Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of dark berries and flowers, with hints of rose petal or lilac. Full-bodied, with super silky and racy tannins and a lingering finish of dried mushrooms, fruit and berries.
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Wine Enthusiast
Opens with dark concentration and syrupy aromas of cherry liqueur, blackberry preserves and cassis concentrate. The wine is soft, plump and chewy, with a smooth, thick quality to its texture that makes it a natural pairing partner to red meat.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2007 Brunello di Montalcino shows good freshness and plenty of energy in its delineated fruit. This mid-weight Brunello offers fine overall balance, but the sheer excitement that was once common here is still missing. Freshly cut flowers, mint and spices add complexity on the medium-bodied finish. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2024.
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Wine Spectator
A tightly wound, mineral-laced red, with a savory edge to its cherry and strawberry flavors. A lighter style, yet intense and complex. Fine length. Best from 2015 through 2030.
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.