Winemaker Notes
#67 James Suckling Top 100 Wines of the World 2025
In an orchestra, our Brunello di Montalcino Riserva would be the cello; deep, resonant, and powerful, commanding attention with its complexity and elegance. Produced only in the finest vintages, this wine embodies the soul of our terroir, expressing both intensity and refinement in perfect harmony.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A wine with complexity and beauty that makes you think and feel happy and serene. Orange peel and peaches on the nose and medium-bodied palate with wonderfully polished tannins. So much finesse and it goes on for minutes. Great wine. Balance at all levels. From organically and biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
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Vinous
The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva combines a vivid blend of crushed strawberries, minty herbs, hints of rhubarb, cedar shavings and worn leather. It sweeps across the palate seamlessly and elegantly, with gorgeous, silky textures. Tart wild berry fruits are elevated by a core of tantalizing acidity, with tactile mineral notes that collect toward the close. Nuances of blood orange mix with a flinty resonance and fine-grained tannins as the 2019 tapers off classically dry and dramatically long. This is beautifully executed.
Rating: 94+
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.