Winemaker Notes
Powerful and complex aromas of dark, ripe fruits— blackberry and plums—complemented by an intriguing note of petrichor (rain on dry earth). The palate is fresh, with silky, enveloping tannins that are both dense and elegant, showing excellent persistence. The finish is juicy with a savory touch.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Macerated cherry, plum, fruitcake and iron flavors signal this ripe, brooding red. Offers plenty of fruit and a glycerol texture midpalate. Backed by broad, dusty tannins, leaving a clipped feel on the gripping finish despite the lingering essence of sweet fruit. Best from 2028 through 2045.
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Vinous
The 2020 Brunello di Montalcino Sugarille smolders with aromas of dried roses and cedar shavings alongside hints of crushed cherries, camphor and exotic spice. This is a model of purity, lifted and graceful, with ripe wild berry fruits guided by cool-toned acidity as hints of sour citrus and saline minerals build toward the close. It leaves the palate drenched in primary concentration and a layer of sweet tannins as violet inner florals and a tinge of tart blackberry fade slowly. The 2020 trades power for elegance and grace.
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.