In case you’ve been hiding under a rock, the 2019 vintage in Montalcino produced some amazing wines! We’ve been impressed across the board, but have been, nonetheless, buying them very selectively. We’re looking for wines that show more than just raw power and big tannins.

"2019 is a year where the entire region excelled, from southwest to east and northeast to west. Frankly stated, finding a 2019 that doesn’t show remarkable balance, vivid fruit and freshness is a difficult task. In my opinion, this is always a mark of a great year. The highs are exceptionally high, and the lows are few and far between. What’s more, this is a year where many lesser wines excelled, making picking out a 2019 Brunello a relatively easy affair." - Eric Guido, Vinous, November 2023

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2019 Tenuta di Sesta Brunello di Montalcino

Regular Price $55.00, Ours is $39.99

Tenuta di Sesta is one of Montalcino’s oldest family wineries, planting their first vines way back in 1850. It is owned by the Ciacci family, a branch of the same Ciacci Piccolomini family who own their eponymously-named neighbor in Castelnuovo dell’Abate. Located adjacent to the mediaeval Sesta church in the southern quadrant of the appellation, this is as traditional a winery as you will find in the region. As was the case when vines were first planted on this estate in 1850, the brothers Ciacci still farm their estate sustainably and, in the cellar, have stubbornly rejected employing the more fashionable extractive techniques and aging in small oak barriques in favor of traditional, slower fermentations and longer periods in old Slavonian casks. This stringent adherence to the old ways has served this property well over the recent string of warmer harvests as their wines have remained sleeker, more elegant and more complex than some of the larger boned, ‘chocolate milkshake’ Brunellos we’ve tasted recently. That’s not to say that the 2019 Sesta Brunello is on the lighter side, it’s not! But we love the way the pure, slightly herbal Sangiovese flavors are framed by its really nice, fresh acidity. Middleweight and complete, this is an extremely lovely 2019, even though I’d wait another six months or a year to allow its young Brunello tannins to better fold into the wine. Still, with decanting, it will, even now, be an excellent partner to your next bistecca. Save for another ten years and congratulate yourself for finding the best deal in Brunello we’ve seen from the vintage.

Wine Advocate: The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino is a wine of medium-rich texture and lovely red and purple fruit aromas with elderberry and something much softer like Morello cherry. Those ripe and concentrated flavors give depth and volume to this wine, yet it also shows the heightened acidic freshness that Sangiovese delivers so well, and some chalky minimality. The tannins are yielding and not quite approachable, but they're almost there. This wine sees 30 months in Slavonian oak…. 94 points

James Suckling: Redcurrants and wild strawberries followed by intense herbal and green notes of tomato leaves and thyme. Creamy and round-textured followed by firm and structured tannins. Excellent length of finish with a hint of citrus blossom in the aftertaste. Pure and crunchy. Better after 2029. 95 points

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Sesta is very well known for its iconic Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino, but they also make an extremely tasty IGT from a site called Poggio d’Arna. Made from Cabernet Franc (40%), Merlot (40%) and Sangiovese (20%) all grown on a steep slope at about 300 meters in the southern part of the appellation, between Sant'Angelo in Colle and Castelnuovo dell'Abate, close to the well-known Romanesque abbey of Sant'Antimo. Poggio d’Arna is aged in small Slovenian oak casks for six months to smooth out its edges, but it’s still a tightly wound, flavor-packed juicy Tuscan red that shows just how well the once-unthinkable Merlot and Cab Franc grapes can ripen in the middle of prime Sangiovese territory. The 20% Sangio in the blend, though, is unmistakable. It adds a smoky dried-herby sort of spice and a dash of white pepper to an otherwise deep and glossy red with plush, plummy flavors and a pleasantly round, satisfying palate that finishes with some nice oomph. This is an awful lot of character for $20! Like many of these unique Tuscan IGTs, maybe it’s not so un-Super after all…

Wine Advocate: The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino is a wine of medium-rich texture and lovely red and purple fruit aromas with elderberry and something much softer like Morello cherry. Those ripe and concentrated flavors give depth and volume to this wine, yet it also shows the heightened acidic freshness that Sangiovese delivers so well, and some chalky minimality. The tannins are yielding and not quite approachable, but they're almost there. This wine sees 30 months in Slavonian oak. 94 points

James Suckling: Redcurrants and wild strawberries followed by intense herbal and green notes of tomato leaves and thyme. Creamy and round-textured followed by firm and structured tannins. Excellent length of finish with a hint of citrus blossom in the aftertaste. Pure and crunchy. Better after 2029. 95 points