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For those of you unfamiliar, Brunello is not a place, but, rather, a nickname for a grape. That grape in question is Sangiovese, and it’s aptly often referred to as the king of Italy, carrying with it the same prestige as Cabernet Sauvignon does just towns over, in Bolgheri. At any rate, this star champion grape has captivated the hearts of wine enthusiasts - but it can be found in only one place.
Maybe not necessarily entirely true, I haven’t had a chance to talk about clonal variation and massal selection yet, but I’m getting there, believe me. Montalcino is a hill near the city of Sienna known for its extremely handsome wine made using a clone of the Sangiovese grape, with large grapes, spread far apart on their clusters. Though it is the same grape as those that grow everywhere under the tuscan sun, this particular genetic variation is specific to this hill. Thus, legally, no other area in Tuscany can label its Sangiovese as Brunello.
Brunello really accrued its fame in the early nineteen hundreds when Ferruccio Biondi-Santi, of Tenuta Il Greppo in Montalcino, released their first vintage of what they’d termed, modern Brunello. Principally, these wines were vinified all together - Biondi-Santi decided to change this, and began to vinify and age Sangiovese by itself, separate from any other varietal. This gave them an essence of fresh red fruit that would burst on the palette, differently that some of the staler more tannic older styles.
He was also the first to begin aging in wooden bottles, a practice that is required today. Oak adds an incredible presence of baking spices, and almond-toasted vanilla. Sangiovese is a relatively more tannic wine in general, often described as dusty. This means vignerons need to be careful of the tannic influence of oak, when vinifying Sangiovese. The smaller the barrel, the more tannic the wine, as the smaller the barrel, the more surface area of the barrel is in contact with the wine. Vinifying a wine in this manner means tannin will be pulled from the oak, adding extra dryness. But most, would say this is regionally characteristic.
Today, most producers are aging in large Slovenian botti, or large oak casks. Often vinification takes place in Croatian oak. To read more about the different types of fermenters and aging vessels, follow the link here. Previously, in 1980, the point at which Brunello got its DOCG, there was a massive trend looking towards barrique aged wines with vanilla presence often accompanied by chocolate overtones. This is similar to what happened in Piedmont to the north with Barolo, which also received its DOCG the same year. Rich, round wines were in fashion.
A lot of this modern-motivated winemaking philosophy involved shortening the fermentation process, to retain the elemental juiciness and fruitiness. Back in the day, there was only one producer in the area, and vignerons would sell their grapes at discounted prices to a cooperative regional negoçiante by the historically significant name of Biondi-Santi, now a major winemaking powerhouse. Today there are two hundred different producers strew across the hill.
But all of this fashionable meatiness, and voluptuousness didn’t last long. As trends faded within the last few years, most producers have dropped their barrique in favor of larger tonneau for smaller touches of oak, some still have run back to their botti in droves. They’re making less tannic, and less oak-influenced wines than they were before.
Genuinely, this is a prime spot for the loveliest Montalcino in all of Tuscany. the Tuscan sun beats down on these grapes from their prime location on the sides of the hill, bud due to the lower altitudes, they still have the opportunity to ripen. DOCG regulations prohibit plantings any higher than six hundred meters, to avoid any chilly breeze rendering thin or unpredictable harvests. They also limit growers to yields of 52 hl/ha of wine, though most growers in Montalcino sit somewhere under 39 hl/ha. This ensures the quality of the wine is not diluted by poorer-quality grapes.
Growers are very concerned in Montalcino with grape quality, often preferring not to use some younger vines on their expressive Brunello di Montalcino. Younger vines produce less in the way of character. The older vines on the hill are rife with expressions of elegant minerality and herbaceousness, something common to most vinifera grapes, only arriving with vine age. Also notable is the need to age Brunello for extended periods of time in the bottle. Consumers, and growers lobbied for a new designation, and in 1984, it was established: Rosso di Montalcino, the baby Brunello.
These wines are only required to be aged two years, they can be drunk right from the bottle as a daily drinker with no need to be bottle aged. They are made from younger vines on vintner’s property, allowing them to extract the fruit and test the vine’s flavor profile before vinifying as Brunello. They are a great way to experience the incredible fruity and herbaceous flavor profile of Brunello, at half the cost.
Conditions on Montalcino hill are so wrought with perfection for these incredible grapes that Sangiovese grown here ripens a week earlier, on average, than just a few kilometers away at Montepulciano - this means bigger, juicier wines with a lot of fresh fruit and supple tannin. In fact, the most prime site for growing grapes is thought to be on the North of the hill, where grapes ripen a bit more slowly, resulting in thinner wines amplifying the minutia of nuance. The vast majority of producers, including Biondi-Santi, the ever-famous and admirable giant here, grow their grapes on the southern slope where breezes from the Mediterranean whisper west to east, preventing mold. Grapes are arranged in patterns suitable to accommodate these easterly breezes.
The vineyards are made up of incredibly different soils from producer to producer. Soil nearly constitutes an afterthought for some producers, while others make blends of Brunello from around their plots, cuvée style to maximize the effectiveness of their varied terroir. The most notable and desirable soil is the ever-famous very Italian soil known as Galestro; a dry, temperamental, and well-draining type of marl, that almost feels like clay in the hands, without the water retention. This soil cools the vines down and helps to slowly ripen the grapes.
Other major soils are limestone, a staple of Tuscany as well as just about every other major wine region, schist, which is usually granite, or dolomite, and of course, volcanic soils that are littered around central Italy. The schistous wines have an incredible beam of acidity that acts as a stabilizer to hold the wine’s frail red fruit profile for as long as Brunellos should be aged.
Limestone rich soils tend to deduct from the gross mouthfeel of the wine, and add lightness, as well as minerality and focus, but limestone tends to lay towards the topsoil in amounts just enough to provide some much needed clarity to these often hot, but tannic wines.
On aging, there are two major sanctioned Brunello types, these are Normale, and Riserva. Riserva Brunello will usually indicate its quality on the label, Normale will not - though Normale is the traditional style of Brunello, hence the name. These laws bow to the traditional aging of the region. Normale labeled wines are aged for no less than fifty months - four years, and two months, usually released on the first day of the new year, following four years of aging.
Riserva labeled wines are aged slightly longer, they must be aged for five years - generally they will spend another four months in bottle. This makes these wines incredible agers - you can sit Brunello for a very long time, in fact, that’s pretty much what they’re made for, Montalcino is essentially an appellation of very fine-aging wines. The signature flavor profile of Brunello is a red fruit, cranberry, black cherry and mineral-driven sensation followed by flavors of fennel, oregano, and dry herbs.
Cantina di Montalcino embodies this classic profile well. Located on the northern side of the hill, the rough limestone-ridden soils and afternoon shade brings nuance and character to this perfumed, elegant, and supple Brunello. This cooperative winery was founded in 1970, and began producing stellar vintages ever since. Though this is a cooperative, these operations tend to be the norm in Montalcino, and a lot of Northern-hill vintners are members here, maintaining a high level of quality. The wines are certainly on the lighter and more reserved side, but certainly not lacking the character of a Brunello, there are still some bold black cherry flavors, and some under-palette flavors of rosemary, peagravel, vanilla bean, and licorice.
This signature flavor is often what is expected from Brunello, a bit of a harsher-tannin, lighter but balanced red with bold flavor - so when critics began tasting the vintages of the early 2000’s, they were of course confused to find that the wines displayed ripe dark fruit, uncharacteristic of the typicity of Brunello. In 2008, the regulatory body that oversees the legal designations of origin, seized a ton of bottles from Brunello makers, in an unexpected move.
When tested, these bottled showed juice from Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and even some southern red bulk wine grapes. Just a small group of producers were to blame, nonetheless, Montalcino’s reputation was on the line. Critics were not impressed, Master of Wine Kerin O’Keefe famously stated that these recent examples were, “so jammy it was hard to believe that they were Brunello at all.” This scandal rocked the wine world, as Italian authorities were forced to crack down on the mislabeling happening industry wide in Montalcino.
But things have since changed for the better, lighter, complex wines are once again in style and Brunello is still among one of the most esteemed of the lot, putting out excellent vintages that show the astute craftsmanship of its talented vintners. A new generation has made head-waves, producing incredibly fabulous, and polished wines that resonate with just about any food you can pair with it.
Just up the road from Biondi-Santi is the cooperative winery of Patrizia Cencioni, a truly wonderful Brunello producer, that also makes a wonderful Rosso di Montalcino. This winery is owned, and operated by the winemaker herself, Patrizia Cencioni. Patrizia bought some property not far from the famous winery Biondi-Santi in 1989, and has been at the forefront of producers on Montalcino hill - today, she and her daughters run winery operations, and have managed to buy a beautiful new aging cellar. They are also beginning short-aging in Barriques, to ween the winery off of the bold vanilla flavors that these barrels provide. They are instead moving toward Tonneau, and more traditional botti - 300Hl.
The winery sits up about 1050ft above sea level on Montalcino hill, sprawling about under the Tuscan sun for about 100 acres - Some acreage is represented by an olive grove as well, very common up here. They produce a blend which contains Merlot, and Cabernet under the IGT label, similar to a Super Tuscan, as well as two Brunellos, one being a Reserva called Solara 123. Her Solara Brunello is a hearty wine, showing strong black cherry aromas, as well as baking spices, fennel and dry oregano. This wine develops over the palette for some time, and the finish is long and smooth with flavors of vanilla, spice, cherry, and black tea. Tannins are very polished even in youth, but this being a Brunello, best not to drink right away. Save this one for a few years - the flavors of Brunello di Montalcino mature best after ten years in bottle.
That's all,
~K