By Col d'Orcia
Brunello di Montalcino 2018

Background
Col d'Orcia is a traditional producer of Brunello di Montalcino. The choice to continue using large Slavonian oak barrels was taken many years ago, well before the debate between modernist and traditionalist producers even started. Tradition means respecting the essence of Sangiovese from Montalcino, its aging potential, and the wine's improvement through its long passage in wood and subsequent aging in the bottle. Today, at Col d'Orcia, we age our Brunello di Montalcino for a full three years in large barrels before bottling, and we keep the bottles in our cellar for at least one year before releasing the wine to the market.

Terroir
Montalcino, Siena - the hill overlooking the Orcia River, facing south-southwest and exposed to sunrays all day long. The average height is 300 meters above sea level.

Vintage
Winter rains were within the seasonal average, with some snowfall that helped compensate for the soil's water shortage. The beginning of spring was mild with occasional rains. June and July were hot. Light and intermittent rains during the first three weeks of August, with average temperatures of 25 degrees C. During the first week of September, temperatures reached 30 degrees C, with some rainy days. Harvest started around mid-September.

Harvest
Manual harvest with rigorous selection of the best bunches in the vineyard at first, and subsequently on a selection table in the cellar.

Fermentation and Aging
Fermentation on the skins for about 18-20 days at controlled temperatures below 28 degrees C in 150-hl wide, shallow stainless steel tanks, designed and built to extract tannins and color efficiently but delicately. Aging for 4 years total, 3 of which in 25-, 50-, and 75-hl oak casks from Slavonia and Allier, followed by at least 12 months of refinement in bottles at controlled temperatures.

Tasting Notes
Ruby red with violet hues. Intense, broad and complex, with hints of red fruits such as cherry and blackberry combined with vanilla and woody notes from the oak. Full-bodied with excellent structure, strong and balanced. The tannins are soft and ripe, leading to a long, fruity aftertaste.

Wine Details
Alcohol: 14.50%
Total Acidity: 5.5 g/l
Serving Temperature: 18 degrees C
[Information provided by Col d'Orcia]

Wine: Col d'Orcia 2018 Sangiovese (Brunello di Montalcino)
Score/Rating: 96
Review Date: 12/31/2023
Reviewed By: Danielle Callegari
Tasting Notes: The nose is warm, dry and fruity, with aromas of cranberry, cherry, strawberry and orange peel wafting above pennies jingling in the background. On the palate, rose petals accentuate the fruitiness, while the tannins are polished but not slippery, like expensive leather. A classic luxury experience.

Wine: Col d'Orcia 2018 Brunello di Montalcino
Score/Rating: 95
Suggested Drinking Window: Drink through 2030
Review Date: 01/2023
Reviewed By: Kerin O’Keefe
Tasting Notes: Violet, Mediterranean scrub, dark-skinned berry and forest floor aromas mingle together in the glass. Made with organically-grown grapes, it’s full-bodied and smooth, featuring ripe Morello cherry, licorice and ground clove framed in tightly-woven, enveloping tannins. Drink through 2030.

Wine: Col d'Orcia Brunello di Montalcino 2018
Score/Rating: 94
Suggested Drinking Window: Drink now through 2043
Review Date: 06/30/2023
Reviewed By: Bruce Sanderson
Tasting Notes: This promising Brunello is hallmarked by pretty cherry, strawberry, currant and floral aromas and flavors. Starts out elegant and lacy, then the dense matrix of tannins emerges, giving different character to the long finish. Reveals wild herb and mineral notes that add depth. Best from 2025 through 2043.

Wine: 2018 Col d'Orcia Brunello di Montalcino
Score/Rating: 93
Suggested Drinking Window: 2024 - 2038
Review Date: 03/09/2023
Reviewed By: Monica Larner
Tasting Notes: A certified organic wine, the 2018 Brunello di Montalcino has dark fruit, bold cherry, earthy notes and a hint of black olive or scorched earth. The wine is generous and round in terms of mouthfeel with a streamlined mid-palate and plenty of Sangiovese acidity to keep things lively and fresh. The tannins are well managed and silky. [...]

Wine: 2018 Col D'Orcia Brunello Di Montalcino
Score/Rating: 93
Suggested Drinking Window: 2025 - 2040
Review Date: 03/06/2023
Reviewed By: Audrey Frick
Tasting Notes: Full and enveloping with purple floral perfume, the 2018 Brunello Di Montalcino is lush with violets, blue fruit, and black raspberry and leather. This moves seamlessly to the palate, where it takes on even more depth, with iron richness, meat, red cherry, raspberry, cedar, and fresh soil. A balanced wine for its style, it is a lovely expression where more warmth is not needed. Drink 2025-2040.

Wine: Col d'Orcia Brunello di Montalcino 2018
Score/Rating: 93
Review Date: 11/10/2022
Reviewed By: James Suckling
Tasting Notes: Roasted herbs, wild cherries, thyme and dried mushrooms on the nose. Medium to full body with silky yet firm tannins supporting supple and fresh layers. Excellent length with a delectably savory character. From organically grown grapes. Drink after 2023.

Wine: Col d'Orcia, Brunello di Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy, 2018
Score/Rating: 93
Suggested Drinking Window: 2024 - 2035
Review Date: 11/09/2022
Reviewed By: Michaela Morris
Tasting Notes: Santiago Marone Cinzano explains that in 2018, delestage played a key role, especially over extended periods of 8-12 hours, allowing delicate skins to macerate with a reduced amount of juice in order to coax out sufficient concentration. Beautifully weighted, it's full yet agile with enough stuffing to carry it over the next decade. Above all, it underscores the freshness of the vintage: fragrances reveal themselves slowly but are very much in the floral spectrum, with cherry and thyme blossoms lifted by traces of pepper. Crunchy red plum and succulent cherry flavours take over on palate, where youthful grippy tannins need some time to yield.

Wine: Col d'Orcia 2018 Brunello di Montalcino
Score/Rating: 93
Suggested Drinking Window: 2025 - 2032
Review Date: 10/2022
Reviewed By: Eric Guido
Tasting Notes: Masses of crushed cherries and cloves give way to nuances of spiced citrus peels and cedar as the 2018 Brunello di Montalcino comes to life in the glass. This is round and pliant on the palate, with a balanced inner sweetness contrasting its mineral-tinged acids and tart wild berry fruits. Grippy tannins mount toward the close, yet fail to slow the 2018’s momentum, as notes of salted licorice are left to resonate under an air of dried roses. This is a deep and characterful rendition of Col d'Orcia’s Brunello, but patience will be required to unlock all of its charms.

Wine: 2018 Col d'Orcia Brunello di Montalcino
Score/Rating: 92
Suggested Drinking Window: 2026 - 2045
Review Date: 02/23/2023
Reviewed By: Susan Hulme
Tasting Notes: This 2018 Col d’Orcia Brunello di Montalcino comes from the hotter south-western part of the appellation near Sant’Angelo in Colle and this particular estate is very near to the Orcia river. These wines tend to be uncompromising and austere when young. This 2018 is a darker, blacker color than many 2018s. The aromas are a little earthy with leafy, green notes and bramble fruit. On the palate the tannins are very firm-edged. This is a much more traditional style producer whose wines do not show their best until they are 20 years old or more. The wines can look very flat when they are young. In November 2022 at the winery, I tasted Col D’Orcia Riserva 1968 which was looking fresh and lively and drinking beautifully, so you may need plenty of patience!

Wine: Col d'Orcia 2018 Brunello di Montalcino
Score/Rating: 91
Review Date: 04/2023
Tasting Notes: Notes of warm spice and dark chocolate round out this wine’s soft red cherry and raspberry flavors. The midweight frame and ripe, polished tannins give the wine a softness that will appeal to Pinot Noir lovers.

Wine: Col d'Orcia 2018 Brunello di Montalcino
Score/Rating: 17.5/20
Suggested Drinking Window: 2024 - 2034
Review Date: 12/12/2022
Reviewed By: Walter Speller
Tasting Notes: Concentrated mid ruby. Slumbering nose showing depth with aeration. Supple, juicy fruit with bags of gravelly tannins. Lots of juice and perfumed fruit on the finish but still embryonic and a little tannic right now, but truly well balanced and complex, textural and tactile on the finish. (WS)