Winemaker Notes
This wine has intense aromas of balsamic, black cherries, cocoa, coffee beans and a hint of licorice at the very finish. The tannins are elegant and well integrated and feature a nice brightness given by the acidity of the wine.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromatic with black cherries, oranges and cedar. Very perfumed. Medium to full body. Firm tannins. The wood is showing a bit now but will come through nicely. This is a structured and toned red.
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Wine Enthusiast
Coffee, tar and crushed rocks tumble over wild fennel, eucalyptus and blackberries on the nose. Tart and sweet blackberries lead off the palate, before saline earth tones emerge. The wine is very restrained at first, then everything begins to light up. Tannins are still youthful and assertive, while acidity causes your teeth to tingle.
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Decanter
After losing 80% of production to frost in 2017, Vincenzo Abbruzzese decided to forego making a Brunello in 2018, giving the vines time to restore their energy. Valdicava was rewarded in 2019 with both quality and quantity. Rather than racing out of the gate, this expresses methodically. Fresh berries are offset by dried florals, tea, tobacco and cedar. Perfumes of orange oil and rose build on the palate, bestowing brightness and a more youthful mien. Tannins are fine-grained yet firm, accentuated by steely acidity. Overall elegant in flow. 40,000 bottles produced.
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Vinous
Just a baby today, the 2019 Brunello di Montalcino is darkly alluring with a youthfully coy bouquet that requires coaxing as dusty earth and dried flowers slowly take on hints of incense and black cherries. It flows easily across the palate, silky and refined with building tension as brisk acidity and minerals mingle with edgy tannins toward the close. The 2019 finishes dramatically long and structured with a pleasantly bitter tinge. A resonance of salted licorice and cedar lingers on and on. Valdicava has captured the radiance of the vintage.
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Wine Spectator
This displays a mix of fruity and savory flavors, with notes of cherry, raspberry, rose hip, leather and earth. Pliable tannins emerge on the finish, yet this is balanced and long overall, with freshness and elegance.
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.