Winemaker Notes
Madonna del Piano is the first single-vineyard in Montalcino. Valdicava makes some of the most intense, richly flavored Brunello's coming out of Montalcino today. Their philosophy is to work more in the vineyards to respect the balance of the place. The winery likes to produce a Brunello that represents the best tradition in structure and aromatics with more elegance, harmony and fruit.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
I tasted this about a year ago at the winery and I was blown away. This time I tasted it in a blind tasting in Tuscany and it stood above the rest. Amazing aromas of blueberries and flowers, with black truffles and pie. Foie gras, mushrooms and white truffles too. Powerful, with great depth of gorgeous fruit and ultra-fine tannins. It fills your mouth with fruit and ripe tannins. Complex and long. A breathtaking wine. Truly glorious. Better in 2015.
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Wine Enthusiast
This beautiful Riserva shows enormous thickness and blackness, like midnight of a new moon. The wine delivers impenetrable density, extraction, black fruit, spice, berry preserves, licorice, asphalt, ground black pepper, cherry liqueur and creme de cassis. There are seemingly no limits to the intensity and complexity here. The mouthfeel is dense, plush, firmly structured and very long. Keep this Brunello safely in your cellar 20 years or more.
Cellar Selection -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2006 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano is a huge, towering wine. Waves of vibrant, intensely perfumed fruit hit the palate, backed up by the firm, broad tannins of the vintage. Violets, spices, new leather and licorice develop in the glass, yet the 2006 remains painfully young and stubborn. Clean mineral notes frame a blast of dark cherries, plums and camphor on the palate-staining finish. Readers will need to be especially patient, but the 2006 Madonna del Piano is stacking up to be one of the all-time greats from proprietor Vincenzo Abbruzzese. I followed the wine over the course of two days, during which it continued to improve while seeming to gain freshness and structure. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2026.
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Wine Spectator
Dark and inky, this wine boasts mushroom, forest floor, tar and dried plum aromas and flavors. There's a serious structure, yet this is well-balanced in the end, if more on the side of concentration and muscularity than finesse. Best from 2014 through 2030.
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.