Molino della Suga house spotlight
Trattoria Da Burde presents Molino della Suga, the Bonacchi family's Montalcino house at the old mill north of Montosoli, the same estate behind this 2017 Brunello Riserva.
2017 Molino della Suga Brunello di Montalcino 'Riserva' DOCG Tuscany, Italy
Ivan Misuri's Montosoli-side Brunello Riserva, International Wine Report 93, a 2017 you can open at thirty-nine dollars.
The 2017 Molino della Suga Riserva is 100 percent Sangiovese Grosso from the Bonacchi mill north of Montosoli: red berries, plum, licorice, cardamom, and a silky, spice-tinged close, now $39.
A Riserva from the old mill, not leftover annata in a fancy label
Molino della Suga is the Bonacchi family's Montalcino jewel, a 16th-century mill they bought from the Cinelli Colombini in 2001 at the northern foot of Montosoli. Ivan Misuri has made the wines since 2007. The 2017 Riserva is the extra-aged Sangiovese: steel ferment, then large oak, barrique, and tonneaux, then bottle. International Wine Report 93: pretty red berries and plums, spices, earthy minerals, licorice, freshly cut floral, medium-bodied, silky texture, a long spice-tinged finish, evolve over the next decade. James Suckling 92: savory spice, cardamom, dried cranberries, dried oysters, herbs, firm fine tannins, a soft salty savory finish. This is the bottle that puts a Montosoli-side Riserva on a table at thirty-nine dollars.
The house
Four generations of Bonacchi. Andrea Bonacchi bought the mill in 2001. Ivan Misuri, Premio Gambelli, has been the enologist since 2007.
The wine
100% Sangiovese Grosso. Riserva aging beyond the annata. Steel ferment, then botti, barrique, and tonneaux.
The scores
International Wine Report 93. James Suckling 92. A fine 2017 that still has a decade.
The drinker
Red berry and licorice first. Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. Flank steak or truffle risotto.
Red berry and plum, then licorice, cardamom, and salt
IWR found red berries and plums accented with spices, earthy minerals, licorice, and freshly cut floral, a lovely silky texture, a long spice-tinged finish. Suckling found attractive savory spice, cardamom, dried cranberries, dried oysters, and herbs, full-bodied, firm fine tannins, a soft salty savory finish. Drink or hold.
A warm, dry Brunello year. The northern Montosoli side kept floral lift and a saline line instead of turning the Riserva into jam. It is in the drink-now-through-early-2030s window.
Red berries, plum, dried cranberry, licorice, cardamom, cut flowers, herbs.
Medium to full, silky then firm fine tannin, Riserva oak, savory salt.
Spice, minerals, length. Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F.
Steel for fruit, then a mix of large oak and smaller barrels for the Riserva frame
Misuri ferments Sangiovese in stainless with temperature control, then raises the Riserva across large oak, barrique, and tonneaux before bottle. The mill cellar sits north of Montosoli, cooler than the southern slopes. The point is red fruit, licorice, and a salty close, not a new-oak costume.
Brunello Riserva law plus extra time in mixed oak. About 50,000 bottles of Brunello in a normal year at the estate, the Riserva a tighter cut.
Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. Flank steak or a truffle risotto.
A 16th-century mill, then a Pistoia family that wanted Brunello
Molino della Suga is named for the mill. The Bonacchi family turned it into their Montalcino flagship.
The Bonacchis come from Quarrata, four generations in Tuscan wine. In 2001 they bought 11 hectares and a small cellar from the Cinelli Colombini.
The vineyard has nearly tripled. The mill has apartments and a cellar that now holds botti and steel. Ivan Misuri arrived in 2007.
The 2017 Riserva is that project in a warm year: red berry, licorice, salt, and a Brunello priced for dinner.
Steak in a wine sauce, or a white-tablecloth risotto
Riserva tannin wants browned beef or truffle umami. Flank steak in shallot-red wine sauce is the weeknight plate. Risotto is the slower one.
Two plates. One flank steak with shallot-red wine sauce. One truffle risotto. Both can take Molino della Suga tannin.
Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. Large stems. Air is for berry, licorice, and salt.
Flank Steaks with Shallot-Red Wine Sauce
A skillet steak and a shallot wine sauce. The Riserva's classic landing.
Why it works: Beef fat meets fine tannin. Reduced wine and shallot echo plum, licorice, and spice.
View Recipe for flank steaks with shallot-red wine sauce (opens in a new tab)
Fresh Truffle Risotto (Risotto al Tartufo)
Butter, rice, and shaved truffle when the Brunello is the whole table wine.
Why it works: Umami and fat soften silky tannin. Earth and floral lift echo minerals, cardamom, and salt.
View Recipe for fresh truffle risotto (opens in a new tab)Put this Molino della Suga Riserva in the cart
Bonacchi, Montosoli-side mill, International Wine Report 93. Thirty-nine dollars.
Put it in the cart. This is the Molino della Suga Riserva for a table that wants Montalcino, not a leftover annata slogan.
