Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is very intense with spices and berries, as well as some tile, incense and some sandalwood. Very fresh and vivid for 2017. Wonderful length and precision. Energetic and electric. Needs time to come together. Great. Try after 2026.
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Decanter
Teatro is a single vineyard at 500 metres above sea level with a southern exposure, located on the southeast flank of Montalcino in one of the most classic subzones of the appellation. The highest vineyard of the estate, it encompasses just 0.7 hectares from which this cru is vinified. A pure ruby wine with a classic perfume of liquorice, smoky woodland and dried cherry layered with whiffs of violet, coffee beans, cinnamon and thyme. An array of complexity flows over the velvety palate, chiselled to perfection and supported by brilliant acidity and serious tar and strawberry flavours.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Salicutti 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Teatro (with just 1,760 bottles made) is the protagonist in this set of new releases from one of the dreamiest estates in Tuscany. If I were to move to Montalcino, I'd want to live here in this beautiful country house on a hill facing the sunset. Felix and Sabine Eichbauer own a true gem, and the magic of place is transmitted through this bottle. There is a width and textural depth to this wine that you don't get in the other two. Teatro also offers a wide panorama of Sangiovese aromas from wild cherry to blue flower to crushed limestone. The Vigneto del Teatro is less than a hectare in size and at a high 470 meters above sea level (with the best views of that sunset I dream about).
Rating: 96+ -
Wine Enthusiast
Camphor, perfumed berry, violet and sandalwood aromas come to the forefront. Full bodied and elegantly structured, the palate offers juicy red cherry, French oak, vanilla and star anise alongside polished, fine-grained tannins and fresh acidity.
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Wine Spectator
This red is elegant, supple, almost creamy in texture, setting the stage for its cherry, strawberry, earth, iron and soy flavors. Balanced, in a lightweight manner, while remaining fresh and long on the finish. Best from 2023 through 2042.
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Vinous
The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Teatro blossoms slowly in the glass, as shades of violet and lavender evolve into black cherries, cloves, smoke and hints of shaved cedar. This is elegance personified, with velvety waves of ripe red and hints of blue fruit that flesh out across the palate, staining it with a mix of minerals and spice. Sweet tannins come forward through the finale, framing the experience quite nicely, while leaving dark inner florals and black currants to taper off slowly. The 2016 Teatro is deeper and not quite as showy as it was in 2020, which is a good thing. That said, this is still a heady yet enjoyable experience.
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.