Altesino Brunello Di Montalcino 2021 Wine Review

Natalie's Score: 97/100

Opening to earthy tones of brimstone and petrichor, the Altesino 2020 Brunello di Montalcino shows the character of a house style that is easily recognized. This elegant wine offers a polished and smooth mouthfeel with finely tuned tannins. The oak is also expertly managed to show some light spice that is deeply integrated into a silky mouthfeel. Of the village Brunellos I tasted from 2020, this one offers excellent quality and will prove easy to locate thanks to its ample release of 110,000 bottles. Drink date: 2025-2040. Score - 95. (Monica Larner, robertparker.com, Nov. 21, 2024) MINE: Altesino Brunello di Montalcino is a dry, full-bodied 100% Sangiovese from one of Tuscany's most historic and pioneering estates, housed in a 14th-century palazzo in the UNESCO-listed hills of Montalcino, pouring a luminous garnet-ruby and opening with a compelling, layered nose of dried Morello cherry, macerated black fig and forest floor, woven through with notes of sun-baked terracotta, wild sage and a mineral whisper of graphite that gives the wine its signature earthy gravitas. The palate is polished and seamlessly structured, with finely tuned silky tannins and a vibrant acidity carrying through to a long, deeply satisfying finish with trailing notes of iron, dried violet and lightly integrated Slavonian oak. Serve it at room temperature and drink from now through 2040, as this wine has the architecture to reward many more years in the cellar. Winemakers Simone Giunti and Alessandro Ciacci uphold a legacy of bold innovation at this estate: Altesino was the first winery in all of Montalcino to introduce the single-vineyard Cru concept in 1975, and the first to use French barriques in 1979, fundamentally reshaping how Brunello was made and understood worldwide. Owner Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini has steered the estate since 2002 with a philosophy that honours tradition without being imprisoned by it. Try this alongside a slow-braised wild boar ragu over hand-rolled pappardelle, where the wine's earthy depth and cherry-driven acidity are a breathtaking match, or pair it with a tagliata steak with rosemary and sea salt for a deeply classic Tuscan pairing. NEW: Altesino helped pioneer the single-vineyard approach to Brunello back in the 1970s, and this bottling still carries that inventive streak. Ripe cherry and blackberry bring real intensity. Silky tannin gives it a polished feel built for the long haul. Toasted hazelnut surfaces at the very last. A tagliata steak or beef roast would be the right occasion for it. Innovation in Montalcino usually takes decades to prove itself, and this one already has.

Brunello Di Montalcino food pairings: Tagliata steak, pappardelle with wild boar ragu, beef roast.

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This Altesino Brunello Di Montalcino 2021 was reviewed on October 24, 2026 by Natalie MacLean

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Please note that our reviews are based on a variety of sources: samples sent to our team, those we purchase in store, tasting events, those tasted in restaurants and while traveling domestically and internationally.