Winemaker Notes
Fuligni Brunello di Montalcino is deep garnet color with orange hues, the bouquet shows red fruit and spice, confirmed on the palate. Soft tannins, firm structure and silky texture.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Under the leadership of Maria Flora Fuligni since 1971, along with her long-time right-hand Dr Daniela Perino - now the estate’s CEO - Fuligni is one of the denomination’s most consistent performers. The 2018 does not disappoint: it epitomises the elegance of the vintage. A captivating synthesis of florals and earth, the nose radiates pressed violet, lavender and rose with truffle and tobacco accents. It expands in the mouth with flavour rather than weight or brawn. Red currants and orange are amplified by piercing acidity, and well-formed, magnificently textured tannins are chalky and adequately padded, giving layers and profundity. Not pushed beyond its capacity, this will drink beautifully over the next decade.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Fuligni 2018 Brunello di Montalcino stands out for its smooth integration of aromas and the carefully balanced intensity achieved here, which shows momentum but also remains very fine and nuanced. There are many sides to the bouquet with wild fruit, cassis, crushed stone, candied orange and fresh herbs or rosemary. A floral note also appears that suggests rose or iris root. The tannins are very well managed and silky. You hardly feel them, yet the wine offers firm structure throughout. This is a production of 35,000 bottles and one I am happy to recommend.
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Wine Enthusiast
The warm, sweet nose features aromas of milk chocolate, fresh brewed coffee, vanilla bean and Luxardo cherry, while the palate is a cascade of dark, sweet berries, with a spicy, invigorating earthiness that recalls a developed savory Molé.
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Wine Spectator
Marked by a beam of pure cherry and rose hip flavors, this elegant, succulent red is beautifully balanced between the fruit, acidity, tannins and texture, with accents of earth, tobacco and wild herbs adding detail. The long finish indicates fine potential. Best from 2025 through 2042.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A wonderful energy seams through the 2018 Brunello Di Montalcino, with layered aromas of cherry licorice, leather, spice box, and dried flowers. Medium-bodied, with vibrant tension driving the wine forward through its linear profile, it has fine tannins, with a refreshing edge of acidity and notes of dried cranberry, orange peel, and salty earth. It is a stellar wine to cellar for a couple of years and drink over the following 10-15.
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James Suckling
A fine Brunello with black cherry, hazelnut and chocolate aromas and flavors. Very perfumed. Medium-bodied with a pretty texture and delicious finish. Lovely fine tannins. Not the most structured red but will improve with age while delivering wonderful pleasure now.
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.