Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is very floral with blackberries on the nose. It's full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a ripe fruit, caramel and berry aftertaste. Delicious for the vintage.
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Wine Spectator
The sawdust and graphite aromas turn to cherry and raspberry flavors in this vibrant, complex red. A beam of sweet fruit imparts energy and resonance, carrying this to a long, expansive aftertaste. The finish shows potential.
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Wine Enthusiast
Brunello Tenuta Nuova opens with inky dark consistency and immediate aromas of old spice, leather, toasted oak and dried fruit that pop right out of the glass. Dark licorice and espresso add to the overall complexity. There's a touch of sweet spice on the close with ripe, chewy tannins.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The estate’s 2008 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova is bold, frank and direct. Mocha, plums, black cherries, savory herbs and flowers are some of the notes that take shape in the glass. Overall, the 2008 is a fairly mid-weight Tenuta Nuova, with less structure than the 2006 or 2007, but with plenty of early appeal. The dense, layered finish is highly appealing. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2020.
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Wine & Spirits
The Neri family planted Pietradonice on the site of an onyx quarry in the southeast part of the zone using a selection of sangiovese grosso from their Cerretalto vineyard; they used the same selection to plant Le Centine, also in the south of the zone. Those vineyards, now coming into maturity, produced a brooding, intense Brunello, its flavors as dark as black plums, black mushrooms and tar. The tannins feel like they were carved from stone, wholesome and firm. Built to cellar for five years or more.
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.