Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
An intense and dark Brunello with a very savory profile. Aromas of herbs, black cherries, black pepper and tar, then velvety and elegant tannins with integrated acidity and a tight, precise, juicy and focused finish.
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Wine Spectator
A mix of graphite, cherry and raspberry aromas and flavors marks this expressive red. Earth, leather and wild herb accents add depth, and this shows the structure to develop for at least a decade or more. Its firm, dusty tannins will require time to integrate. Best from 2027 through 2045.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Lisini 2020 Brunello di Montalcino shows a light and charming personality, marked by plump cherry fruit and touches of blackcurrant. While 2020 was a warm vintage, cooler nighttime temperatures created more pronounced diurnal shifts, helping to preserve freshness and aromatic lift. Soft and approachable in texture, this is a more immediately accessible expression of Sangiovese that should perform well in the near to medium term.
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Vinous
The 2020 Brunello di Montalcino is a total pleasure to take in, with its florist shop bouquet of perfumed violet, lavender and wet stone complementing dusty dried strawberries and hints of rhubarb. Zesty and fresh, sporting medium-bodied weight, it sweeps across the palate with tart wild berry fruit and lavender tones, propelled by zesty acidity. The 2020 doesn't skip a beat, finishing with silty tannins, tinges of licorice and sour citrus and fantastic length.
Rating: 93+
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.