Winemaker Notes
Ruby red color. Intense notes of dark cherries, chocolate and spices on the nose. Complex structure and tannins with notes of fruit and coffee; long, elegant finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Pouring a dark red brick hue, the 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino Riserva is savory on the nose with notes of Mediterranean herbs, olive, dark cherry pit, rosemary, and cedar. It's appealing and fresh, with more fruit showing on the palate as well as ripe tannins and a very appealing finish. I like this one a lot, and it's going to drink well over the coming 15 years.
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James Suckling
Multifaceted fruit profile, showing lush black cherries, violets and almost camphor-like notes with a blood-orange vibrancy. The attack is smooth with medium body, velvety tannins and a fruity, chalky finish. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
The nose swirls with dark, autumnal aromas of earth, herbs, tobacco leaf, dark chocolate and black cherry, while the palate stays rich but pivots towards fruit notes of tart and sweet blackberries and blood orange. Firm tannins and lively acid reinforce more earth and herbs that linger for balance.
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Vinous
Dried black cherries, cloves and nuances of pipe tobacco introduce the dusty and floral 2019 Brunello di Montalcino. This excels with a wash of fresh acidity and crisp wild berry fruits. Saline minerals and a hint of sour citrus punctuate the close. Grippy and long, the 2019 leaves the cheeks puckered with tension as a pleasantly bitter bite of blackcurrant fades slowly. Patience is advisable.
Rating: 93+
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.