Understanding Rosso & Brunello di Montalcino
With Brendan Jansen MW
“One of the pinnacles of what the Sangiovese grape variety can achieve, Brunello di Montalcino is a global touchstone for the variety and great red wines in general”.
(Wine-Searcher)
“Situated just below the area of Chianti lies the Brunello di Montalcino Wine Region. Based on the Brunello clone of Sangiovese, some of the most collectible and popular wines in all of Italy are produced in Montalcino. With one of the warmest and driest climates in Tuscany, grapes from Montalcino yield wines of intense colour and body, with bright acidity and strong, age worthy tannins. In 1980, Brunello di Montalcino was awarded the highly esteemed DOCG designation and is now home to over 200 different producers.”
(Wine Enthusiast)
Taste 14 Sangioveses from some of Montalcino best producers:
San Filippo | Il Poggione | Le Potazzine | Marchese Antinori
Collosorbo | Siro Pacenti |Le Ragnaie
Monday February 10th
Session 1: Rosso & Brunello di Montalcino
Hosted By Brendan Jansen MW
Masterclass: 5:30-7pm, 14 Wines with nibbles $175
Dinner: 7:30pm, 14 Wines with 3 Courses Menu $295
Host and Master of Wine: Brendan Jansen
Brendan Jansen MW is a specialist medical practitioner, and the
development of his expertise in wine began with his involvement
in tasting groups with colleagues. His love affair with wine was
cemented when he lived in Italy for two years, during which time
he developed an affinity for, and in-depth knowledge of, Italian wines.
Brendan's passion is for wine education and appreciation, and this
has inspired his MW journey. Tastings led by Brendan are fun and
informative and involve a deeper exploration of the varieties
and regions covered.
Master of Wine
The Master of Wine qualification indicates that the title recipient has completed the toughest series of examinations on viticulture, wine making styles and techniques, all wine regions, and all pluses and minuses in the marketing of these wines on planet. Then added to this is the requirement for an extraordinary ability to discern the bouquet & flavour nuances caused by the factors above which indicate the wine’s variety, age, wine making techniques used, regions, quality, hygiene and seasonal variations.
Thousands of young wine people from all over the world, from dozens of countries, start the courses each year but perhaps only 8-15 per year worldwide graduate. There are only about 380 Masters of Wine worldwide.
The title MW is the greatest imprimatur or recognition that the wine world can give to its most able students.
After 50 years of Master of Wine graduates there are just 2 in Western Australia and perhaps 24 in Australia.
The Wine List and Menu
Siro Pacenti Rosso di Montalcino 2022, Our Price $75
Dark and brooding, the 2021 Rosso di Montalcino is at first rich and opulent, with an array of plum sauce and licorice. It gains an earthy balance as minty herbs and cedar shavings join the fray. This is like pure silk on the palate, with a measured inner sweetness perfectly contrasted by orange and tart wild berry fruits cascading throughout. The 2021 takes on a crunchy sensation through the long and dramatic finale as sour cranberry and orange sorbet suggestions slowly fade. As is typically the case, Siro Pacenti balances exoticism with refinement in a way that I find wildly attractive.
92 Points Eric Guido, Vinous (November 2023)
La Ragnaie Rosso di Montalcino 2020, Our Price $67
This rosso from a highly respected Brunello producer is proof that even the most serious of wine can hang loose. It is an approachable, well-structured wine beginning to see brown whisps from age. Flavors of ripe red fruit, game, roses, dried licorice, coffee, and prunes shine. And then there is chocolate – like a dark chocolate ganache mousse dotted with raspberries. Excellent paired with pizza and dark braised lentils drenched in olive oil.
92 Points Henna Bakshi, Decanter (November 2024)
San Filippo Lo Scorno Rosso di Montalcino 2022, Our Price $72
The colour is ruby red; to the nose the perfume is clean and intense. Reminiscent of cherries preserved in alcohol, enhanced by spicy notes.To the palate it offers a good body, full and balanced with silky tannins. Good persistence that harks back to the first olfactory notes.
sanfilippomontalcino.com
Collosorbo Rosso di Montalcino 2021, Our Price $50
Ripe, dried currants with some dried raspberries and strawberries to the nose follow through to a medium- to full-bodied palate. Tight and chewy tannins carry the ripe berries to a medium-length finish.
89 Points Zekun Shuai, jamessuckling.com (August 2023)
Le Potazzine Rosso di Montalcino 2019, Our Price $138
The 2019 Rosso di Montalcino continues to captivate with a display of dusty black cherries, roses and crushed stone. It's soft and pliant in feel, yet there's a core of saline-minerality that stimulates the senses, as tart red berries cascade across the palate, and sweet tannins settle in toward the close. This has evolved wonderfully in bottle over the last nine months, finishing lightly structured yet still so pleasurable today.
93 Points Eric Guido, Vinous (November 2021)
Pian delle Vigne Brunello di Montalcino 2018, Our Price $120
The nose is a jungle adventure, as sanguine notes of meat and leather intertwine with a thicket of wild herbs, brambles and leaves, and a last hint of wild cherry. The palate teleports to the ice cream parlor on Main Street, serving artisanal, hand-churned mint chip, with a Luxardo cherry on top. A rare combination of extravagant and refreshing.
95 Points Danielle Callegari, Wine Enthusiast (December 2023)
Collosorbo Brunello di Montalcino 2018, Our Price $105
Crushed rose, new leather, wild berry and a potpourri of baking spice come to the forefront on this full-bodied Brunello along with whiffs of underbrush. Showing a great combination of structure, flavor and an earthy finesse, the delicious palate doles out fleshy black cherry, licorice, tobacco leaf and almond liqueur alongside velvety tannins.
94 Points Kerin O’Keefe, kerinokeefe.com (May 2023)
Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino 2018, Our Price $126
Impressing from the first tilt of the glass, the 2018 Brunello di Montalcino makes itself known, with a heady burst of exotic spice and crushed ashen stone giving way to dried black cherries and grilled herbs. This combines the energy of the vintage with the dark balsamic-tinged fruits of Montalcino's southern reaches, as zesty acidity maintains balance throughout, and flinty minerals saturate toward the close. It finishes long, savory and structured, yet its tannins are more rounded than anticipated, creating both a classic feel, but also leaving a mouthwatering sensation that tricks the taster back to the glass for more. Easily one of the top wines of the vintage, the 2018 is not to be missed.
96+ Points Eric Guido, Vinous (October 2022)
Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino 2019, Our Price $134
The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino pulls the taster close to the glass with its dark and earthy blend of crushed ashen stones, giving way to rosemary, cedar, exotic spice and a core of raspberry preserves. Enveloping and serene, this flows across the palate like pure silk, steadily building in tension as tart wild berries and orange hints give way to a sweet herbal thrust. The 2019 finishes with tremendous length and is classically structured, as crunchy tannins resonate and violet inner florals slowly fade over a tactile coating of minerality. Il Poggione has captured the radiance of the vintage, yet this is just a baby today.
96 Points Eric Guido, Vinous (November 2023)
San Filippo Brunello di Montalcino 2019, Our Price $162
Really pretty fruit with pure berries and cherries with flowers. It’s medium-bodied with medium round tannins and a juicy finish. Shows a citrusy undertone to the whole thing with fresh acidity that runs long. Give it two or three years to come together. Better after 2025.
95 Points James Suckling (September 2023)
Collosorbo Brunello di Montalcino 2015, Our Price $83
Sun baked earth, underbrush, leather and baked plum aromas emerge on this full-bodied red. Round and enveloping, the delicious, concentrated palate doles out juicy Morello cherry, fleshy black raspberry, licorice and baking spice alongside velvety tannins. It’s already almost accessible but will also provide years of drinking pleasure.
95 Points Kerin O’Keefe, kerinokeefe.com (January 2020)
Siro Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino Vecchie Vigne 2018, Our Price $237
This is focused, firm and well structured, with a classy nose of blackberries, cherry stones, white truffles, tea leaves and cloves. Earth and bark, too. Medium-to full-bodied with a tight tannin frame. Racy and linear. Mineral. Tight at the end. Try in 2026.
96 Points James Suckling (June 2022)
La Ragnaie Brunello di Montalcino 2018, Our Price $170
On the nose, aromas of soy sauce, stone, pepper, mixed herbs and black plum swirl together to create a savory, salty, cool sensation, like a late fall sea breeze. The palate leans into the tart fruit, with black cherries, blackberries and plum, before a bitter, herbaceous finish. Round, smooth tannins create a silken mouthfeel.
95 Points Danielle Callegari, Wine Enthusiast (September 2024)
San Filippo Brunello di Montalcino Le Lucere 2018, Our Price $231
Planted in 1997, La Lucère is encircled by forest on three sides. The breezy, east-facing site is relatively cool and always the estate’s last to be harvested. Aged in lightly toasted barriques and tonneaux, 20% new, the 2018 is the most elegantly sculpted and effortlessly balanced wine I have tasted from the estate. It opens with attractive scents of cinnamon, violet and rosemary, and boasts impressive concentration of woodland berry flavours but isn’t heavy. Integrated acidity provides proper support, and the tannins are long and fine, giving texture and shape. The best is still yet to come.
96 Points Michaela Morris, Decanter (November 2022)