Winemaker Notes
Complex on the nose, with distinctive nuances of ripe red fruit and spices such as black pepper and licorice. The same ripe red fruits continue on the palate, accompanied by vanilla notes. Very long finish.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A certified-organic wine, the 2017 Brunello di Montalcino shows a graceful and delicate side with wild cherries, blue flowers and warm earthiness. The wine is silky and smooth on the palate, with hints of crushed mineral or limestone. Fresh acidity fuels a long but lightweight finish. This accessible vintage (with 90,000 bottles made) is ready to enjoy in the near or medium term.
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Wine Spectator
Framed by vanilla and toasty oak, the black cherry and plum flavors in this red are focused and backed by lively acidity. A matrix of dense tannins also lurks underneath, leaving a tactile impression on the finish. Best from 2025 through 2040.
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James Suckling
A round and juicy red with cherry, walnut and berry aromas and flavors. Medium to full body. Fruity and delicious, but not overdone.
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Wine Enthusiast
Underbrush, eucalyptus oil and used leather aromas come to the forefront. The full-bodied, chewy palate is already approachable, offering fleshy black cherry, mature plum and licorice alongside enveloping, fine-grained tannins.
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.