Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Ripe, vibrant cherry and blackberry fruit is accented by iron, leather and wild herb notes in this supple, harmonious red. Turns more linear as it evolves, ending in a long, mineral- and spice-tinged aftertaste. Drink now through 2029.
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James Suckling
This has a very brambly nose with dried, dark fruit and almost too much balsamic character. But there’s some good licorice and spice, too. Structured and focussed on the palate, this frames blackberry flavors in compact tannins with a dash of fresh acidity. Drink in 2020.
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Wine Enthusiast
Fruity aromas of red berry unite with dark culinary spice and fragrant blue flower. On the soft juicy palate, supple tannins lithely support fleshy Marasca cherry, crushed blackberry and ground pepper. Drink through 2021.
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Decanter
Part of the Antinori stable, La Braccesca includes just over 100ha of vineyards dedicated to Vino Nobile. In 2015, the Sangiovese was picked mid-October and blended with 10% Merlot, harvested in early September. Aged in large oak casks for 12 months, it demonstrates precise, clean blackberry and blue plum, with a touch of anise and an enticing minerality. Though the palate is still fairly angular, the tannins are polished and supple.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The La Braccesca 2015 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano delivers a textbook performance of Sangiovese from the Montepulciano area of southern Tuscany. The wine opens to a garnet color with dark amber highlights. It moves over the senses with loosely knit, textured grain. On the nose, it shows generous aromas of blue and purple fruits, spice and toast. This is a carefully contemplated and executed expression; however, it stays true to that wild or slightly rustic personality that characterizes this appellation.
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.
This significant Tuscan village—not to be confused with the red grape of the same name widely grown in Abruzzo and the Marche regions—was home to one of the first four Italian DOCGs granted in 1980.
Based on the Sangiovese grape (here called Prugnolo Gentile), the village’s prized wine called Vino Nobile di Montepulciano ranks stylistically in between Chianti Classico, for its finesse, and Brunello di Montalcino for its power. With a deep ruby color, heavy concentration and a firm structure given by the village's heavy, cool clay soils, most Vino Nobile di Montepulciano will demand some bottle age.