94pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Here's a nicely balanced Brunello that boasts bright cherry fruit intensity despite the many years of cellar aging required by the appellation. The Argiano 2020 Brunello di Montalcino offers a robust layer of red and purple berry fruits along with soft spice, grilled herb and sweet potting soil. There is a slightly botanical element to the wine with green herb and dried lavender. The wine is made with fruit from old and new vines, ranging in age from 12 to 55 years old. The tannins are very fine-grained, and the acidity is present to good effect but is not too sharp. This is an ample 104,000-bottle release.

94pts James Suckling

A little tight now, with cherry and cedar character on the nose and palate. Plenty of flowers as well. Medium-bodied and crisp, with firm tannins that are all together. There’s energy and brightness to this. Give it two or three years to open. Drink from 2027.

93pts Jeb Dunnuck

The bright red 2020 Brunello Di Montalcino is pretty and pure, with a fruit-forward profile on the nose of bright red cherries, sweet tea, candied orange, and fennel. Medium-bodied, it floats on the palate with fine tannins and a snap of mouthwatering acidity that adds a bit of energy to this more elegantly styled vintage from Argiano. It's very pretty and approachable now but should age gracefully over the coming 10-12 years.

Winery Notes

Famous for its bold, layered and long-lived red, Brunello di Montalcino, the town of Montalcino is about 70 miles south of Florence, and has a warmer and drier climate than that of its neighbor, Chianti. The Sangiovese grape is king here, as it is in Chianti, but Montalcino has its own clone called Brunello.

The Brunello vineyards of Montalcino blanket the rolling hills surrounding the village and fan out at various elevations, creating the potential for Brunello wines expressing different styles. From the valleys, where deeper deposits of clay are found, come wines typically bolder, more concentrated and rich in opulent black fruit. The hillside vineyards produce wines more concentrated in red fruits and floral aromas; these sites reach up to over 1,600 feet and have shallow soils of rocks and shale.