2018 Brunello di Montalcino, Ciliegio, La Magia, Tuscany, Italy
Critics reviews
The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Ciliegio impresses from the first tilt of the glass as a wave of balsamic spice, mentholated herbs, and rich cherry sauce overcomes the senses. This is pure elegance on the palate, silky to the core, and with ripe red fruits accelerated by vibrant acidity. A pretty inner sweetness emerges through the finish, nicely contrasting the fine tannins that tug at the cheeks as inner violet and rose tones resonate on and on. This dark beauty has a bright future ahead of it.
Drink 2025 - 2033
Eric Guido, Vinous.com (December 2022)
Deep ruby with orange rim. Savoury spice from the oak and a little exotic. Still closed on the fruit. Gorgeous sour cherry and raspberry intermingle with complex, sweet oak. Lots of firm tannins that are a little upfront right now, but this is still embryonic. Closes up and needs much more time.
Drink 2024 - 2034
Walter Speller, JancisRobinson.com (December 2022)
Ciliegio is a limited production of 1,566 bottles.
A certified organic wine, the La Magia 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Ciliegio is a bright and punchy red wine with ripe cherry, raspberry, cassis, cola, white licorice and crushed limestone. The aromas are fine and delicate, but assembled as one, the wine reveals good intensity and a very clean, direct delivery. On the palate, it shows a mid-weight texture with fine tannins and fresh acidity.
Drink 2025 - 2038
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate (March 2023)
Rich and perfumed nose of blueberries, ripe cherries, violets, sandalwood and mocha. Evolves to peaches and cloves. Full body with ripe, broad tannins. Dense and compact while retaining a clarity and brightness to the fruit. From organically grown grapes.
Better after 2025
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (December 2022)
La Màgia’s Ciliegio selection focuses on the estate’s oldest plot, which is graced by a significant cherry tree. The vines are now well into their fifth decade. As usual at this wine’s early stage, the new oak influence is pronounced. Heady scents of nutmeg, cedar, clove and vanilla contrast the shy fruit suggestive of cherry. It's substantially structured with polished tannins, but I just question if there is sufficient fruit to ride this out. Merits a revisit after another year in bottle.
Michaela Morris, Decanter.com (November 2022)
The third wine from La Magia is the 2018 Brunello Di Montalcino Ciliegio, which takes things up a notch and is forward with toasted oak spice, currant, tobacco, and leather. It is full on the palate and meaty with black cherry, incense, vanilla bean, and forest floor. Its ripe and ample tannin structure is well-balanced, and it is long with fruit and spice. A polished style for sure, it is impressive and should be cellared a few more years.
Drink 2026 - 2046
Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck.com (March 2023)
About this WINE
La Màgia
The Schwarz family have owned La Màgia since the mid-1970s. Originally from Alto Adige, they were among the first Brunello producers to estate-bottle their wines. This organic estate is farmed by second-generation Fabian; born in Montalcino, he succeeded his father in 2005. He has since redefined the estate’s direction, continuing to realise the potential of this hallowed site.
The farm sits high above the Abbey of Sant’Animo – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – and faces south-east towards Mount Amiata. The exposure to the cold mountain winds, morning sun exposition and altitude of 400-450 metres provide a cooler microclimate, adding to the freshness, tension and energy in the wines – even in a warm vintage like ’17.
Brunello di Montalcino
Along with Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino is Tuscany's most famous DOCG and the region's boldest expression of Sangiovese. Located 30 miles south of Siena with the hilltop town of Montalcino as its epicentre, its 2,000 hectares of vines are naturally delimited by the Orcia, Asso and Ombrone valleys. Brunello is the local name for the Sangiovese Grosso clone from which Brunello di Montalcino should be made in purezza (ie 100 percent).
The Brunello di Montalcino DOCG has a whale-like shape: at its head, at 661 metres above sea level on ancient, stony galestro soils facing east and southeast lies the town of Montalcino, where the DOC was founded. As you follow the spine south towards the tail, the vineyards lose altitude – those around Colle Sant'Angelo are at 250 metres – while the soils become richer with iron and clay. Further east, in the shadow of the 1,734 metre Mont'Amiata lies the village of Castelnuovo dell'Abate where the vineyards are strewn with a rich mix of galestro, granitic, volcanic, clay and schist soil types.
Historically, the zone is one of Tuscany's youngest. First praised in 1550 by Leandro Alberti for the quality of its wines, it was Tenuta Il Greppo who bottled the inaugural Brunello di Montalcino in 1888. By 1929, the region had 925 hectares of vines and 1,243 hectares of mixed crops, while in 1932 it was decreed that only those wines made and bottled within the commune could be labelled as Brunello di Montalcino. Since then, the number of producers has risen from 11 in 1960 to 230 in 2006, while over the same period the vineyards have expanded from 1,000 hectares to 12,000. The region earned its DOC in 1966, and was upgraded to DOCG in 1980.
Brunello di Montalcino cannot be released for sale until five years after the harvest, or six years in the case of Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. During this time the wines should be aged for at least two years in oak, followed by at least four months in bottle (six months for Riservas); maximum yields are 55 hl/ha.
Rosso di Montalcino is declassified Brunello di Montalcino, released for sale 18 months after the harvest.
Recommended producers: Costanti, Fuligni, Lisini, San Giuseppe, Soldera, Cerbaiona
Sangiovese
A black grape widely grown in Central Italy and the main component of Chianti and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano as well as being the sole permitted grape for the famed Brunello di Montalcino.
It is a high yielding, late ripening grape that performs best on well-drained calcareous soils on south-facing hillsides. For years it was blighted by poor clonal selection and massive overcropping - however since the 1980s the quality of Sangiovese-based wines has rocketed upwards and they are now some of the most sought after in the world.
It produces wines with pronounced tannins and acidity, though not always with great depth of colour, and its character can vary from farmyard/leather nuances through to essence of red cherries and plums. In the 1960s the advent of Super Tuscans saw bottlings of 100% Sangiovese wines, as well as the introduction of Sangiovese/Cabernet Sauvignon blends, the most famous being Tignanello.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
1,080 bottles produced.
In the historic heart of the estate, an ancient cherry trees stands surrounded by the oldest vines, producing the estate’s most expressive Sangiovese. After harvest, the grapes have a long, 40-day maceration on skins, followed by 36 months in French tonneau, 80% of which is new.
The wine is heady and evocative, even in a lighter vintage as ’18: a cloak of purple plum fruits embroidered with glazed cherries, floral details and rocky weight, woven together with the molten chew of sweet salty smoked pancetta – so typical of this prized cru. There is mineral energy and framed glossy oak. Gleaming, lucid and lighter than previous releases, but by no means less complex or age-worthy.
Drink 2024 - 2040
Berry Bros. & Rudd
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