Winemaker Notes
Red color of medium intensity, with purple reflections in appearance. Harmonious aromas, with a sophisticated note of prune and blackberry and a strong wood aroma. The palate results in a rich and balanced wine, distinguished by its aftertaste with a note of mixed berries and a delicate nuance of wood.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
The nose offers warm aromas of tar and coffee grounds and crisper notes of new leather and potting soil, with a sweet drizzle of cherry syrup on top. The palate is more fruit forward, as strawberry and blood orange peel join a fresher cherry element, but lean tannins and graceful acid bolster a flinty heat for balance.
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James Suckling
Bright cherry and berry aromas with hints of pressed flowers. Medium body with bright acidity and tight but not drying tannins. Long, fresh finish. Delicious now, but this should age gracefully, too.
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Decanter
In the relatively cool sector of Torrenieri, Col di Lamo has been improving steadily over the last few years. This is credit to the hard work of owner Giovanna Neri as well as her collaboration with Sangiovese specialist and consultant, Maurizio Castelli. Lively and persistent, its whiffs of violet, lilac, mint and green tobacco offer instant appeal. On the palate, crunchy acidity reiterates the clean spark, yet there's also plenty of vigour and chew. Clingy, clayey tannins make for a solid backbone. This has more character than polish but will charm with its charismatic, genuine profile.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Col di Lamo 2018 Brunello di Montalcino is a full-bodied Sangiovese with thick layering and a velvety texture. There is abundant black cherry, ripe fruit, toasted almond and grilled herb. The effect is rich and even a bit monotone or heavy. There is a hint of bitterness connected to the tannins, and the wine covers the palate like a thick blanket.
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.