Winemaker Notes
Structured, elegant, with very fine tannins and a great complexity. Vineyards over 35 years of age, absolute respect for the land and a great experience are essential to obtain a wine with these characteristics. It is not filtered and reaches its maximum expression after a few years of aging.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Woodland-berry, forest-floor, new leather and exotic spice aromas take center stage. The firmly structured, elegant palate delivers ripe Morello cherry, star anise, blood orange and tobacco set against close-grained tannins and firm acidity that lead to a rather drying finish.
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James Suckling
A solid Brunello for the vintage with blackberries, hints of cedar and velvety tannins. Medium-bodied, layered and flavorful. Juicy finish. Well done for the vintage. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
You got to hand it to this estate. Giancarlo Pacenti and his team have put enormous care into creating a wine that offers so much blissful intensity and character, you never once think of the vintage hardships experienced in this wet and cold growing season. The 2014 Brunello di Montalcino Vecchie Vigne takes full advantage of those low yields and deep root systems that are associated with old vines to offer a stable and consistent expression. In a vertical tasting, the 2014 vintage represents a fitting continuum between the sharpness you get in 2013 and the more pronounced ripeness and softness you will get in the upcoming 2015 vintage. This is a round and supple wine with abundant primary fruit and stable structure. Some 14,000 bottles were made.
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.