Winemaker Notes
What a nose: dark peony petals mix with violet and scented notes of both fresh and dried cherry. These aromas travel straight to the brain on a lifted note of polished wood. The same aromatic allure becomes immediately apparent on the palate: cherry and fragrant petals enrobe and cushion the fine but utterly taut tannins.
A very serious wine that poses a lovely counterpoint of poised structure and flowing, almost billowing elegance; stern and forgiving at once. Every nuance of aroma is illuminated by Sangiovese’s electric acidity. Even in age, when earthier, more savory notes come to the fore the floral, silky allure captures palate, mind and heart in one go.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is a Brunello with a beautiful purity of fruit and balance of ultra-fine tannins. Full body, totally integrated and holistic. Fresh and focused. Drink in 2020 but already a joy to taste.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Made with fruit from a slightly cooler site, the 2013 Brunello di Montalcino Filo di Seta takes a few minutes to open but is well worth the wait. Despite the tight and nervous character of Sangiovese, this wine is suddenly generous, opulent and exuberant all at once. It's like meeting a person for the first time who initially seems shy, but then who suddenly moves in for the big bear hug. Its disposition is as generous as it is genuine. The mouthfeel is textured, supple and warm.
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Wine Spectator
Fine harmony and richness meld with the cherry, plum and leather flavors in this fluid red. Shows the structure for mid-term aging, offering light grip on the tobacco-laced finish. Best from 2021 through 2033. 350 cases made,
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.