Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Classic Sangiovese aromas of tilled soil, wild berry, new leather and chopped Mediterranean herb lead the nose along with a whiff of blue flower. The delicious, chewy palate doles out juicy Marasca cherry, black raspberry, baking spice and star anise framed in youthfully assertive but ripe tannins. Drink 2019–2029.
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James Suckling
This is another delicious Brunello with earth, mushroom and red-fruit character. Full and velvety. Pretty texture and savoriness to this. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Gianni Brunelli is one of my favorite producers, but this vintage does not live up to its past glory. The 2011 Brunello di Montalcino is thinner and shorter than I expected. This spectacular estate promises much more. The Brunello is fine and elegant, for sure and it does offer classic aromas of wild berry, blue flower and toasted nut that are characteristic of Sangiovese--but the wine speaks at a lower volume overall. Of course, the house style does tend to favor elegance and streamlined flavors. The difference here is that the wine's persistence is shorter. My guess is that it will flesh out further with a few more years of bottle aging.
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.