Winemaker Notes
Il Brunello di Montalcino 2017 is intense and elegant. Traditionally vinified. After two weeks of natural spontaneous fermentation, the wine is racked into large French oak barrels where it ages for 38 months. Refined in bottle for 6 months minimum. Ruby red with garnet highlights. Opulent and intense on the nose, with nuances of ripe red fruit and intriguing herbal notes. Well-balanced on the palate with a lively acidity that lends vitality and freshness to a very elegant and complex wine. A hint of black pepper accompanies the finish. The softest of tannins are a hallmark of the body of this fine wine.
Perfect when paired with cheeses, meat and game; excellent with pasta and cold cuts.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Fresh cherry and blackberry aromas with some floral character. It’s full-to medium-bodied with firm tannins and a long, linear finish. Shows tension and balance for the vintage. From organically grown grapes. Try after 2023.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A certified-organic wine, the 2017 Brunello di Montalcino is a wine of elegance and finesse, and these qualities emerge unobstructed despite the hot and dry vintage. Despite the many challenges of the growing season, this 30,000-bottle release remains faithful to Sangiovese and the purity of the appellation. The fruit shows wild berry, blue flowers and balsam herb. These delicate and carefully measured aromas cede to bright acidity and polished tannins.
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Wine Spectator
Macerated cherry and plum flavors pick up elements of menthol, wild herbs, earth and licorice in this supple red. Balanced and tangy, with a spicy, saline finish. Best from 2024 through 2038.
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Wine Enthusiast
Smoke, espresso and tobacco aromas lead the nose while whiffs of iris and crushed black olive stay in the background. On the forward, approachable palate, enveloping, fine-grained tannins accompany fleshy black cherry, grilled rosemary and licorice. Drink through 2027.
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.