Brunello di Montalcino

Brunello di Montalcino is a bold, dry red from Tuscany, Italy, made entirely from Sangiovese. Expect ripe cherry and plum with herbs, spice, tobacco and earthy flavours, backed by serious structure and plenty of ageing potential. It’s made for steak, roast beef, lamb, beef ragù, lasagne, truffle pasta and mature Italian cheese.

Taste:

This is Sangiovese with the volume turned all the way up.

Brunello di Montalcino is typically dry and full-bodied, with high acidity, firm tannins and plenty of concentrated flavour. Expect red cherry, black cherry, plum and cranberry, alongside dried herbs, violet and warming spice.

Ageing brings another layer to the party, with flavours of leather, tobacco, dried fruit, earth and sometimes balsamic or savoury notes developing over time. Oak can add touches of vanilla, cedar and toast depending on the producer and style.

Young Brunello can be powerful and structured. Give a good bottle some time and those tannins soften, the flavours become more complex and suddenly you understand why people are willing to wait years to drink the stuff.

Food Pairings:

Brunello deserves food with enough richness and flavour to keep up.

Steak is a brilliant match, particularly ribeye, sirloin or a classic Bistecca alla Fiorentina. It also works beautifully with roast beef, slow-cooked beef, beef short ribs, beef stew, roast lamb, lamb chops and lamb shank.

Italian food is very safe territory. Try Brunello with beef ragù, lasagne, pappardelle with slow-cooked beef, meatballs in tomato sauce or other rich tomato-based pasta dishes.

Earthy flavours work especially well too, so mushroom risotto, mushroom pasta, truffle pasta and porcini dishes are excellent choices.

For cheese, go Italian and bring out Parmesan, Pecorino or other hard, mature cheeses.

Similar Wines:

If you enjoy Brunello di Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino is the obvious wine to meet next. It comes from the same area and uses the same grape but is fresher, younger and generally much more approachable.

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Chianti offer other expressions of Tuscan Sangiovese, while Barolo is worth exploring if it’s powerful, structured Italian reds with serious ageing potential that you love.

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More About Brunello di Montalcino:

Brunello di Montalcino comes from the vineyards surrounding the hilltop town of Montalcino in Tuscany and must be made entirely from Sangiovese.

Locally, the particular expression of Sangiovese traditionally associated with Montalcino is known as Brunello or Sangiovese Grosso.

Brunello is subject to strict ageing requirements before it can be released, spending several years developing before it reaches your glass. Riserva wines require even longer.

That combination of Sangiovese’s naturally high acidity and tannins, Montalcino’s warmer climate and extended ageing gives Brunello its reputation for both power and longevity.

It’s one of Italy’s most famous reds, comes with plenty of rules and often requires years of patience. Thankfully, Rosso di Montalcino exists for those of us who aren’t very good at waiting.