Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Like a bouquet of fresh flowers, with cherry, raspberry and spice notes on the palate, this red is appealing from start to finish. Lest you think it's easy, there are ample tannins, leaving a tobacco and licorice grip on the finish. Well-proportioned, but needs time to come together. Best from 2013 through 2026.
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James Suckling
A firm and elegant Brunello with berry, light milk chocolate and cedar aroma and flavors. Medium to full body, with firm tannins and a subtle fruity finish. Needs a little time to soften. Best after 2013.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2006 Brunello di Montalcino is a very pretty wine. This is a juicy fruit-forward style of Brunello best suited to near-term enjoyment. Crushed flowers, licorice, red berries and spices linger on the supple, juicy finish. This is a perfect example of an overachieving wine in 2006. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2020.
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Wine Enthusiast
This Brunello opens with elegance on the nose, with small berry, cassis and wild blueberry aromas. Beyond the steady, feminine bouquet is a wine that has power, determination and personality, with savory endnotes of spice and fresh pipe tobacco.
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.