Winemaker Notes
Pair with red meats, preferably wild game; to serve, store sideways at room temperature at least 24 hours beforehand, cork two hours in advance, decant and serve in decanter.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Here is a dense and meaty Tusan red that flaunts its immediate power, structure and intensity. The 2012 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva gli Angeli is robust and deep thanks to a generous offering of dark fruit, spice and tar-like aromas. Fruit is carefully selected for this wine, and the grapes are fermented in stainless steel. Post fermentation, the wine goes into large Slavonian oak casks for four years. The finish is soft and supple with sweet berry flavors. This wine has made an impressive jump forward in this vintage.
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Wine Enthusiast
Pipe tobacco, blue flower, plum and dark culinary spice are some of the aromas you'll find on this full-bodied red. The aromas carry over to the firmly structured palate along with dried cherry, orange zest and star anise. Firm fine-grained tannins provide the backbone. Drink from 2022 through 2032.
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James Suckling
Striking autumnal sous bois type character here. This is a remarkably suave and supple Brunello Riserva that stands out in the crowd in spite of the classic red fruit character. A silky long finish. Drink or hold.
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Wine & Spirits
The late Sergio Rossi founded this estate in 1975 with the purchase of 16 vineyard acres from the daughter of Tancredi Biondi-Santi, who had inherited the property when her father passed away. Sergio’s wife, Donatella Monforte, runs the estate today and Vittorio Fiore makes the wines, including this riserva from a 2.5-acre parcel of vines planted in 1976. Aged for four years in large Slavonian casks, it showcases the best side of traditional Brunello, with concentrated cherry flavors layered in notes of dark chocolate, charred meat, roasted mushroom and pipe tobacco. Lively black spices draw the flavors into a long, energetic finish.
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Wine Spectator
This is well-marked by new oak, with vanilla and toast aromas and flavors covering the sweet berry and subtle character for now. Leather, tobacco and mineral notes emerge on the long finish. Best from 2021 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.