Winemaker Notes
Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is produced only in the best years and in limited quantities. This wine comes exclusively from "I Paganelli" vineyard, the oldest vineyard on the estate, planted in 1964. These vines, used for sourcing the Sangiovese clones when new vineyards are planted, grow top quality grapes which are picked by individual selection of the best and ripest bunches.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A powerful yet superbly refined Brunello with a full body and velvety tannins that are layered and silky textured. Lovely dried fruits and spices. Beautiful intensity. Super finish. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A huge, dramatic wine, the 2007 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva literally explodes from the glass. This is a decidedly exuberant, flashy wine loaded with dark fruit. Tobacco, smoke, tar and licorice all come alive in this big, broad-shouldered Riserva. Here, too, the wine’s balance is impeccable.
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Wine Enthusiast
Vigna Paganelli shows amazing results with a bright fruit quality that translates into black cherry and blackberry. At the back are sophisticated tones of leather, tobacco and light touches of spice that give the wine depth and elegance. The most interesting aspect, however, is the mouthfeel that shows firm but beautifully ripe tannins that will help the wine age... Cellar Selection.
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Tasting Panel
Rich and deep with intense plum and blackberry fruit; complex, earthy and deep with lovely acidity and balance; concentrated and ripe; lovely texture and vivid flavors; stunning.
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Wine Spectator
Rich and medium-weight, with cherry, berry, leather and spice notes converging on the long, juicy finish. Balanced in a sleek, compact manner, ending with fresh touches of mineral. Best from 2016 through 2032.
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.