Winemaker Notes
Power and structure are balanced with superb elegance in Brunello di Montalcino La Màgia, a remarkable wine that is aged for three years mainly in 500 litre French oak tonneaux. The color is ruby red tending towards garnet, with typical red berry fruit opening out on the nose and in the mouth, mineral overtones, delicate spices, supported by generous acidity, restrained tannin and a long finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Black cherry, walnut, bark and wet earth on the nose. Some mushroom, too. Full-bodied with firm, velvety tannins that are energetic and polished at the same time. Plenty of character at the finish, if a little subdued. Very persistent.
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Decanter
Winemaker and owner Fabian Schwartz favours 500L French oak tonneau for ageing, with the percentage of new wood increasing up through his range of Brunello. Here, a moderate 30% is cleverly integrated and barely perceptible. Pristine and pretty, La Màgia’s estate Brunello doesn’t give up everything all at once: it progresses from floral notes to sunbaked earth and irony intricacies. Almost midweight yet with lovely depth of fruit, the palate displays an exotic citrussy element, framed by very fine powdery tannins.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Expressive aromatics of lavender, fresh black raspberry, and sweet Mediterranean herbs are found in the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino. The palate is ripe and inviting, with black cherry, cola, and baked earth. It is open and generous, with a round structure and soft, supple tannin's. Approachable now or enjoy over the next ten years.
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Wine Enthusiast
Made from organically farmed Sangiovese grapes, this opens with aromas of scorched earth, new leather, mocha and ripe dark-skinned fruit. The bracing, firmly structured palate offers prune, roasted coffee bean and licorice alongside assertive tannin's that grip the finish. Drink after 2024.
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.