This red wine is produced since 1892 and was awarded many times for its quality. This wine is the “heart” of our production and it is made with 100% Sangiovese grapes from our best vineyards in Montalcino. Fattoria dei Barbi is located in the heart of the “hill” of Montalcino. The wine Brunello di Montalcino is born here.We occupy the southern part, with soils that mix a majority of marleswith a minor percentage of clay and eocenic sands. We are protected from the northern winds by the hill of Montalcino and from the hot winds by the Mount Amiata. This situation creates an uniform climate, sunny and dry, which favours the production of long ageing wines.
Grapes Sangiovese 100%.
Vineyards Property of Fattoria dei Barbi, located in the district of Montalcino and registered for Brunello di Montalcino production. Soil: marl, alberese limestone. Altitude: 300-500 mt slm. Average Age: grape vines planted between 1975 and 2017. Orientation: South. Vine Training System: Cordone libero. Vine Stock per Hectar: 5.000. Yield per Hectar: 65 ql.
The Year 2018 The beginning of the season was characterized by a mild January and a colder February with northern winds. Both months were marked by abundant rains and occasionally by snow, which was helpful for the water supply. The Spring was still very rainy with temperatures higher than average. The Summer was dryer and very hot in the second half of August. A few thunderstorms at the beginning of September refreshed the temperature and helped the grapes to reach a good and balanced maturation, even if anticipated. The harvest took place from September 17th until the 29th.
Vinification Before the fermentation the grapes were subjected to a cold pre-fermentative maceration which consists in cooling the grapes at a temperature of 16° C in an environment protected by CO². This process increases the extraction of polyphenols and aroma compounds. The regular alcoholic fermentation followed and lasted 16/17 days at a controlled temperature of 27°-28°C. After the racking and the malolactic fermentation the wine aged in small-medium size oak barrels (2,25 – 15 hl) for the first months. Later it completed the aging in larger oak barrels, for a total period of two years and then is bottled at least 4 months before the release.
Chemical analysis Alcohol 14.50 % – Total Acidity 5.8 g/l – Residual sugars < 0.5 g/l – pH 3,44.
Sensory analysis Colour: brilliant and intense ruby red. Bouquet: small red berries, rosehip, elderflower, eucalyptus, scents of mint and mediterranean herbs. Taste: large sip, slender and prolonged, the tannins are well integrated. Good persistence.
Food Combination Perfect for important dishes, roasted or grilled red meats, game, venison, stewed wild boar. Excellent with mature cheeses.
Serving Temperature 18°C.
Capacity of Ageing 15-50 years.
Conservation and Storage Keep the bottle horizontally in a dark place at a temperature of 12°-14°C.
Format wine Bordeaux style bottle 0.75 Lt, Half bottle 0.35 Lt and Magnum bottle 1.5 Lt in individual wooden box.
Enviromental Labeling
Issue: 2023
Score: 93/100
Though vibrant and packed with intense raspberry, cherry, hibiscus and earth flavors, this red is also solidly built, with dense tannins leaving a strong grip on the long, crisp finish. This has plenty to like; just be patient. Best from 2026 through 2045.
Bruce Sanderson
Issue: November 29, 2022
Score: 93/100
This has an intense nose of incense, toasted walnuts, mocha, maraschino cherries and some menthol. Full-bodied yet remains agile with firm, gently chewy tannins and bright acidity. Try in 2025.
James Suckling
Issue: March 9, 2023
Score: 93/100
Packaged with its dark blue label. the 2018 Brunello di Montalcino displays a very specific character that I always recognize in this wine. The house style is a callout to local winemaking tradition in which there is a slightly wild side to the cherry fruit and forest floor aromas. The oak spice is smoothly integrated into the medium-weight texture, and there is earthy spice and root at the back. The wine closes with freshness, bitter plum and rusty metal. This is a 157,000-bottle release. Drink Date 2025-2038.
Monica Larner
Issue: December 2022
Score: 92/100
The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino lifts from the glass with an earth-inspired blend of crushed dried roses, cedar box and balsamic-tinged cherry. This is soft and round on the palate, with liquid violet florals and lavender giving way to ripe wild berries. The 2018 leaves a touch of fine tannins while finishing with admirable length, as a potent staining of black raspberry slowly fades. There’s excellent concentration here and a balanced structure that should promote medium-term cellaring. Drinking Window 2025 – 2033. Tasted: October 2022
Eric Guido
Issue: December 12, 2022
Score: 17+/20
Lustrous ruby with orange tinges. Focused, concentrated fruit on the nose. Impressive balance between suave, almost minty cherry fruit, coating tannins and supple acidity. A pretty whole and, while this can be approached already, ideally it should be allowed more time. Drink 2023-2032.
Walter Speller
Issue: February 8, 2023
Score: 91/100 Top-value Brunello di Montalcino 2018: the 10 to buy
Despite a fully garnet hue, the nose is vibrant and floral scented with mint and tarragon. Notes of chestnut give this earthy context on the palate – a pleasant contrast to sweet tangy berries. Clean fruit is heightened by mouthwatering acidity, though the tannins are a tad dry. Spreading out over Manta Icino’s southeastern flank, the Barbi estate assembles this from multiple plots of ‘middle-aged’ vines – between 12 to 25 years old. Drinking Window: 2023 – 2029.
Michaela Morris
Issue: November 2022
Score: 92/100
This full-bodied red has aromas recalling dark spice, camphor, new leather and wild rose. Youthfullyaustere, the linear offers red cherry, orange zest and star anise framed in tightly wound, fine-grained tannins and vibrant acidity. Drink 2025–2033. 14.5% abv. Kerin O’Keefe November 2022©kerinokeefe.com
Kerin O’Keefe
Issue: September 2023
Score:
Good red. Open-knit, easygoing and approachable aromas and flavours of herbs and red fruit, complemented by earthtones. Clean and fresh on the spicy, building tannic finish. In keeping with the vintage’s characteristics, this is not a monster of complexity but is suave and well-balanced. Drinking window: 2027-2032.
Ian D’Agata
Issue: March 6, 2023
Score: 91/100
Ripe aromas of balsamic and black cherry emerge from the 2018 Brunello Di Montalcino, with purple flowers, tarry earth, and a bit of blue fruit as well. Typical of the 2018s, it has full body, but with a softer texture and more subtle tannin structure. Blackberry, cedar, and fresh soil all come together with gentle richness in this attractive wine, which might be best suited for immediate gratification. Drink 2023-2030.
Audrey Frick
Issue: February 6, 2023
Score: 92/100
Medium ruby red in colour. Red rose petal, orange zest and essence of lavender. Red cherry, raspberry, balsamic notes, star anise, wild strawberry and dewberry. Saline savouriness. Massy and fleshy. Integrated acidity and tannins, Medium length.
Tony Wood
Issue: March 1, 2023
Score: 92/100
Barbi’s is a Brunello interpretation of yet another diplomatic and democratic vintage, structured much like 2016 and yet more openly getable like 2015. There seems little connection to 2017 but only because that vintage was such an outlier. In fact the lineage is in tact and as it is well known, a Barbi wine is tethered to history and tradition as almost no Montalcino other. The real, direct, honest, correct and purposed deal. Every time out. Drink 2023-2028. Tasted November 2022.
Michael Godel
Issue: March 1, 2023
Score: 92/100
Fine, open, savoury, pot-pourri inflect, old school style Brunello in the Barbi style, stylish, firm but not unyielding, with fine, succulent acids and overall good structure in the vintage to be sure. Length and depth are very good. Solid, reliable, classic. Drink from 2024-2030. Tasted November 2022.
John Szabo, MS
Issue: July 2023
Score: 90.3/100
Ruby to pink. Refined, clean, mineral, herbal nose, with small red fruits, sweet tobacco, and dried roses. Medium- to full-bodied, well-balanced palate, with sweet fruit, refined, noble tannins, and a long, lively, mineral finish. 93 + Top Wines
Bruno Besa
Deep, dark red-black. No longer opaque, but one of the most deeply colored wines in the tasting. Ample plum fruits here, and these are more primary and less evolved than for many of the wines. Spicy, round, and exuberant, with a generous palate promised. That’s what you get: big, bustling, buxom Brunello, packed with energetic, bear-cub-like fruit, rolling and wrestling its way through your mouth. Super-fun—but it lingers and lasts in the mouth, too, and then you get a sense of what may be on offer with time. Grand generosity here. 91
Andrew Jefford
The nose is simple and straightforward, with some red and black fruit and a touch of spicy oak. On the palate, the fruit reveals a slightly green edge and the tannins are dusty and brittle. This would have been better in a flight of Rosso rather than Brunello. 87
Michael Palij MW
Issue: December 7, 2023
The vineyards and land surrounding Fattoria dei Barbi have been owned by the Cinelli Colombini family since 1352. They have produced Brunello since 1892 and were among the first wineries to export Brunello to Asia and the Americas. Today the winery is under the command of Stefano Cinelli Colombini, who oversees the production of his family’s quality wine. The 2018 is garnet ruby colored with aromas of black raspberry, black plum, and tobacco leaf and has flavors of cherry, cranberry, and Mission fig enveloped in generous, round tannins.
Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen
Issue: September 6,2023
Score: 92/100
FATTORIA DEI BARBI, BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO DOCG 2018. Barbi, one of the area’s most historical names, is just southeast of Montalcino town. It has one of the largest areas under vine in the appellation, with an array of soils and altitudes (300-500m asl) and mostly southerly aspects. It wines have a fitting classicism. Here the nose displays that characteristic blend of red cherry with a hint of tar and dried thyme. It becomes markedly tarrier on the attack with a billowing smokiness that doesn’t mask the potency of marasca cherry fruit. The palate feels quite warm, with acidity not quite bringing the freshness needed to cleanse it. The tannins are gravelly and loose, only gaining cohesiveness on the finish.
Sara Heller MW
CORE 92
TASTED ON 24/05/2023
TASTED BY Sarah Heller MW Montalcino
BOTTLE SIZE 75cl
GRAPE VARIETIES Sangiovese (100%)
COLOUR Red
WINE STYLE Still
ALCOHOL 14.50%
COUNTRY Italy
REGION Tuscany
SUB-REGION Brunello di Montalcino DOCG
Issue: February 2023
Score: 89/100
When to drink: 2024 to 2036
Issue: March 7, 2023
Score: 92/100
Yair Kornblum Koren
Issue: February 2023
Score: 91/100
Thomas Rydeberg
Tasted March 17, 2023
Score: 89/100
Leuchtendes, funkelndes Rubinrot. In der Nase erdig, nach Fasswürze, dunkle Noten, nach Leder, Lakritze und Brombeere. Am Gaumen betont griffig, mit weitmaschigem Tannin, vermisst seinen Zug, im hinteren Bereich, trocknend
Othmar Kiem & Simon Staffler
Issue: April 1, 2023
Score: 4
Fattoria dei Barbi Brunello di Montalcino 2018: Mørke bær, kirsebær, urter, fat. Fruktig, god syre, tørr, frisk og saftig ettersmak med fine tanniner.
Mona Haugen-Kind
Issue: April 3, 2023
Score: 88
Herbe, getrocknet-pflanzliche und ein wenig ledrige Nase nach überwiegend dunklen Beeren mit etwas mediterraner, teils dunkel-ätherischer Würze und einem Hauch Teer. Straffe, herbe, noch unentwickelte Frucht, nussige Fasstöne, ein Hauch Kaffee, präsentes, ein wenig trocknendes Tannin und merklicher Biss, bitterliche Kräuter am Gaumen, deutlich ätherische Noten, etwas Salz im Hintergrund, herber, etwas trocknender Abgang, wieder mit viel Biss. Trinkempfehlung: 2024-2029+. Zuletzt bewertet: 3. April 2023
Issue: October 18, 2022
Score: 95/100
From a winery run with the unmistakable ‘humanistic’ style of Stefano Cinelli Colombini, the heritage of the typology, a Brunello rich in sapidity. Pomegranate to the nose, with touches of laurel and rhubarb, density and tension to the mouthfeel, brackish-saline tannins and great persistence.
Luca Gardini
