Winemaker Notes
Obtained from a meticulous selection of Sangiovese grapes from the best company vineyards, Brunello di Montalcino is the result of painstaking campaign work and targeted interventions in the cellar which, in respect and in the worship of an ancient tradition, preserve the integrity of the fruit and enhance the quality of a wine that in history and time of renewal in each bottle.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Intense and complex nose with black cherries, cinnamon and dried red roses over hay and spicy undertones. Exuberant palate, full-bodied with freshness and firm structure.
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Wine Enthusiast
Balsamic aromas of camphor and cedar align with ripe plum, underbrush and new leather in this full-bodied red. On the concentrated, enveloping palate, tightly knit, fine-grained tannins accompany ripe Marasca cherry, blood orange, vanilla and licorice before a tobacco close. Fresh acidity lifts the dense richness. Best After 2024
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James Suckling
Plum, cedar and walnut aromas and flavors with some milk-chocolate and cappuccino undertones. It’s medium-to full-bodied with a tight, focused palate and a flavorful finish. Drink after 2023.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Brunello is ripe with black and blue fruits, of plum, blackberry, vanilla, and crushed lavender aromatics. Fruit-forward and opulent in its ripeness, it is fleshy, round, and plush in its texture. These are wines with generosity and are perfect for early drinking and those seeking a polished modern style. Approachable now though, it will be wonderful over the next 8-10 years. 2021-2031.
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.