Winemaker Notes
Ruby red that in time becomes garnet. Brilliant, sufficiently intense, in the glass the movement is slow thanks to the richness in noble components. On the nose fine, complex, deep, with hints of ripe red berries and fruits, and of spices.
Very elegant, the tannic and acid structure seems perfectly balanced by the fruit and alcohol, it is fresh and vertical and its tannins are silky. There is a long persistence in the mouth.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
This red combines fresh cherry and strawberry fruit with graphite, earth and leather notes for a positive impression. A swath of burly tannins lingers on the finish, needing time to meld with the ripe fruit and rich texture. Best from 2024 through 2043.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Donatella Cinelli Colombini 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva shows a dense and concentrated personality, owing much to the warm, sunny and delightful conditions of this epic growing season. This wine draws its fruit from a 10-hectare parcel with clay soils and wide-open skies with clouds and sunbeams, which take in most of the landscape to the north of Montalcino. This is a 9,600-bottle production. Black cherry, blackberry confit, spice and warm earth make up the bouquet. Plush and slightly sweet fruit flavors color the softly textured mouthfeel. This Riserva shows a bit of extra vintage ripeness, rendering a more accessible, medium-term drinking window.
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James Suckling
A red with plum, spice, chocolate and cherry, as well as orange peel. Full-bodied with firm, silky tannins and a juicy, flavorful finish. Really fine with a refined finish. Super balance and beauty here. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
Menthol, crushed berry and violet aromas slowly develop along with whiffs of ground clove. The poised, medium-bodied palate is already accessible, offering juicy Marasca cherry and coffee bean alongside polished tannins. Drink 2022–2027.
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.