked by warmer micro-climates and intense, powerful wines.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
There is so much ripe fruit here with a decadent richness that is just crazy. Verges on raisins but it goes instead to pure fruit. Very full and velvety with a long finish. I love this.
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Wine Spectator
Dark color with intense blackberry, chocolate and lightly toasted oak. Full-bodied and ultravelvety, with caressing tannins. Vanilla, chocolate and berry. Goes on for minutes.
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Wine Enthusiast
A beautiful showing thanks to rich red fruit, pomegranate, blackberry, plum, menthol and heavy toasted notes such as clove, vanilla, almond and coconut. Rich, supple and inky, this is a big, bold wine that should be opened 5–10 years from now. Imported by William Grant & Sons, Inc.
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Wine & Spirits
From a vineyard in the southwestern zone of Montalcino (CK), Tenuta Nuova was planted in (CK). It produced a soft, lush wine in 2001, packed with cherry flavor and floral accents. Tannin keeps it directed, tightening the finish, suited to several years of age.
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.