Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2006 Brunello di Montalcino is one of the more elegant, understated wines of the vintage. Sweet red cherries, tobacco, licorice and new leather are some of the notes that emerge from this somewhat lithe yet totally classy wine. The 2006 doesn’t look to have the structure of vibrancy to support long-term cellaring, but it should drink nicely for at least a number of years. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2022.
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Wine Enthusiast
Fattoria dei Barbi’s Brunello is very rich and decadent with black cherry, plum, prune and tobacco aromas. The wine shows great tannic structure and smooth consistency. Very nice.
Editors' Choice -
James Suckling
Another attractive 2006 with tar, berry and dried cherry aromas and flavors. Full body, with chewy tannins and a long finish. Needs time to open. Best after 2013.
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.