Winemaker Notes
This Riserva offers a beautiful and bright ruby-red; intense with highlights of garnet. Emphatic notes of dark-fleshed fruits are the first to emerge on the nose including wild blackberry, redcurrant, plum and blueberry followed by toastier impressions of vanilla, sweet tobacco leaf and roasted espresso bean. Fresh notes appear at the finish with hints of eucalyptus. The palate is balanced, soft and warm with dense and elegant tannins that blend well in the structure and are supported by a lovely acidity. The finish is long and persistent with notes of ripe fruit.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This beautiful Riserva Brunello opens with dark richness and loads of mature berry flavors such as blackberry, maraschino cherry and cassis syrup. A cheerful spice element comes through on the mouth thanks to overtones of crushed clove and black pepper.
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James Suckling
A ripe and delicious wine, with blueberry and blackberry character. Full body, with velvety tannins and a long and caressing finish. Love the layers of fruit here.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2005 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is impressive. Waves of dark, jammy fruit caress the palate as the wine opens up in the glass. This is a decidedly opulent style for Brunello, but all of the elements come together very nicely. The 2005 has more than enough fruit and sheer depth to balance the tannins. A plush, substantial finish rounds things out nicely. This is an impressive effort from Castelgiocondo. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2025.
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.