Winemaker Notes
Light destemming and crushing; alcoholic fermentation at controlled temperatures with frequent pumpovers; long maceration on the skins with constant sampling and chemical analyses to determine the optimal date for racking.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Ripe blueberries and darker plums with attractive woody and spicy complexity. This has impressive depth and layering on the palate with smooth, sturdy tannins carrying a wealth of black-cherry flavor. Long finish with sweet, ripe fruit. Excellent wine. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva shows an immediately aged or evolved quality. This is a true hallmark of a Brunello Riserva (which is always released six years after the harvest, allowing the wine ample time to integrate in both barrel and bottle). The wine's appearance is deep and velvety, and the aromas span from dried cherry and crème de cassis to medicinal herb, licorice and camphor ash. If you love those ethereal Brunello characteristics, this pretty wine has them in spades.
Rating: 93+ -
Wine Enthusiast
Forest-floor, tobacco, dark-skinned berry and clove aromas mingle together in the glass. On the bright savory palate, polished tannins and fresh acidity balance succulent black cherry, crushed raspberry, cinnamon and star anise. Drink 2020–2028.
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.