Winemaker Notes
Intense and concentrated ruby red. Aromas of plum, blackberry, licorice, cocoa, a tiny hint of tobacco. Taste: ample, persistent sip, round tannins. Very long finish.
A great match for a roast or braised meat, game and mature cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2017 Brunello Di Montalcino Riserva is sunny and opulent, with black cherry lozenge, sassafras, sage, and menthol. It is generous through the mid-palate as well, with ripe and fleshy tannins, potting soil, and more cherry fruit throughout. A persistent wine, it is drinking well now but will continue to improve over the coming 10 to 15 years.
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Wine Spectator
Rich and wrought with cherry, black currant, tar, iron, leather and spices. Maintains focus, thanks to vibrant acidity, and persists on the fruity, minerally and savory aftertaste. Best from 2025 through 2042.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Packaged in its distinctive red label, the Fattoria dei Barbi 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva shows dark color saturation and thick texture, and all of this extra density is linked to a very hot growing season that produced tiny, concentrated berries. Those hot-vintage themes come across clearly in a wine that already shows a more open or oxidative character best suited to near or medium-term drinking. Choose this Riserva if you are looking for a more extracted and powerful alternative, but don't choose it for cellar aging.
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Decanter
For many years, Barbi was one of the only estates - along with Biondi Santi - to produce a Brunello Riserva. While quantities are down in 2017, this is crafted, as always, from a selection of the best grapes among the estate’s oldest vineyards. It is very sweet/savoury in character: cinnamon and prune meet leather and roasted meat. Generously packed, the palate leans to brawniness. The tannins have mellowed but finish with a drying rustic edge, while its sappy acidity is a definite plus.
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.