This is a gorgeous wine that really takes off in this vintage. It starts off with gentle floral aromas of lilac or dried violet and a hint of fragrant rose. The Canalicchio di Sopra 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Montosoli boasts an impeccable nose with elegant berry fruit and light minerality. All this beauty is transferred to the palate, where the wine shows very fine-grained tannins. The fruit flows steadily over a long, rich finish. The challenge is to get a fruit finish this long, considering Brunello’s strong tannins, but this wine definitely succeeds. Production is 7,200 bottles plus larger formats.
Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RP
Boasting aromas of new leather, eucalyptus, violet, forest floor and spice, the stunning 2019 Vigna Montosoli from Canalicchio di Sopra is an excellent expression of this celebrated site, great vintage and historic winery. Firm and youthfully austere, it delivers ripe raspberry, blackberry, tobacco and licorice before a salty finish. Framed in tightly wound, fine-grained tannins, it’s elegantly structured, packed with energy and intensity, with bright acidity that also keeps it balanced. Give it time to fully develop. A gorgeous wine. Drink 2039–2044. Abv: 14.5%
Kerin O’Keefe | 98 KO
The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Montosoli is coy in the glass, youthfully restrained and requires coaxing to reveal its delicate bouquet. With time, a dusty display of dried roses, licorice, cherries, cloves and camphor emanates from the glass. This model of purity is polished, silky and refined with savory spice and mineral-laden red fruits that saturate, all perfectly guided by brisk acidity. It leaves the palate stained in primary concentration, turning inward upon itself. Tart currant and mentholated herb notes add freshness to a web of fine-grained tannins. The 2019 is a breathtaking interpretation of Montosoli fruit.
Vinous Media | 97 VM
The 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino Vigna Montosoli is from more schist-based soils and displays a deep ruby/magenta color with a touch more pigment. Opening to sunny aromas of kirsch, lavender, crushed pine needles, licorice, and sappy earth, it’s full-bodied and offers dark mineral undertones that carry through the palate with rich tannins while retaining good freshness, and it has a robust and warming finish. For my taste, I somewhat prefer the Casacchia for its more buoyant nature, but the Montosoli is quite compelling and is not to be overlooked, since it may just need time to reveal its full potential. Drink 2026-2046.
Jeb Dunnuck | 97+ JD
One of fewer than 10 producers with precious holdings on the Montosoli hill, Canalicchio di Sopra owns six hectares, contiguous with Le Gode. The second vintage of this cru bottling comes from a northwest-facing plot planted in 1997. Almost painfully young, its gradually emerging, alluring scents flit between dry and wet earth as dusty stone mingles with forest undergrowth and liquorice root. Crispness of acidity and vertical, edgy tannins makes for an austere palate now, but the structure is in step with the underlying tight yet pure and sapid red berry core. Finishes with lingering orange bitters.
Decanter | 97 DEC
Aromas of sweet berries, flowers, sandalwood and ink follow through to a medium body with firm, silky tannins and a fresh and clean finish. Savory at the end. Linear and racy. Best in two or three years and onwards.
James Suckling | 96 JS
This red shows some distinctive balsamic notes -- tomato leaf, eucalyptus and mint -- that mingle with the cherry and strawberry fruit. Iron and tobacco accents chime in as this builds to the long, sinewy finish. All the elements are there, but this just needs a few years to integrate. Best from 2027 through 2043. 600 cases made, 137 cases imported.
Wine Spectator | 95 WS
