Winemaker Notes
Fragrant and fresh with black cherries, balsamic, herbs and spices. Medium-bodied, it is round and smooth on the palate, to a lengthy, bitter cherry finish. Elegant now, it will continue to gain in complexity with a few years in the cellar.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Here's a charming wine from Le Ragnaie. The 2021 Rosso di Montalcino is released one year later than its peers after spending two years in Slavonian botte and extra time in cement. That extra year translates into seamless fruit integration. In truth, the wine is on the timid side now, but I am confident that it will flesh out and blossom aromatically with another year or two of bottle age. It excels in terms of its balanced freshness, and there are pretty flavors of sour berry and cassis on the silky finish. Fruit is assembled from various vineyard parcels.
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Vinous
The 2021 Rosso di Montalcino stands out amongst its peers, coming across as savory and minerally intense, with a cascade of florals up front joined by wild herbs and blackberries. This is surprisingly soft and supple within, seaming to coast along the palate with polished red and blue fruits. A liquid violet concentration builds tension within. Spicy and structured, the 2021 forms up through the finish, flexing its tannic muscle. Licorice and inner rose notes slowly fade. Rating: 92+
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.