Winemaker Notes
Brunello di Montalcino Cosimo is a traditionally-made Brunello (large oak only) from the South-Eastern part of the production area. It has an intense ruby red color, which tends towards garnet with age. Scented, high-toned aromas of red berries, sweet spices and flowers, with a note of candied red cherry emerging with air. Fine-grained and floral, offering excellent energy and lift in the mouth, and attractive inner-mouth perfume to its red berry flavors. Finishes clean and persistent, with smooth tannins.
Ideal with roasted or grilled meats, hearty pasta dishes and seasoned cheese.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A dense, layered red with berry, walnut and cedar aromas and flavors. Some fruit tea, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins and a solid finish. Tight and tannic. Give this three to four years to open. Drink after 2024.
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Vinous
The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Cosimo from Palazzo takes things to a dark and richer place without sacrificing the energy and primary intensity that I’ve come to expect from this estate. An earthy mix of ripe blackberry and cherry is complemented by balsamic spice and black licorice. It’s velvety-smooth with excellent density to its ripe red fruits, yet not weighty or tiring in any way, as cooling acids and minerals balance the expression perfectly. Its tannins can be felt only in the finish, as this folds in upon itself and leaves you wondering what further depths will be revealed over time. Dedicated to the family’s father who passed in 2012, the Cosimo is from a parcel of the oldest vines in the vineyard, first planted by Cosimo Loia over thirty-five years ago. It’s a gorgeous wine. This was tasted over the course of two days and only got better.
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Wine Enthusiast
This opens with aromas recalling pipe tobacco, blue flower, ripe woodland berry and oak-driven spice. Full bodied and savory, the enveloping palate features mature Marasca cherry, baked plum, vanilla and licorice accompanied by velvety, close-grained tannins. Drink 2024–2034.
Cellar Selection
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.