Il Marroneto - Brunello di Montalcino Madonna Delle Grazie 2018

Decanter

About the wine:

The bottling from this unique vineyard is a selection of small, detached bunches, resulting in dense fruit and assured structure. Alongside the estate's "classic" Brunello, it often presents an earthier, more autumnal face. The 2018 matches this trend, with scents of chestnut and undergrowth juxtaposed with the sweetness of the vintage's fruit. Layers of long, suede-like tannins envelop fleshy black cherry. As it opens, subtle traces of pepper, leather and incense announce what's to come. Above all, Madonna delle Grazie embodies the vintage's most positive attributes, flowing with agility and grace. 2024-2036

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Madonna delle Grazie Il Marroneto reveals both elegance and power. The fruit quality is crisp and invigorating, while the wine sustains medium-weight concentration and a more elaborate style. This vintage of Il Marroneto has two personalities. On the one hand, we have a wine bursting with beautiful primary fruit but a little more immediate; on the other, we have a wine that promises good cellaring thanks to its freshness and silky tannins that melt into the palate. It's young but also old. It is racy but also complex. The fruit comes from the vineyard beneath the Madonna delle Grazie chapel, and the wine is aged in special oak barrels for 41 months. Production is 8,500 bottles.

Wine Enthusiast

Jancis Robinson

Vinous A. Galloni

About the wine:

The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Madonna delle Grazie takes its time to open up in the glass, complex and tenebrously seductive with its musky notes of red currant and savory spice, but with lovely swirling rose nuances. A hint of suave smoke adds a lovely contrast. Its textures are like fluid velvet, with a chalky mineral coloration that appears quickly, perfectly balanced by a massive wave of dark red berries; but through it all, balance is expertly maintained by streamlined acidity that creates a sense of total inner harmony. The 2018 leaves a structured sensation, but its tannins are silky and fine, combined with a violet pastille and lavender resonance that I find extremely seductive. I've tasted this wine over the past two years and followed this recent bottle for 48 hours; in that time, it never faltered and only grew in depth and complexity. Il Marroneto's Madonna delle Grazie 2018 is unquestionably one of the top three wines of the vintage. My hat's off to Alessandro Mori and his team. 2025-2033

James Suckling

About the wine:

It presents a range of red and black fruits with coffee, dark chocolate, sweet spices and trodden earth. Medium- to full-bodied, with fine tannins and a pronounced black fruit character on the palate. A little tight and structured, with a firm, persistent finish that reveals notes of walnut shells and crushed stones. Drink after 2025.

Jeb Dunnuck