Winemaker Notes
Pair with roasted lamb and aged cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of blackberry, stone, slate, oyster shell, and truffle that turns to full body, soft and velvety tannins and a long, long finish. This goes on for minutes on the palate. A savory and gorgeous wine. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Full of tension and energy, the 2010 Brunello di Montalcino is a beautiful wine that does honor to the magnificent 2010 vintage. The fruit nuances are layered and plentiful with loads of cherry, cassis and blackberry to keep your interest. The tannins are smooth and ripe with sweet overtones. The wine offers good complexity and definition. Drink this Brunello after 2017.
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Wine Spectator
An elegant version, with vibrant acidity and firm, assertive tannins underneath the cherry, strawberry and spice flavors. Tobacco and underbrush notes emerge as this reveals a touch of heat on the finish. Best from 2019 through 2033.
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Decanter
Attractively smoky, cherry, liquorice, and clove aromas. Very juicy on the mid palate with plenty of cherry jam notes. Tannins are firm and the palate is complex with dark spices and mocha on the finish. Drinking Window 2016 - 2030
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.