Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
This gorgeous wine opens with alluring aromas of sweet pipe tobacco, underbrush, new leather, truffle, plum and eucalyptus. Smooth and full-bodied yet elegant, the savory, juicy palate delivers crushed Marasca cherry, raspberry preserve, licorice and menthol alongside polished, enveloping tannins. Fresh acidity provides impeccable balance while an orange zest note lifts the finish. Drink 2023–2032.
Cellar Selection -
James Suckling
Some glossy oak warmth across the ripe red cherry and raspberry aromas on the nose. With walnuts, blonde tobacco, sweet brown spices and earthy nuances too. The palate has a level of power and energy that really sets it apart. Shows a very succulent and vibrant core of red fruits and light earthy notes through the finish. Great balance here. Try from 2022.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Vigna di Pianrosso Santa Caterina d'Oro is a gorgeous expression that sits firmly on a base of dark fruit, spice, tobacco and crushed river stone. There is a spot of ripe fruit and candied raspberry that comes into focus as the wine warms in the glass. The wine is slightly shorter in the mouth, but it quickly makes up for that thanks to balanced elegance, fine tannins and tangy acidity.
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.