Brutocao

While the first Brutocao Winery vintage was released by Len & Marty Brutocao in 1980, its US roots date all the back to 1943. This was when Grandfather Irv Bliss purchased the Mendocino County property that would later house the Brutocao Vineyards. Brutocao winemaking traditions date back four generations to dinner table conversations that took place in Venice before the family ventured to the new world. Today, the family still blends their Italian heritage with their rural agricultural lifestyle in producing their Brutocao wines. Brutocao Cellars has over 400 acres under vine throughout Mendocino County with plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and a variety of traditional Italian red varieties according to our Brutocao wine reviews. Brutocao employs sustainable winegrowing techniques throughout their Mendocino vineyards from soil, water and ecosystem management to utilizing energy efficient practices. To learn more about these wines be sure to check out our Brutocao wine ratings provided below.

Sort By:

points

Brutocao 2005 Quadriga Red (Mendocino)

Editors' Choice
Online Exclusive

Price $24

This Italian-inspired blend from Brutocao gets better every vintage. The 2005 contains Primitivo, Sangiovese, Dolcetto and Barbera. With a rich earthy, mushroomy, leathery quality to the cherry-blackberry fruit, it has a great balance of acids and tannins, and finishes bone dry. Ideal across a wide variety of foods. — S.H. (6/1/2008)

points

Brutocao 2003 Riserva d'Argento Pinot Noir (Anderson Valley)

Price $32

This is a super-drinkable Pinot. It’s delicately structured, silky and dry, with complex flavors of cherries, cola and spices and a rich coat of smoky oak. The finish is long in sweet raisins and cassis. Each sip makes you want another. — S.H. (11/1/2005)

points

Brutocao 1996 Brutocao Vineyards Merlot (Mendocino)

Price $18

This winery’s flagship wine hits paydirt with plenty of violet, plum and blackberry aromas and flavors. Drinks rich and dry. The wine has a real personality that must come from this particular vineyard. Such a pretty finish; real quality here. — S.H. (3/1/2000)

points

Brutocao 1999 Riserva d'Argento Chardonnay (Mendocino)

Price $24

From the Sanel Valley, an inland region near Ukiah that produces good, crisp, dry white wines. This one has lemony, buttery and wildflower aromas, and drinks full and rich. The fruit flavors are bright and buttery in this assertive wine, which has a good structure and is frankly delicious. —S.H. — S.H. (5/1/2002)

points

Brutocao 1998 Riserva d'Argento Merlot (Mendocino)

Price $32

Very nice, very dry wine, and one that shows Mendocino’s promise with this grape. Pronounced aromas of new French oak are sweet and smoky and full of char and vanilla, and complement a rich earthiness in the mouth. The wine is not too fruity but suggest blackberries. The tannins are dry and dusty and provide a chewy mouthfeel. —S.H. — S.H. (5/1/2002)

points

Brutocao 2003 Riserva d'Argento Merlot (Mendocino)

Price $34

I like this Merlot for its full-bodied richness and depth of flavor. It’s so much better than the ’02. With 15% Cabernet, it’s almost a full point higher in alcohol than the winery’s Bliss Merlot, and it shows in the opulent, fat blackberry, blueberry and cassis flavors. — S.H. (12/15/2006)

points

Brutocao 2007 Feliz Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc (Mendocino)

Best Buy

Price $14

Quite a fine Sauvignon Blanc, racy and delicately structured but rich, with mineral-laden citrus and lemongrass flavors. The acidity is the best part, tart and mouth-watering. This is Brutocao’s best Sauvignon Blanc ever. — S.H. (11/15/2008)

points

Brutocao 2004 Quadriga Red (Mendocino)

Price $24

Ripe and juicy, a deliciously balanced wine. It’s an Italian Mediterranean blend of Sangiovese, Primitivo, Barbera and Dolcetto, one of the only ones of its type I know of in California. There should be more. — S.H. (7/1/2007)

Most Reviewed Designations

Blis #3 Vineyard Bliss Vineyard Bliss Vineyards Brutocao Vineyards Contento Vineyard Feliz Vineyard Feliz Vineyard Select Hopland Ranches Quadriga Reserve Riserva d'Argento

Most Reviewed Varietals

Barbera Cabernet Sauvignon Chardonnay Dolcetto Merlot Pinot Noir Port Primitivo Red Blend Sauvignon Blanc Syrah Zinfandel

2010 Pence Ranch Westslope

This is sourced from the winery's steepest and most wind-exposed blocks…

(Sponsored)