Winemaker Notes
Suitable accompaniment for red meats, game, seasoned cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Open, complex, mineral-infused red and black fruit aromas introduce a medium to full-bodied palate with forward, fleshy cherry fruit and a long, mineral finish. Seductive, if perhaps not a long-distance runner.
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James Suckling
Very ripe aromas of dried fruit and mushrooms with hints of bark. Full body, juicy fruit and tannins and a flavorful finish. Delicious now but better in 2020.
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Wine Enthusiast
Earthy aromas suggesting grilled porcini, leather, tilled soil and balsam lead the nose. The dense, chewy palate offers mature black cherry, raspberry, licorice and dried sage flavors, set against a tannic backdrop that needs time to soften. A tobacco note signals the close. Drink 2022–2032.
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.