Ciacci Piccolomini - Vigna di Pianrosso Riserva - Santa Caterina d'Oro - Brunello di Montalcino DOCG - 2019

97/100 points Cru Pianrosso Brunello from Piccolomini from the southern part of the Brunello DOCG, Castelnuovo dell'Abate.

Ruby red wine with garnet glints. In the nose balsamic, spicy sensations, eucalyptus, cloves, berries, bay leaves, dried violets and tobacco. In the mouth the wine is full, beautifully layered, warm, with velvety tannins in the long persistent warm finish.

The Pianrosso vineyard of Piccolomini, 11.7 ha, is located in the southern part of the Brunello DOCG. The soil type is mainly marl. The vineyard is located at an altitude of 240 to 360 meters. The grapes are picked by hand in September and carefully selected for quality and then softly pressed. Fermentation takes place in large steel vats, under a controlled temperature. The must is gently pumped around several times a day. The further maturation of the wine takes place in Slavonian oak barrels of 20 to 62 hl. for a period of 36 months. After this, the wine is bottled. In the bottle, the wine refines for a period of 8 months.

A nice wine/food combination for this Cru Pianrosso Brunello is steak Fiorentina.

About Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona
The winery was founded in 1985 and is located in the southern part of the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, in Castelnuovo dell'Abate. In total, the company has 55 hectares of vineyards. The owners of the company are Paolo and Lucia Bianchini.

99/100 James Suckling

Wow. The ripe yet fresh aromas are so alluring and compelling, showing plums, cedar, rose petals and hints of leather. Full-bodied yet framed and tensioned with fantastic length and intensity. Polished tannins are powerful but reserved, showing great presence and character. This is a monumental wine in many senses of the word. One for the cellar.

95/100 Robert Parker

I haven't seen this wine in a few years. The Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Vigna di Pianrosso Santa Caterina d'Oro offers a darkly concentrated approach with a bouquet built upon black fruit intensity, spice, earth and cured tobacco. I find the approach quite robust and heavy-handed. This vintage is especially concentrated and best recommended to those looking for this hearty style. The tannins come with a hint of dryness.