San Filippo Brunello di Montalcino dei Comunali 2020

San Filippo remains one of our favorite Tuscan wineries – and their Brunellos are consistently some of Montalcino’s very best! 94 points and over half off for orders of 3 or more of this intense, complex, and subtly spicy Sangiovese makes for a fantastic deal that simply can’t be missed!

San Filippo sits on 22 hectares of prime Tuscan real estate, in the very heart of Montalcino – close to the iconic Biondi Santi Il Greppo estate. They produced their first Brunello in 1977 and now, under the new ownership of Roberto Gianelli, claim their place as one of Montalcino’s best. When Roberto bought the property a few years back, he immediately invested in a full-scale renovation of the winemaking facilities and a rejuvenation of the vineyard property. The results have been dramatically impressive, and a new era of San Filippo drinkers is awakening to the limitless potential of this skyrocketing estate.

“San Filippo is home to some of the best boutique Brunello today...” – Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate

The San Filippo holdings are broken up amongst 4 different vineyards – San Filippo, Lo Scorno, Le Coste, and Le Lucere. For this Brunello bottling, the focus is on the estate’s San Filippo parcel, adjacent to the winery. Here, at 260 to 280 meters above sea level, north-facing Sangiovese vines grow in deep red clay and gravel soils. Winemaker Thomas Bianciardi, alongside top consultant Paolo Caciorgna, has created what may well be the most immaculate, sparkling-clean cellar in all of Tuscany, and the purity of these most excellent Brunellos is the result. Two days cold-soak, followed by a 10 to 12 day fermentation and maceration on the skins extracts a beauteous ruby color, while secondary fermentation in concrete vats keeps the freshness and lively aromatics intact. Slavonian and Allier oak casks for aging give a softness and supple spice to the wine, and a few years of bottle age bring it all together.

For an exceptional under $50 price on 3 bottles or more, this Brunello di Montalcino easily competes with its three-figure brethren, and its robust cherry profile with notes of dried herbs, orange peel, licorice, rose petals, and complex spice box accents combine to make this one of the best Tuscan deals around. You have an investment not to be missed!

PAIRING IDEAS: A traditional Tuscan Tordelli Versiliese pasta is meaty, hearty, and soul-warming – a brilliant pairing with an equally robust Tuscan wine.