Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Huge fruitcake nose but there's nothing heavy or exaggerated about this. Massive and lush palate with serious tannins behind it. Very long and rather complex finish. With a touch less sweetness, this would rate even more highly. Drink in 2020.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Brunello di Montalcino offers a plump and cherry-rich bouquet that is youthful and vibrant at this young stage. You really get a sense of the tonic fruit that is achieved in this cooler vintage. Wild cherry aromas segue to violets, roses and medicinal herbs. You'll love all that special detailing. Yet the wine also shows a thick and firm texture that would benefit from another 3-5 years of cellar aging.
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Wine Spectator
An alluring expression of sweet cherry, strawberry, rose and mineral aromas and flavors is the hallmark of this red. Balanced and elegant, with a juicy feel and supporting structure, this lingers with tobacco, giving a mouthwatering impression. Best from 2020 through 2035. 700 cases made.
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.