Winemaker Notes
Blend: 100% Sangiovese
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
A beautifully composed and well-constructed Brunello, with bright berry tones of cassis and cherry backed by ethereal notes of root beer and eucalyptus. The wine shows a clean, crisp and structured sensation in the mouth—with a touch of bitter almond on the close—that revives and refreshes the palate.
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James Suckling
Interesting aromas of ripe fruit and sweet tobacco, with hints of leather. Full body, with velvety tannins and lots of new wood. But the latter does not bother me. All there.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2007 Brunello di Montalcino wafts from the glass with an expressive bouquet redolent of pine, savory herbs, menthol, sweet spices, licorice and tobacco. Silky tannins frame the fruit through to the finish. This is an attractive, subtle 2007 that emphasizes finesse more than size. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2024.
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Wine Spectator
Broad and licorice flavored, this red also shows notes of cherry, tobacco and spice. Displays some heat on the finish, along with dusty tannins, yet has a glycerinelike texture and long finish. Give it a year or so. Better than previously reviewed. Best from 2014 through 2024.
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.