Winemaker Notes
It is ideal to accompany game, red meats, succulent and braised first courses or excellent as a meditation wine.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Ah, the allure of Brunello di Montalcino, the 2019 Terre Nere invites the palate with dried herbs, dusty earth, intoxicating leather scents, and wild cherries. Bring this to the table and experience with slow-braised lamb shank. (Tasted: May 25, 2025, San Francisco, CA)
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Jeb Dunnuck
Pouring a bright red/brick hue, the 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino Riserva leads with warming, spiced aromas of toasted sage, ripe cherries, cedar, and anise. The palate brings forward wonderful energy, with medium to full-bodied structure, ripe, grippy tannins, thirst-quenching acidity, and mouthwatering notes of orange peel on the finish. It is a lovely offering from Terre Nere to enjoy over the coming 10 years.
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.