Valdicava Montosoli Brunello di Montalcino (1.5 Liter Magnum) 2016
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James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Wow. The aromas of black cherries, plums, walnuts, lavender and cedar are really beautiful. Full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins and beautiful polish to the power and intensity. Gorgeous, sweet and ripe fruit at the end with peach and citrus character to the plums. Sophisticated and glorious. Drink after 2025.
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Wine Spectator
This is focused like a laser beam, with cherry, plum, chocolate, iron and leather flavors defined by bracing acidity. The fine-grained tannins are civilized as this plays out on the mouthwatering, fruit-filled finish. Best from 2024 through 2048. 133 cases made, 50 cases imported.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Tasted from magnum (one of just 1,500 made), this is a new wine from Valdicava that is presented in quite the statement bottle with stunning artwork that depicts an allegory to a saint. With fruit from one of the most celebrated crus in the appellation, the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Montosoli needs quite a bit of extra time to open. I followed my sample's evolution over a 24-hour period to get a better look inside. This wine requires extra patience. On my first tasting, I found that the fruit struggled to come through, and I recorded notes of white pepper, savory herb, campfire ash and crushed stone. Blue flowers like dried lilac and lavender also appear. When I came back to the bottle a day later, I found that the bouquet had gained in detail, sharpness and increasingly articulate specifics. But it took its time. To the palate, the wine is dense and firm, and I have no doubt as to its long-term aging potential. It is an honor to be one of the first people to taste this ambitious new release from the Montosoli vineyard made by Vincenzo Abbruzzese and his family.
Other Vintages
2015-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator
Montalcino is home to the opulent of the Sangiovese grape. At our precise latitude of 43 degrees, the warmth of the nearby Tirrean Sea, the protective barrier of the "Monte Amiata," the coolness of the wooded areas, the breeze and the moderate rainfall all coincide to facilitate the growth of these grapes to fragrant, full maturity. Valdicava is located in the Montosoli area which is famous in Montelcino for creating wines with great balance of body and aromas. We pay the utmost attention towards maintaining the individual characteristics of our wine in order to exalt the spirit of the place, the 'genius loci' of our estate.
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.