Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva (with only 3,900 bottles made) shows a dark and nicely saturated appearance followed by fruit-forward aromas of dark cherry, cassis, spice, moist soil, balsam herb and fresh pine cone. This pretty wine reveals all the classic characteristics of Brunello and they are presented with elegant and lasting intensity. The tannins and acidity are firmly developed in this vintage and pave the way for longer cellar aging potential and future evolution.
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James Suckling
This delivers a fresh and complex nose with red plums and berries, as well as warm spices and terracotta. The palate has smooth, fine and quite dense tannins with ample fruit flavor. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
A savory style, this displays leather, eucalyptus, soy and tobacco notes. Reveals an essence of sweet fruit as this builds to the finish, but feels dry in the end, with dusty tannins. Best from 2020 through 2033.
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.