Winemaker Notes
Intense ruby red in color. On the nose the wine is full and rich with aromas of currant, leather, sage and a hint of clove. On the palate the wine shows great complexity, exceptional balance between its marked acidity and its structure. The finish is vibrant and Mineral. This wine stands out for its unique combination of power and finesse.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Rich and dense, with cherry, raspberry, black currant, violet, mineral and spice flavors. Shows a spine of acidity that provides definition and keeps this red vibrant from beginning to end. Balanced, long and shows excellent potential. Best from 2025 through 2042.
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Decanter
A stone’s throw from the renowned Salicutti estate, Le Macioche is a well-ventilated property with warm southeast- to southwest-facing vineyards. High altitudes are suggested by the perfumed, pretty scents of wild strawberry, cedar and rooibos tea. Fluid and light on its feet, it is buoyed by juicy acidity and subtlety, and gripped by terracotta-like tannins. A touch of toast marries well with crunchy red currants. Ready to drink now but sneaky depth will carry this for another decade. There is already a fair amount of sediment so be sure to decant.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Le Macioche's 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Cotarella (closed with a red wax capsule) is an elaborate expression of Sangiovese with nicely ripened fruit that is framed by oak toast, spice and campfire ash. The wine shows a sweet, velvety side with dried cherry and redcurrant, but those secondary oak influences play in a supporting role. The wine's texture and length are also fleshed out with cellar age. Any more toast would be too much.
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Wine Enthusiast
Violet, camphor and mocha aromas waft out of the glass along with whiffs of baked plum. Smooth and full-bodied, the enveloping palate offers fleshy black cherry, licorice and tobacco alongside velvety tannins. It's already drinking well but will offer several more years of pleasure.
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.