2019 Brunello di Montalcino, Ciliegio, La Magia, Tuscany, Italy
Critics reviews
A dusting of cedary spice, dried roses, cloves and red currants wafts up from the darkly alluring 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Ciliegio. This is profoundly textural and bassy, with a core of mineral-laden red berry fruit and orange motivated by brisk acidity. It finishes long and structured, leaving a salty flourish lingering with traces of tart cranberry and edgy tannins. It's simply stunning. The Ciliegio hails from a plot of vines planted in 1974 in sandy clay and galesto soils.
Drink 2026 - 2044
Eric Guido, Vinous (November 2023)
Deep ruby. A lifted, enticing nose of minty oak and balsamic raspberry. Lots of oak on the palate, but it fits the raspberry and cherry fruit seamlessly. Tangy acidity and cracking tannins pushing the raspberry fruit on the finish. Sensuous and endlessly long and with an elegant palate weight. This still needs a couple more years in bottle.
Drink 2026 - 2038
Walter Speller, JancisRobinson.com (October 2023)
A certified organic wine, the La Magia 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Ciliegio is exceptionally fresh and punchy with lifted fruit sensations of redcurrant, candied cherry, grenadine, rose hip and tart cranberry. The tannins are firm, but the wine relaxes to a glossy mid-weight feel. This is a versatile and accessible Brunello that could pair with a wide range of your favorite foods thanks to its balanced acidity.
Drink 2025 - 2038
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate (December 2023)
Crunchy orange zest and vibrant red-fruit notes of raspberries and red cherries, followed by a mix of red and purple flowers. Medium-bodied with chewy yet relatively fine tannins and crisp acidity. Zesty and delightful. From organically grown grapes.
Drink now or hold
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (September 2023)
Made from a selection of the estate’s oldest vines, Ciliegio matures in French oak tonneaux, of which 80% are new. The 2019 vintage absorbs this well, starting with a rather striking mix of pine, vanilla, mint and rosemary. Balsamic herbs repeat on the palate where long, ripe tannins melt seamlessly into spiced wild red forest berries. Amply concentrated with lovely fruit purity and sophisticated structure. Nevertheless, this will need a couple of years to fully integrate. Less than 2,500 bottles produced.
Drink 2026 - 2038
Michaela Morris, Decanter (November 2023)
Made with 45-year vines situated 400-450m above sea level, fermented and aged in French oak, this opens with aromas of coconut, roasted coffee bean, forest floor and exotic black spice. The aromas carry over to the firm palate along with vanilla, prune and blood orange but it’s shy on fruit richness. Grainy tannins leave a grippy finish.
Kerin O'Keefe, KerinOKeefe.com (November 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
This is “Le Grand Vin de La Màgia”. The wine hails from Fabian’s most prized vineyard with its eponymous ancient cherry tree, surrounded by 3.5 hectares of 45+-year-old vines. 2,137 bottles were produced in 2019, close to the maximum that can be reached for this plot, owing no small thanks to the outstanding growing conditions of the vintage. After a lengthy 40-day maceration on skins, the wine sees 36 months in 500l French tonneaux (80% new/20% second use). The nose is profoundly complex – sweet black cherry alongside earthy bass notes, with defined dark berry fruit and sanguinello that flow across the palate with gloss and silk.
Drink 2025 - 2040+
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