Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2011 Brunello di Montalcino Pelagrilli is a fantastic wine made from some of the estate's most promising vines. Still relatively young in age, the vines behind the Pelagrilli selection show delicate floral nuances mixed in with bright red fruit, spice and balsam herb. The wine is elaborate and compelling thanks to warm aromas of wet earth or white truffle that emerges from the bouquet. Pretty layers of smoke and crushed granite appear on the close.
-
James Suckling
This is very ripe and intense with dried fruit and hints of sliced mushroom. A little high in alcohol. Full body, chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. Drink now or hold.
-
Wine & Spirits
Giancarlo Pacenti sources fruit for this wine from a single vineyard north of Montalcino. He ages the wine for two years in French oak barriques, which lend notes of cedar, sweet spice and dark chocolate to the ripe black cherry flavors. Those oak flavors feel well integrated with the fruit, balanced by herbal notes of thyme, and held together by chewy tannins that will benefit from decanting.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Underbrush, menthol, cherries marinated in spirits and star anise are some of the aromas you'll discover on this bold Brunello. The hearty palate offers up chewy blackberry, blueberry jam and a confectionary note alongside round tannins. You'll also detect the warmth of alcohol on the finish. Drink 2016 through 2021.
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.