Winemaker Notes
The Fuligni Rosso di Montalcino bears the name Ginestreto and, for many years, has been well-known on the market as a product of high quality due to an attentive selection of grapes. Partially aged for about six months in French oak tonneaux, it bears a strong fruity flavor which can complement an endless array of dishes.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Heady aromas of wild berry, rose, thyme, tilled soil, truffle and a whiff of new leather float above the glass. Supremely elegant, the savory palate offers succulent wild cherry, raspberry compote, star anise and crushed herb alongside polished tannins. Fresh acidity lends nice tension
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Rosso di Montalcino Ginestreto is a delightful wine with a bright ruby appearance followed by fresh fruit flavors. The wine offers wild berry, violets, lilacs and fragrant aromas of moist potting soil. A lasting sense of intensity and freshness drives this wine clean over the palate. It would pair nicely with any cheese-heavy dish such as pasta or lasagna.
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.