Winemaker Notes
Podere Salicutti, Montalcino's first certified organic estate, was founded by Francesco Leanza and carefully transitioned to legendary Munich restauranteurs Felix and Sabine Eichbauer, who have guided its evolution toward biodynamic practices while honoring the land's natural rhythms. The estate's 11 hectares of Sangiovese, spread across three adjoining vineyards—Teatro, Sorgente, and Piaggione—sit at 420–500 meters with ideal sun exposure, airflow, and marne-rich soils that enhance ripening and concentration. Salicutti's Brunello di Montalcino reflects the individuality of each plot, combining purity, structure, and a deep expression of terroir.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A restrained and fresh wine with a sleek nose of red cherries, red currants, licorice and dried violets. Plenty of elegance on the palate, with a tight-knit structure, velvety tannins and a super-fresh and precise finish of graphite and minerals. Almost drinkable now, but best from 2027.
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Wine Spectator
This red is juicy and full of ripe, luscious cherry, raspberry and floral flavors. Wild herb and mineral accents add detail, while its harmony and freshness deliver added appeal as this winds down gracefully on the complex aftertaste. Excellent length. Best from 2028 through 2045.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Bottled with a black wax capsule, the Salicutti 2021 Brunello di Montalcino Sorgente shows attractive brightness and freshness, with aromas of dark currant, dried raspberry and grilled herbs. True to the estate’s signature, the wine feels brighter and wilder than many of its peers, delivering a genuine, punchy and fruit-forward expression. Sourced from well-draining sandy soils, this energetic Brunello is produced in a limited release of 3,800 bottles.
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Vinous
The 2021 Brunello di Montalcino Sorgente is a total pleasure to take in as zests of blood orange combine with dusty rose and black cherries. Beautifully balanced, it offers radiant red berry fruits and inner florals propelled across the palate by racy acidity. Energetic throughout and perfumed, the 2021 leaves crunchy tannins and a tart cranberry tinge, which leaves the senses salivating.
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.