Winemaker Notes
Full bodied, dense wine with lively tannins with notes of red fruits with hints of floral.
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Le Ragnaie 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Passo del Lume Spento (with 3,700 bottles made) is very pretty in this vintage with tart cherry and lifted aromas of cola, garden herb, blue flower and blood orange. This is usually my favorite of the three single-vineyard wines produced by this estate. I applaud the relatively contained 13.5% alcohol content that lets you enjoy more of the wine in one sitting. The tannins melt softly over the palate.
-
Wine Enthusiast
On the nose, aromas of blood orange, black pepper, balsamic and damp soil swirl together before subtler notes of rose petals and mint provide levity and freshness. Strawberry and cherry sweetness on the palate meets more blood orange and a powerful saline streak for a balanced, cohesive feel, before dense tannins usher in a warming finish.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Brunello Di Montalcino Passo Del Lume is vibrant and minty with fresh herbs, orange peel, bergamot, and raspberry. On the palate, it is medium-bodied, with pure notes of blood orange, red cherry, and tea leaf. It offers a salty and soft mineral texture that makes for a mouthwatering and savory wine that is elegant and energetic in its expression. This is a wine I want on my table all year round for its transparency and refreshing nature.
-
Wine Spectator
A juicy, elegant Brunello, with savory notes of green olive, eucalyptus and juniper shading the cherry and strawberry fruit. Firms up on the mineral-tinged, bracing finish. Best from 2025 through 2040. 300 cases made, 60 cases imported.
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.