Winemaker Notes
Sangiovese's high natural acidity and complex tannic structure make it an admirable ally to a range of hearty meat or game dishes. Go the traditional route with braised short ribs or Osso Bucco, but don’t be hesitant. Brunello benefits from a straightforward pairing, no artifice – as the Tuscans prefer. Bean and kale soup, papparedelle, or an aged pecorino, are resoundingly local choices.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Just as in 2012, the hot 2011 vintage was a year where the cooler north fared better, avoiding the worst of an August heat spike. The 2011 Madonna delle Grazie is rich and intense yet incredibly light on its feet, with great structural tannins and fine acidity. Earthy black cherry and balsamic overtones lead to a juicy finish with liquorice, wood, chocolate and violet complexity. Superb.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This Brunello comes from one of the finest single vineyards in the Montalcino appellation. Last year, I awarded this wine 100 points. This year, I encountered many similar characteristics to remind me of that unforgettable masterpiece. The 2011 Brunello di Montalcino Madonna delle Grazie is an excellent wine that offers enormous variety purity with bright berry aromas, pressed violets, wet earth, cola and powdered licorice. The wine is translucent, brilliant and luminous with bright ruby highlights. It's a medium-bodied expression with grace, buoyancy and enormous integrity. If you love Sangiovese, you will adore Madonna delle Grazie.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is perfumed with classic scents of wild cherry, leather, crushed violet, baking spice and a balsamic note. The bold palate delivers juicy black cherry, black raspberry, anise, white pepper and cinnamon alongside firm tannins. Despite the hefty body, it also shows an almost weightless elegance while the fruit richness seamlessly supports the warmth of alcohol on the close.
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Wine Spectator
Cherry and raspberry flavors play off the tobacco, spice and earth notes in this taut, athletic red. Nicely balanced, with a long finish echoing the fruit and tobacco details. Best from 2018 through 2029.
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.