Winemaker Notes
Blend: 100% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is aromatic with blackberries and toasted oak, as well as some cloves and pepper. It’s full-bodied with solid tannins and a long, flavorful finish. This needs time to soften and come together. Better after 2025.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
In past vintages, this wine had a big percentage of Cabernet Franc, but the Tolaini 2018 Picconero Tenuta Montebello is 100% Merlot, aged in French barrique for 24 months including six months on the fine lees. The wine is packaged in a heavy glass and 5,700 bottles were made. Within this estate portfolio, the Picconero offers a whole other layer of intensity and concentration. The wine is opulent for sure, but it is also complex with a pretty aromatic tug-of-war that pits fleshy dark fruit against mint and grilled rosemary. There is lavender, peach and even a touch of sweet blood orange in this full-bodied red. The alcohol is high at 15%, but the wine has the flesh to absorb that heat. Best After 2023
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Wine Spectator
Bright red fruits from cherries to cranberries to raspberries are grounded in iron-rich soil and crushed rocks on the nose of the Tolaini Picconerò. The palate is all macerated berries, eucalyptus and more soil and stones, with a comforting heat and polished tannins that carry through a lengthy finish.
Legendary in Italy for its Renaissance art and striking landscape, Tuscany is also home to many of the country’s best red wines. Sangiovese reigns supreme here, as either the single varietal, or a dominant player, in almost all of Tuscany’s best.
A remarkable Chianti, named for its region of origin, will have a bright acidity, supple tannins and plenty of cherry fruit character. From the hills and valleys surrounding the medieval village of Montalcino, come the distinguished and age-worthy wines based on Brunello (Sangiovese). Earning global acclaim since the 1970s, the Tuscan Blends are composed solely of international grape varieties or a mix of international and Sangiovese. The wine called Vine Nobile di Montepulciano, composed of Prognolo Gentile (Sangiovese) and is recognized both for finesse and power.