Staff Notes:

"The undeniably elegant 2020 Brunello di Montalcino Madonna delle Grazie is amazingly fresh and vibrant on the nose, cascading from the glass with a burst of crushed cherries, rose petals, blood oranges and cloves. This displays exceptional elegance and grace, soothing the palate with its silken feel and ripe red and blue fruits. Hints of sour citrus add contrast, a mix of iron-borne minerals and fine tannins that mount toward the close. A saturation of primary concentration remains, offset by residual acidity as this finishes structured and impossibly long, leaving a sour cherry tinge and masses of violet pastille. The 2020 is a showboat yet complex and harmonious from start to finish. It's easily one of the absolute top wines of the vintage." 98, Eric Guido, Vinous, Nov 2024  

“This soars out of the glass with heady scents of violet, rose and lilac, eventually joined by flecks of pepper, potting soil and roasted chestnuts, yet the palate is almost stubbornly closed as the tannins clutch assertively to a brooding core of dark cherry. Acidity is just as concentrated as the fruit, and next to the estate’s classic Brunello, the single-vineyard Madonna delle Grazie bottling demonstrates more density and volume, and it will need even longer in the cellar. Next year, Il Marroneto will come out with a 2020 Riserva, only the estate’s second ever (2013 being the first). Based on the performance of these two wines, the decision seems highly justified.” 97, Michaela Morris, Decanter, Nov 2024 

“The first of three vineyard selections, the 2020 Brunello Di Montalcino Madonna Delle Grazie is long and expansive through the palate. It offers ample structure and energy through an exquisitely concentrated and long finish. At this stage, there is notable reduction, and the wine is still working nearly three years later. This was my first time visiting the Il Marroneto estate, and everything I tasted there was from barrels, led by winemaker Alessandro Mori’s son, Iacopo, while the 2018s were tasted from bottle back home in New York. The winery was established in 1974, when Alessandro’s father, who was originally from Siena, was looking to create a small winery. He was encouraged by a priest in Montalcino to take a look at a church property on the northern side of the town, with its exposition overlooking Siena, and found the home for his winery. Today, the Mori family’s approach to the vineyard and the winery remains traditional in that they work by more natural methods of temperature control, they do not implement green harvesting of the vines, and they do not work the soil, looking for nature itself to create its selection. The ground here is 75% sand, the ideal soil for Sangiovese. Today they own eight hectares of vineyard, with their prime holdings just outside the winery, the two hectares that make up Modanna delle Grazie, at 440 meters above sea level. All of their vineyards have a northern exposition, which is important for the cold winds in the early evening and through the night.” 95-98, Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck, Mar 2023