Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Extremely complex aromas of mushroom, stone, chalk, dark fruit and lightly dried bark or tea. Full-bodied, with powerful, layered tannins. Muscular and intense. It needs loads of time to soften: better in 2017.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2010 Brunello di Montalcino is a dense and voluptuous expression with opulent fruit tones and equally intense oak nuances. The wine ages in botte grande for 26 months and the slow oxidation has done much to increase the aromatic intensity of the wine. Bold and chewy with thick lines, this wine also shows tight wood astringency that should soften, to a good extent, with time. There are sweet tones of baking spice and sweet cherry syrup on the close. The style is appropriate for lovers of big Brunello.
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Wine Spectator
Combines aromas and flavors of black cherry, plum, tar, leather and spice with a lashing of tannins. Tight and monolithic now, but all the components are in the right proportions. Just needs time. Best from 2019 through 2034.
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.