Winemaker Notes
Blend: 100% Sangiovese
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
On the nose, aromas of vanilla, strawberry, cherry, rosewater and citrus blossom create an overall sweet, floral feeling. The palate introduces a tarter fruit element, along with notes of metallic and bitter earth for balance and intrigue Tannins are substantial yet pliant, while acid stands its ground.
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James Suckling
Bright cherries and orange fruit here with bergamot and balsamic. Juicy and fruit-forward, with a full body and ripe, sleek tannins. Touch of sweet and salty adds interest.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Il Palazzone 2018 Brunello di Montalcino offers ripe fruit and lots of spice over an open-knit and accessible mouthfeel. Like some of the other wines from this vintage, this Brunello shows some evolution and a more oxidative approach that bodes well for near and medium-term drinking. It closes with sour cherry, black olive, grilled herb and toasted oak spice.
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.