Winemaker Notes
Elegant and refined with alluring red and black fruits, flowers and mocha in the nose and mouth, this Rosso di Montalcino is made from the younger Brunello vines.
It will make a perfect accompaniment to pork dishes, especially with rosemary accents, grilled tuna, pasta pomodoro or bolognese, and/or with fine Italian cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A smoky and ambitious wine, like a baby Brunello. It shows aromas of smoke, woodland, fresh violets, dried cherries and licorice. Firm, chewy tannins on the palate, with crisp acidity and a medium to full body. Warming yet balanced at the end.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Medium ruby-colored, the 2023 Rosso Di Montalcino is fresh with aromas of ripe strawberries, fresh berries, dusty earth, and orange peel. It's zesty and refreshing on the palate, with fine tannins and a clean, elegant feel throughout.
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Vinous
The 2023 Rosso di Montalcino wafts up with a citrus-laced bouquet of wild berries, sage and sweet smoke. It is juicy and round, with lifted red and blueberry fruits swirling across a zesty acidity stream. The 2023 leaves a mineral tinge and hints of sour cherry, finishing remarkably fresh.
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.