Winemaker Notes
Brilliant ruby red with garnet reflections. Intriguing in its young classicism, it stands out ripe fruity notes enhanced by a varied spiciness. It offers itself with frankness with an intense entrance that ends pleasantly tannic and sapid on the palate.
Pairs well with game, lamb, grilled red meats and mature cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Pretty floral and berry aromas with hints of licorice follow through to a medium body, fine, soft tannins and a succulent finish. Lovely wine now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Mastrojanni's 2014 Brunello di Montalcino (with 39,000 bottles made) opens to a dark garnet color with some amber-crimson hues at the edges. The wine presents a lovely velvety texture that is smooth and silky to the end. The folks at Mastrojanni were forced to make a huge sacrifice in this difficult vintage and they ended up dropping one-third of the fruit. They saved the very best to make Brunello in 2014. Because the cru selections were not produced, fruit from the Vigna Schiena d'Asino and the Vigna Loreto ended up here instead. The wine shows bright aromatic intensity with wild berry, moist earth and grilled herb, but the mouthfeel is compact and streamlined. I recommend a near or medium-term drinking window
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Wine Enthusiast
Inviting aromas of pipe tobacco, wild berry, forest floor, crushed herb and a whiff of cocoa lead the way on this polished red. Linear and precise, the medium-bodied palate shows sour cherry, cranberry, tangy orange zest and star anise framed in vibrant acidity and polished tannins.
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Decanter
Mastrojanni's 2014 is a blend of their two crus, Vigna Loreto and Vigna Schiena d'Asino, which are usually bottled separately. During fermentation, the temperatures were kept slightly lower than usual to ensure a clean aroma profile. This initially presents as an older wine, with an evolved garnet colour and a dried floral, sous-bois bouquet. Yet on the palate there's an irony firmness and plenty of sandy tannins in the overall lighter frame of the vintage. Some bitterness pokes through but doesn't detract.
Mastrojanni has been writing history with its wines since 1975, collecting awards from all over the world. Today, thanks to an exceptional terroir and men who have believed in it for decades, Mastrojanni has become one of the most respected Montalcino producers. The Mastrojanni winery lies in Castelnuovo dell’Abate, in the south eastern most corner of Montalcino Municipality, in the Province of Siena. An artistic and architectural heritage, surrounded by the majesty of its natural landscapes and, above all, an area particularly suitable for vine cultivation: the homeland of Brunello. A strong identity, coherence and consistency in quality: these are the values that Mastrojanni has created and cultivated over the years and which enabled the company to stand out among its peers, with its original and high-quality profile. These values are the result of a passionate, proud and respectful interpretation of nature, tradition and history of the territory.
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.