Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
I like the texture of this 2011 with plenty of ripe fruit and tannins yet polished and refined. Full body. Clean and fruity. Bright is the word to describe it. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
Loaded with underbrush sensations, this opens with aromas of porcini mushroom, truffle, charred soil and a whiff of baked plum. The big, generous palate offers fleshy black cherry, vanilla, a confectionary note and a hint of game alongside ripe tannins. The fruit richness seamlessly supports the hefty 15% abv. Drink 2016–2020.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2011 Brunello di Montalcino Campogiovanni is a clean and exceedingly satisfactory expression of Brunello. The bouquet is delicately endowed with wild berry, spice, balsam herb and pressed blue flower. Together these aromas make up a classic profile for Brunello. The wine delivers similar consistency in the mouth thanks to its silky tannins, bright acidity and long persistence. This is a fine expression.
Rating: 90+ -
Wine Spectator
Black cherry, plum, vanilla and caramel notes mark this broad red. Granular tannins shape the finish, with underbrush and sweet spice accents. Best from 2018 through 2027.
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.