Tuscany, Italy
Il Palazzone is a small, environmentally engaged producer of 500-1000 cases of Brunello di Montalcino annually. With vineyards in three areas of Montalcino, at different altitudes and exposures, the vineyard is able to bottle all the complimentary aspects of Montalcino terroir into its traditional style of Brunello.
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Il Palazzone Brunello di Montalcino 'Le Due Porte'
| SKU | 429302 |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Tuscany |
| Type | Red |
| Varietal | Sangiovese |
| Listing | Speculative |
| Case Config. | 6x750ml |
| Available In | BC |
Colour
Medium garnet.
Aroma
Immensely complex: ripe cherries but also dark berries, typical herbaceous notes, floral notes of violets but also balsamic notes. All in all the aromas have a certain freshness, like the cooling evening breezes drifting up from the valley below the Le Due Porte vineyard.
Flavour
The fruitiness of the berries repeat on the palate accompanied by a mouthwatering juiciness that balances the tannins and makes this wine very enjoyable, even when enjoyed in its youth. This wine is so elegant and distinguished that it is almost an understatement. It will age beautifully and reward us with more and more aromas as it comes into its power. The very long finish - and the hint of dark chocolate – are proof of that.
Food Pairing
Try a filet steak or venison cooked sous vide; or if you love seafood, try pairing with tuna tataki, just avoid anything too spicy.
More Info
Le Due Porte is the historical name of the vineyards that surround Il Palazzone's cellar, very close to the town of Montalcino. Vintage 2015 was the first bottling of Brunello made exclusively using fruit from this special vineyard. At an elevation of 540m above sea level budbreak is later here, often avoiding issues with late frosts and snow. Ripening is slow and constant. The soil profile preserves humidity; important when making a wine such as Brunello that does not receive irrigation. Le Due Porte is generally picked two weeks later than Il Palazzone's other vineyards, and is amongst the last in Montalcino to be harvested. The grapes develop organoleptic complexity from that extra hang-time and from the pronounced difference between day and night temperatures. In fact the altitude guarantees extreme thermal excursion even in hotter years which is wonderful for aromatic development.
Antonio Galloni's Vinous, Nov/2025
2021 -
"The 2021 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Le Due Porte is wonderfully lifted, airy and fresh, with a lovely blend of minty herbs and shavings of pine giving way to crushed blackberries and mentholated herbs. It soothes the senses with ripe red and blue fruits elevated by a core of cooling acidity as violet inner florals swirl throughout. A staining of primary concentration is framed by sweet tannins, finishing long, structured and beautifully balanced." - Eric Guido
James Suckling, Dec/2025
2021 -
"Delicate and toasty aromas of red cherries and dried flowers. Firm, tight, dusty tannins on the palate, with youthful style, good ripeness, crisp acidity and a tight finish. Medium-bodied."
Wine Enthusiast, Dec/2025
2020 -
"The nose is a double chocolate chip cookie joined by dried cherries, coffee, cinnamon and cloves. The palate brightens with cherries and raspberries, but the warm feeling lingers with citrus, nuts and more coffee. Taut tannins balance vibrant acid." - Danielle Callegari
Antonio Galloni's Vinous, Nov/2023
2020 -
"The 2020 Brunello di Montalcino Le Due Porte impresses with a classic bouquet of dried strawberries, cedar spice box, Tuscan dust and hints of worn leather. It's soft-textured and round, with a core of sour cherry and minerals, all guided by brisk acidity. A coating of fine-grained tannins remains as the 2020 finishes long and staining yet still fresh, leaving a sour cranberry concentration that slowly fades under an air of violet inner florals." - Eric Guido
James Suckling, Oct/2024
2020 -
"Quite sweet, slightly candied but polished fruit, focused on cherries and a hint of rhubarb. Medium body with orange character, crisp acidity and firm, chalky tannins. A juicy finish and good energy here, yet it needs time to integrate further. Best after 2025."
Antonio Galloni's Vinous, Nov/2023
2019 -
"The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Le Due Porte features a wild bouquet, blending lavender and white pepper with incense and dried strawberries. Seamlessly silky and cooling to the senses, it flows across the palate with ease, displaying masses of mineral-tinged red and blue fruits lifted by a stream of brilliant acidity. It's long, potent and classically structured, with a saturation of resonant wild berry fruit aromas and hints of exotic spices." - Eric Guido
Antonio Galloni's Vinous, Jun/2024
2019 -
"Opening up like a basket of freshly picked raspberries complemented by hints of clove, worn leather and dusty earth, the 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Le Due Porte slowly comes to life in the glass. This sweeps across the palate with soft and round textures while maintaining a lifted and finessed character throughout, as tart berries and hints of red plum saturate. It finishes classically dry and structured, leaving fine tannins and a pleasantly bitter tinge of sour cherries to linger on and on. This fantastic rendition of Le Due Porte is geared up for a long and lovely maturation." - Eric Guido
Wine Enthusiast, Mar/2025
2019 -
"A precise nose offers bing cherry, violets, crushed rocks, leather and espresso bean, before an equally intentional palate reiterates those notes, adding dark chocolate and raspberry compote. Fine grained tannins feel carefully placed." - Danielle Callegari
Kerin O'Keefe, Oct/2023
2018 -
"The fragrant 2018 Brunello Le Due Porte from Il Palazzone opens with heady scents of blue flower, graphite, camphor, wild berry and spice. Made from grapes hailing from the Le Due Porte vineyard situated 540m above sea level, on the elegantly structured palate, taut, fine-grained tannins and bright acidity accompany raspberry compote, wild strawberry, mocha and flinty mineral before a bitter almond close."
Antonio Galloni's Vinous, Nov/2023
2018 -
"Dusty and floral, the 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Le Due Porte captivates with a delicate bouquet that keeps the taster working to explore its depths of wild blueberries, strawberries, violet pastille and sweet smoke. This is a model of purity and refinement. Juicy acidity and pretty red and blue fruits swirl throughout. Fine tannins amass through the finish, combining with orange and a black tea-like bitter twang as the 2018 tapers off long yet nuanced and only lightly structured. Il Palazzone did a fantastic job of culling the beauty of the vintage and capturing it in bottle. Masterfully done."
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Dec/2023
2018 -
"The Il Palazzone 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Le Due Porte delivers candied fruit, licorice and a cooking spice with earthy and green overtones like tarragon or rosemary. Dark fruit flavors and powdery tannins wrap over the palate but are not too drying. The bouquet is fluid and complex and very pretty too, but this wine shows a direct and accessible personality overall. This is a limited release of just 2,382 bottles."
James Suckling, Sep/2023
2018 -
"Savory berries, nutmeg, sweet spices, vanilla and some orange citrus on the nose. The juicy, medium-bodied palate underscores the fresh acidity, the fluidity of fruit and lengthy finish. Long and elegant, with fine, round tannins. Already approachable now, but better in a year or two."
Antonio Galloni's Vinous, Dec/2021
2016 -
"The bouquet on the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Le Due Porte is simply stunning, wafting up with dusty rose, incense and cloves before giving way to dried strawberries and lavender. This is elegance personified, gliding across the palate with velvety textures while ushering in mineral-laced red berries and violet-tinged inner florals. Though it’s structured and geared for the cellar, there’s a purity here that mixes with the residual acids to create a remarkably fresh impression, as hints of licorice and sour cherry fade. Now in its second vintage, Le Due Porte, a cru bottling from Il Palazzone’s highest-elevation vineyard, shows tremendous potential."
James Suckling, Aug/2022
2016 -
"Blackberry, blueberry and orange blossom aromas. Full-bodied with fine, creamy tannins and crunchy fruit. Flavorful and fine with a lovely length. Drink or hold."
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Feb/2022
2016 -
"This wine is held back for an additional year before its commercial release, and in fact, this is only the second bottling from this vineyard. The Il Palazzone 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Le Due Porte occupies a place somewhere between fading primary fruit intensity and the onset of savory tertiary characteristics. It's not old and it's not new, but given that it's being released six years after the harvest, you can expect that additional complexity that comes with cellar age. On the palate, this wine offers some dry tannins and a mid-weight close. I recommend a short to mid-term drinking window. A limited 2,226 bottles were produced."
Wine Enthusiast, May/2021
2015 -
"This single-vineyard Brunello is made with grapes cultivated at high altitudes of 1,771 feet above sea level. It opens with aromas of wild berry, dark spice and blue flower while the taut, energized palate offers cranberry, sour cherry and star anise before a coffee-bean finish. Elegantly structured, it has tightly wound, fine-grained tannins that provide the backbone."
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Nov/2020
2015 -
"This is the first bottling of this wine that comes from a mere 2,000 liters of wine drawn from a tiny 1.24-hectare parcel. The Il Palazzone 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Le Due Porte sports a modern label design that makes a handsome impression. The wine is streamlined and compact with a good mix of wild berry, sour cherry, apple blossom and lilac. There are some light mineral dustings as well. With only 2,209 bottles made, I'd suggest holding on a little longer to give this Brunello more time to flesh out in the bottle."
Antonio Galloni's Vinous, Nov/2020
2015 -
"The 2015 Le Due Porte from Il Palazzone is the first vintage for this cru Brunello di Montalcino. It lifts up with a dark and alluring display of musky red fruit laced with smoky minerals, incense and dusty dry earth tones. The textures are silky and refined, coming across as quite elegant, while cascading a contrasting mix of tart wild berries, licorice and savory spice across the palate. The balance here is quite admirable, not showing the ripeness of the year in any way and instead coming across as classically dry, with great length and the potential for a medium-term stay in the cellar."