Winemaker Notes
Ruby red color with garnet notes. Intense, concentrated nose of black cherries, wild berries and vanilla. On the palate it is rich, full bodied, quite tannic in youth, soft and persistent.
Best served with red and white roast meats, poultry, game and aged cheese.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This has a lifted, toffee quality to it with hearty Christmas spices, spearmint tea, dried boysenberries and strawberry jam. The full-bodied palate has stocky, robust tannins that coat the mouth in layers of nearly overripe fruit and sweeping alcohol. But a dash of acidity on the finish reins in this powerful Brunello
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Brunello di Montalcino by La Poderina does not disappoint. This is a nicely layered expression, with tart berry notes followed by toasted nut, garden soil and dusty mineral or limestone that add pretty contouring and framing to the dark fruit at the core. Those mineral notes recall chalkboard or pencil shaving, and that wide spectrum of aromatic layering also stacks up tall, with lifted and focused intensity. Rating: 94+
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.