Winemaker Notes
Pairs well with rich, structured dishes, such as red meat, game, seasoned cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Wonderful aromas of dried mushrooms, flowers, plums, nuts and cedar. Complex. Full body, firm and silky tannins and a long, flavorful finish. I love the finish. Such elegance. Racy and very long. Superb. What a wine. I always love this. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2010 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is a wine that shows immense harmony and inner poise. The powerful vintage is elegantly tempered in this expression thanks to the flowing and musical nature of the aromatic presentation. The bouquet opens to a steady pace with small berry nuances followed by spice, tobacco, pressed rose and moist earth. Dig deep and there is a bit of white truffle in there as well. The wine boasts a silky texture with a lean, tonic feel that excels in terms of length and persistence. It never feels too heavy or flat. In fact, the wine is brimming with inner energy and vitality.
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Wine Enthusiast
The nose is still a bit closed but eventually reveals black-skinned berry, dark spice, iris and a whiff of tilled soil. The palate is more expressive and downright delicious, offering juicy black cherry, raspberry jam, cinnamon and a touch of exotic spice. Firm, fine-grained tannins and fresh acidity provide the framework while a licorice note closes the lingering finish. Drink 2020–2032.
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Vinous
Fuligni's 2010 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is deep, dense and powerful, with plenty of voluptuousness and inner sweetness for the year. Leather, menthol, spice, violet and licorice wrap around a core of intense, dark-fleshed fruit. The 2010 needs a few years to fully come together, but it is impressive, even today. Mocha, black cherry, plum and mentholated nuances are woven into the persistent, juicy finish.
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Wine & Spirits
Fuligni’s 25 acres of vines face east-southeast on stony slopes just to the north of the town of Montalcino. Maria Flora Fuligni and her nephew, Roberto, make a Riserva in top vintages, selecting barrels primarily from their older-vine plots. The 2010 Riserva opens with cool floral notes and a hint of eucalyptus, and unfolds with layers of fresh cherry and baking spices. The flavors wash over smooth tannins, gaining intensity as the wine sits in the glass, picking up complex notes of savory herbs, orange peel and tobacco. Poised and elegant, it will gain further complexity with a few more years in the cellar.
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Wine Spectator
Saturated with ripe cherry, plum, dusty cocoa, tobacco and tea aromas and flavors. The solid tannins provide support but don't get in the way of the fruit and savory components. Finishes long and expansive. Best from 2019 through 2035. 1,000 cases made.
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.