Winemaker Notes
San Polino Brunello di Montalcino comes from a lush loamy field on the northern slopes of Montalcino. Full-bodied and structured, it has been described in glowing terms as being fruity, opulent, corpulent, luxurious and delicious.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A wonderfully fresh expression of Brunello with orange rind, citrus and red cherries; but there’s also an overlay of riper, roasted herbs and incense. Medium to full body, ripe but very structured tannins and a very flavorful palate with lots of dried nutmeg and spice undertones. Everything is where it should be, in balance. Drink from 2022.
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Decanter
Katia Nussbaum and Luigi Fabbro bottle separate Brunellos from their two distinct sites. This hails from a flat plot at 300 metres in the northeast. With a stream running close to the vineyard, the sandy clay soil retains moisture even in the heat of summer. Very pure and precise aromas of savory herbs, botanical oils and blood orange peel are followed by a palate charged with ripe fruit as well as backbone - the tannins are textured and clingy. It just needs another year or so in the bottle. Drinking Window 2021 - 2031
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The San Polino 2015 Brunello di Montalcino shows a medley of aromas that are a little offbeat at times, with crushed aspirin and cherry cough drop. You get some ripe fruit but not in the traditional sense, because there are no jammy notes. Instead, you get a lot of candied aromas. The candied cherry is lifted and bright, ceding to light tones of toasted almond and tilled earth. Give the wine a little extra time in the glass, and it comes together with good focus and sharpness.
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Wine Enthusiast
Red-berry, crushed mint, new leather and forest-floor aromas slowly take shape on this full-bodied red. The assertive palate offers steeped prune, ground clove, powdered sage and green tea set against grainy tannins that leave an astringent finish. Drink 2023–2028.
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.