Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Gorgeous aromas of sea salt, savory, smoked meats and dried fruits follow through to a full body, with fine tannins and a long and intense finish. So beautiful and enticing. Goes on for minutes. Excellent quality for the standard bottling of this winery. Better in 2016.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The outstanding 2010 Brunello di Montalcino gives you everything you want to see in a great wine, a great Tuscan wine. This monumental expression of Sangiovese delivers top-notch intensity with seamless integration of aromas. They span from dark fruit and Morello cherry to chocolate, spice, licorice, balsam herb and rosemary sprig. The energy and vitality of the vintage is locked perfectly within. This Brunello exhibits especially soft, silky tannins with long persistence and momentum. There is nothing out of place and the price tag is certainly not exaggerated for this level of excellence.
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Wine Spectator
A whiff of spice gives way to ripe cherry, raspberry and earth flavors in this lively, supple red. This is all about texture and elegance, with the fine balance making this feel effortless. The lingering aftertaste evokes tobacco, leather and spice notes. Best from 2018 through 2033.
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.