Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Cherry, berry, and cedar aromas with some rose stem follow through to a medium to full body with ripe fruit and creamy tannins that are impressive and structured, yet they are polished and long. Excellent depth. Give this three or four years to come around. Drink after 2025.
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Wine Enthusiast
This Brunello is savory and leathery on the nose, with hot tar, tobacco, dried cherries, cranberries and peonies. Cherries and raspberries come out on the palate, which leans sweeter and brighter but with a deep undercurrent of umami and a tangy lift from chalky tannins and lots of acidity.
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Wine Spectator
Notable for its freshness and vitality, this red exhibits cherry, strawberry, floral and mineral aromas and flavors. Sleek and vibrant, with a flash of tomato leaf on the finish. Best from 2026 through 2040. 3,300 cases made, 2,000 cases imported.
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.