Winemaker Notes
It can be served with all the best dishes of the Tuscan tradition: in particular with roasted meat, game, braised meat and ripe cheeses like Pecorino cheese.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
This is very Burgundian in style, with effusive cherry, strawberry and floral aromas and flavors riding a supple texture until the characteristic Sangiovese tannins emerge on the finish. Elegant, complex and long overall. Best from 2021 through 2035.
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Decanter
Effusively perfumed with heady notes of oak-spice and lavender accompanying ripe cherry fruit; a powerful style, with evident tannins, yet refined and well-managed, with plenty of ageing potential.
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James Suckling
Plenty of black-truffle and berry character on the nose. Full body, a silky texture and bright acidity follow through to a subtle and satisfying finish. Hints of orange peel make it all the more attractive. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
Earthy underbrush, scorched earth, leather and grilled Porcini mushroom aromas lead the nose. The brawny, vigorous palate delivers fleshy wild cherry, black raspberry, anise and vanilla flavors, while firm, chewy tannins lend structure. Drink 2020–2027.
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.