Brunello curation- the king of Tuscany

Tuscany (or Toscana) is the historic home of Italy’s most planted grape, Sangiovese. The variety reaches its highest expressions here, evidenced in the wines Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

Ferruccio Biondi Santi modernized Montalcino’s wine industry in the face of oidium and phylloxera and isolated the Sangiovese Grosso biotype. Biondi Santi dedicated himself to producing red wines with long aging potential, bottling his “riserva” wines after several years of maturation in botti. He set aside bottles of the outstanding 1888 and 1891 vintages, a handful of which remain in the Biondi Santi cellar. Further, it was Ferruccio’s work that solidified mono- varietal Sangiovese, an unprecedented approach, as a defining characteristic of Brunello wines.

In the 1980s, Montalcino began a dynamic period of vineyard expansion. In 1967, there were only 12 producers of Brunello, a number that rose to 74 in 1987, and 208 in 2008. Similarly, planted hectarage grew tenfold between 1968 and 1988, from 80 to 875. The founding of Villa Banfi (now Castello Banfi) in 1978 by American-Italian brothers John and Harry Mariani brought additional attention to the appellation and increased demand for its wines, serving as only one example of large-scale investment in Montalcino.

Montalcino is a single commune, with the town of the same name sitting on a hill near the square-shaped appellation’s center. The landscape gently undulates, more open and less forested than Chianti Classico, as well as warmer and more exposed to the moderating effects of the Mediterranean Sea. While many producers doubt that subzones will ever be formalized, as many as eight have been proposed to the Consorzio. In general, the side north of the Montalcino hill, whose town reaches above 550 meters in elevation, is susceptible to frost and has proven more challenging for viticulture. Some producers, however, anticipating the effects of climate change, have recently shown greater enthusiasm for northern vineyards. Wines grown nearer to Montalcino itself, in the DOCG’s oldest soils, are praised for their elegance, while wines from the warm, southern end of the appellation can achieve the most ripeness and power.

Montalcino lays claim to mandating the longest minimum maturation periods of any dry, nonfortified wine in the world, including such famously long-aged wines as Rioja Gran Reserva.

Source Guild Somm

Producers working in the most traditional style will age their wines in large Slavonian-oak botti, but those taking a contemporary approach might choose French, often new, barriques.

A separate DOC exists for Rosso di Montalcino, which provides producers an opportunity to bottle younger Sangiovese wines. Wines can be released as early as September 1 of the year following harvest, allowing for a more vibrant, fresher wine intended for earlier consumption. Many producers will relegate their youngest or lowest-performing vines to their Rosso programs, but others are more stalwart in pursuing a distinctive character for quality Rosso wines. While Rosso is considered the entry-level wine in a Montalcino winery’s portfolio, the volume of Rosso production is actually lower than that of Brunello. Approximately 4.5 million bottles of Rosso di Montalcino are bottled annually, compared with 8 million bottles of Brunello and 1 million of Riserva.

This selection of the finest Brunello was a personalised curation for my client who fell in love in this king of Sangiovese after his trip to Italy. I chose a few well known producers of exceptional taste. Your sommselection include Pietroso, Querce Bettina, Barbi and la fronace just to mention a few.

Enjoy!