96 Points The Wine Independent - This 2018 Il Marroneto Brunello di Montalcino has lifted bright floral aromas of crushed roses and balsamic notes. It is much more fragrant than the 2017 for example. The nose is hedonistic and intoxicating with lifted red cherry fragrant rose and spice. The palate has lots of vivid acidity on the finish with a with a vibrant juicy mid palate. There is not huge weight in the middle but plenty of tannins and acidity giving it a fine backbone and there is such a beautiful range of aromas and flavors.
95 Points Vinous - There’s a radiance to the 2018 Brunello di Montalcino that makes it a total pleasure to taste today as sweet exotic spices come together with dried black cherries dusty flowers and hints of clove. This is pure pleasure on the palate displaying both an opulence of fruit yet also total poise and refinement as sour berries find an energizing lift from juicy acidity. The 2018 doesn’t miss a beat tapering off with rounded tannins while lingering on the palate for well up to a minute with an energizing burst of citrus nuances of sweet rose and licorice. This is already so pretty today yet it also possesses the balanced structure to mature beautifully which isn’t found in many Brunello of this vintage. What a darling. - By Eric Guido on October 2022 How does Alessandro Mori and the team at Il Marroneto do it? Vintage after vintage this portfolio stands out for its depths of vividly pure fruit energy character balance and the silkiest of tannins that make them both approachable in their youth and able to mature for decades. The 2018s are no different. Are these the greatest wines to ever be bottled by the estate? No. Will they mature at a snail's pace and make glorious old bones one day? Maybe only Madonna delle Grazie. Anyway these 2018s will thrill Brunello tasters and lovers for many years to come. So what makes them different besides Alessandro Mori seeming to impart his passionate personality into the wines? For one thing it’s the terroir. The Madonna delle Grazie vineyard sits at 400 meters on the steep north hill of Montalcino literally right below the castle town facing north. Alessandro Mori explained that we are standing on a beach? Meaning that when the region was encompassed by a large ancient sea that deposited clay and rocks found throughout most of the north Madonna delle Grazie was the beach that stood above the water line which imparted this location with sandier soils laced with marine fossils and minerals. The vineyards that feed Mori’s estate Brunello are further down the hill with different soils. That’s where the human aspect comes into play as the separate lots resting in the Il Marroneto cellar are judged for their potential and individuality to one day be blended declassified or even elevated to Riserva. As for 2018 when I asked about the challenges Alessandro Mori’s first response was ?Who said it was challenging? That’s when location comes into play; with ventilating winds from the north to offset the humidity well-draining soils and two weeks of perfect weather up to harvest it’s easy to see why ?challenging? isn’t the word he would use. However these are the wines Il Marroneto made in 2018 ? with about a 15% reduction in production more finessed and delicate in style than usual ? yet completely irresistible.
95 Points Stephen Tanzer - Crunchy vibrant energetic dynamic this expression Made in Montalcino is lively and passionate showing itself with notes of blood orange lemon peel jasmine lime cumin gardenias and elderflowers. The very subtle cherries in the background light up the secondary scene imprinting character. Medium bodied perfectly matured tannins and a remarkably classic finale. Better from 2024.
95 Points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate - Alessandro Mori's Il Marroneto 2018 Brunello di Montalcino opens to a spicy bouquet with hints of cumin and white pepper that fold seamlessly into bright cherry blueberry and cassis. The trick to this wine is balance as no one side pulls stronger than the other. More importantly this Brunello still has life and vibrant energy despite 39 months of aging in oak casks. Precisely because this bottle tastes so good now I see little reason to wait further. This 21470-bottle release is a delight. Alessandro Mori has once again created one of my favorite wines of the vintage although I would also classify his new releases including the 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Madonna delle Grazie as more accessible and ready-to-drink overall. His vineyard is in the northern part of the appellation in a cool hilly spot with sandy soils and marine sediments.
94 Points Jeb Dunnuck - The 2018 Brunello Di Montalcino pours a deep and youthful ruby hue. It is highly expressive with medicinal herbs sour black cherry leather clove and burnt orange. Medium to full-bodied with tangy acidity and ripe yet angular tannins it has a complex profile with currant dried flowers and dusty saline earth. It is wound up and needs time but
About
Alessandro Mori’s Il Marroneto estate is situated just north of town at 400 meters of altitude in a cooler, steeply-sloped microclimate with soils of pebble rich limestone and galestro that give wines of precision, finesse and elegance.
This highly traditional estate came into being out of the purchase of a property by Giuseppe Mori in 1974. Vines were planted at that time, but additional vines were planted in 1975 and 1977 and in the early 1980s. Guiseppe’s sons Alessandro and Andrea arrived in 1980 at the same time the first vintage Brunello was made, but wine was not really commercially produced until 1994, when Alessandro gave up his career as a lawyer to focus on winemaking full time.
Il Marroneto is a small estate from which three wines are made – a Rosso and a Brunello, both made from vineyards acquired in 1998 at about 250 meters, and the Madonna delle Grazie bottling, which comes from the original 1.6 hectare vineyard at higher altitude planted by Alessandro’s father in 1974 and named after the local eleventh century church.
Steadfastly old school in their production methods, with aging in large French and Slavonian oak casks, Il Marroneto’s Brunellos are built to last, with tannins that need some time to soften. Patience is rewarded, however, with wines that have sophisticated fruit profiles, real elegance and a brightness that reflects the vineyards’ cooler location north of the town.
The wines have an established following among those looking for traditionally made Brunellos.
