Winemaker Notes
Presenting a garnet red wine that captivates the senses from the first glance. Its bouquet evokes the essence of the Mediterranean, with fragrances of scrubland, broom flowers, and hints of citrus intertwined with notes of candied fruit, spices, tobacco, and subtle undertones of chocolate. On the palate, it impresses with mouth-filling yet light tannins, offering a medium sweetness and a distinctive iodine character that adds complexity. The finish is long and profound, leaving a lasting impression of depth and satisfaction.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Deep ruby/magenta in color, the 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino Vigna Spuntali leads with deep aromas of layered graphite, blackberry, pure black plum, anise, dark herbs, and peppery lifted spice. It's full-bodied but very well-balanced and not heavy, with refined tannins, a sanguine iron note on the palate, an even feel, and a brooding nature, but again, it retains very nice acidity and saltiness. This attractive wine is starting to show off its pedigree and depth, and it's going to go the long haul.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This is not a Riserva, but it acts like one because it is held back for an extra year of aging. The Val di Suga 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Spuntali is a very rich wine with dark fruit and nutty aromas of Thai peanut sauce, praline and walnut husk. The finish has a dry side, which gives the wine a more accessible overall personality, but it also shows a hint of soft cherry that breaks up the austerity you get on the finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is earthy and fresh on the nose, with ripe cherries and tilled soil, then espresso, fennel and orange peel. The palate offers sweet cherries and wild strawberry, but a wave of umami upends everything, held up by acidity and salt.
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Wine Spectator
An opulent style, this is dense, revealing saturated flavors of blackberry, black cherry, plum and earth. Powerful yet balanced in its broad-shouldered way, this persists on the finish with fruit and earth accents. Best from 2028 through 2045. 750 cases made, 350 cases imported.
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.