Winemaker Notes
Produced with grapes grown in three different sectors of the appellation (northeast, southeast and southwest), with specific pedoclimatic features, it accurately and faithfully illustrates the classic style of Val di Suga. The different geographical locations of the vineyards make for Sangiovese grapes that complement each other, as well as managing to sketch a traditional profile. This wine has the uncommon ability to combine expressivity, grip, generous fruit and rigor, without losing elegance. The nose is complex, with notes of crisp ripe red fruit, orange, bitter orange and slightly balsamic overtones. The well-structured palate features excellent tannic and acid definition, with a lingering, uplifting finish.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
Water running over gravel and tart wild cherries start things off, before crushed petals of peonies and violets are scattered on the nose. The palate is cherries, strawberries and raspberries, plus more salt and stony, iron-rich earth for balance. Acidity highlights textured tannins.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Immediate and accessible in personality, the Val di Suga 2019 Brunello di Montalcino (with 90,000 bottles released) is very clean and polished in presentation and especially from a tactile point of view. Neat fruit aromas of dark cherry, mulberry and cassis fold into spice and earthiness. The wine's bright freshness also stands out and adds intensity and vibrancy to this mid-weight Brunello.
-
Wine Spectator
This vibrant red is sleek and harmonious, with strawberry, cherry and currant fruit accented by mineral and wild herb notes. Dusty tannins lend support and texture on the finish. Excellent length. Drink now through 2038.
-
Decanter
A compilation of three distinctly diverse terroirs within Montalcino, Val di Suga’s estate Brunello is made up of equal shares from Vigna del Lago in the northeast, Poggio al Granchio in the southeast and Vigna Spuntali in the southwest. The bright ruby colour and youthful freshness are well preserved. Focused aromas of red cherry with flecks of pepper give way to deeper violet and sweet earth. Appealing and pure, the mid-weight palate offers a layer of luscious red berries and plump persimmon underscored by juicy acidity. Sandy textured tannins are supple and yielding. Hard to resist now.
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.