Winemaker Notes
Dense ruby red with youthful purple tones. Intense and concentrated with ripe fruit and a pleasant fresh vinosity. The San Carlo Rosso di Montalcino is full-bodied and complex. The tannic structure is consistent and perfectly balanced with the noble tannins from the grapes.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A rich ruby/magenta color, the 2022 Rosso Di Montalcino only spent six months in wood and was bottled October 21. They typically age their Rosso for two years, but they sold out of earlier vintages, so they are releasing it now to satisfy market demand. Primary aromas lift from the glass with a hint of blue fruit, black raspberries, violets, and sweet earth. Rounded and medium-bodied, it has good richness and a velvety texture, without being weighty, and is a highly pleasurable Rosso with subtle hints of mocha filling the palate. It will benefit from another year or two in bottle, but it’s a versatile wine to enjoy over the next 5-6 years.
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.