Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Scented with iris, violet, rose, perfumed berry and a balsamic note, this shows remarkable balance and finesse for such a scalding vintage. The juicy palate delivers crushed black cherry, black raspberry, chopped mint and anise wrapped in polished tannins. It's already delicious but will be even better in another year or two. Drink 2017–2023.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2011 vintage represents the first growing season farmed by its current owner, Claudio Tipa, and the ColleMassari team. The previous owner, Piero Palmucci, started the season by dropping fruit, and this helped push ripening forward. However, this vintage is remember for the hard work required to bring clean fruit into the winery.
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James Suckling
Savory and delicious with balance and finesse for a 2011 Brunello. Very fine indeed. Medium to full body, fresh and clean finish. Love the plum, berry and hazelnut character. A delicious successor to an superb 2010. This is the first vintage of the new owners of this fine estate. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
The firm structure supports cherry, strawberry, tobacco and spice flavors. The tannins are assertive for now, but this comes together on the lingering finish.
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.