Winemaker Notes
In the glass Tassi Brunello di Montalcino has an intense ruby red color with garnet reflections. The nose is very intense. Hints of ripe fruit stand out, in particular plum and cherry accompanied by a very fine and elegant spiciness. In the mouth it is pleasant and refined.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Lifted and bright with savory bay laurel and bay leaf, cassis, currant, and cedar. Juicy red berries give way to long beams of fine-grained tannins with a mocha edge and salty finish.
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James Suckling
A more velvety and rounded Brunello with notes of wet leather, sour cherries, salted plums, mocha and dried flowers. Juicy core of ripe fruit, framed by sleek tannins. Medium to full body. Delicious and very drinkable. Drink from 2023.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The rich perfume of the 2018 Brunello Di Montalcino reveals a savory richness of black cherry, fresh leather, porcini, and fresh potting soil. The palate is wonderfully appealing, with supple fruit, a soft texture, fine tannins, and ripe notes of black raspberry, fresh violets or lavender, and herbes de Provence giving it a Southern Rhône-like charm. This lovely wine is drinking well now and will certainly be prime for drinking over the coming 10 or so years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
With the white label, the 2018 Brunello di Montalcino is very lean and streamlined with easy fruit aromas of dried cherry and blackcurrant. The fruit is tart and bright but not very intense. Instead, the palate offers punchy flavors and nice energy that does not go unnoticed. Dry tannins and a light consistency give this wine an immediate, near-term drinking window. Production is 10,000 bottles.
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Vinous
The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino from Tassi keeps me coming back to the glass to take in its darkly alluring mix of crushed strawberries accentuated by hints of ashen stone, curry leaf and exotic spice. This is silky smooth and polished in feel, with ripe wild berry fruits and savory herbal tones all motivated by brisk acidity. Lightly tannic yet potent and long, the 2018 finishes with impressive depth of fruit but also balance.
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.