Winemaker Notes
Intense garnet red, bright with transparent borders. Intriguing nose, at first a mixture of licorice and juniper berries, after which underbrush berries with balsamic notes. The palate is supple and velvety, sapid and enveloping, it is dynamic on the palate due to the tannins, the finish is extremely pleasant, persistent and spicy.
Pairs well with red meat, game, and seasoned cheese.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
In 2015, Laura Brunelli finished a much-needed new cellar that has enabled greater precision in the winemaking and helped lower the estate's carbon footprint. It is a pleasure to finally try this wine from bottle after tasting the components from botti. It has all the plump, fleshy fruit demonstrated during ageing but has also preserved and fused the captivating scents of sweet garden herbs, dark summer blossoms, tomato and earthy truffles. Mouthwatering red plum and black raspberry round out the palate and the tannins are pliable. It's just about ready to go and there's at least a decade of enjoyment to come.
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James Suckling
Beautiful intensity, but also focus to the nose of this Brunello. Wild strawberries, tar and cherry kernel vie to be heard above a chorus of forest floor and tobacco. The palate has wonderful compression, herding vibrant cherries and chewy tannins into shape; there’s balance, focus and depth, all in one package. Drink from 2023.
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Wine Enthusiast
Rose, new leather, wild herb and darkskinned-berry aromas emerge from the glass on this fragrant red. Polished and balanced, the elegant, medium-bodied palate reveals Marasca cherry, star anise and ground clove framed in refined tannins and fresh acidity. It’s already accessible but promises good mid-term aging. Drink through 2027.
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Wine Spectator
This elegant red delivers cherry, iron, leather and tobacco flavors, backed by a vibrant structure. Balanced, with firm, well-proportioned tannins and a long, mouthwatering finish. Best from 2022 through 2040.
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.