Article
Brunello di Montalcino. Main facts
The history of Brunello counts about 150 years, the beginning of it was put by Ferruccio Biondi–Santi and his experiments with the Sangiovese grape in the 70s of the 19th century. Since then the demand for this wine and its reputation have been invariably growing. Today we can say that Brunello – is the crème de la crème of Italian wine-making (together with Barolo and Barbaresco from Piedmont), only in this wine the autochthonous Sangiovese truly shows its potential: marvelous elegance together with excellent power and concentration of taste and aroma. Brunello never intends to be “a light drink”. Quite the contrary, this wine being young, most likely, will shock with its acerbity and heaviness of its aromas. However, after 6 – 7 years, the wine character becomes more balanced and, together with the usual for Sangiovese spices, violets and wild cherry, Brunello shows even more spices plus chocolate, resin, prunes, leather …• This is THE FIRST wine in Italy that received the highest status – DOCG (Denominzione di Origine Controllata e Garantia) on the 1st of July 1980.
• Brunello di Montalcino is produced from the 100% Brunello grape, that can be also called “Sangiovese Grosso”.
• More than 100 well-known wineries; 1300 hectares.
• Absence of “industrial” producers and developed co-operatives.
• The best years (in the last 40 years): 1964, 1970, 1975, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1995, 1997, 1999.
• The town of Montalcino, having given the name to this great wine, is situated in the South - West of Tuscany, to the South of Siena.
We can pick out three production areas:
• Vineyards situated around Montalcino and along the range of hills, going to the South. The height is 300 meters and higher. Local wines have the strongest structure and potential for ageing. For example: Biondi - Santi, Constanti, Poggio Antico, Barbi, Case Basse, Il Poggione, Talenti, Siro Pacenti, Pieve Santa Restituta, Greppone Mazzi.
• To the North of Montalcino the vineyards are situated at a lower height and as a result of it, wines are more elegant and combine power with fruit aromas in the best way. Try: Altesino, Caparzo, Val di Suga, Canalicchio di Sotto, Silvio Nardi.
• And, finally, the vineyards situated around the periphery of Montalcino, which give the ripest wines, are ready for drinking earlier than others. Great names are: Banfi, Argiano, CastelGiocondo, Casanova di Neri, Col d’Orcia, Ciacci Piccolomini, Mastrojanni, La Fiorita.
There exist two basic categories of Brunello (regardless of the production area):
• Normale. Before being released the wine is aged not less than 4 years, out of them – 3 years in barrels with minimal level of alcohol of 12.5 degrees.
• Riserva. Produced only in best years. Wine is aged for a longer time (not less than 5 years).
Unfortunately, high price is characteristic and predictable for Brunello. We can hardly imagine any wine below 40-50 Euros that is worth considering. As for the best wines, it can cost easily dictate a 100 -159 Euros price tag.
In the middle of the 80s there appeared one more standard: Rosso di Montalcino DOC. As a rule, this is a lighter wine, which is matured for 1 - 2 years and costs much less than its “elder brother” (2 -5 times cheaper). Rosso can be similar with Brunello in style, but can also differ from it if a wine-maker decides to reduce the length of fermentation or to use the maturity in barriques more active – then the wine would be closer to a modern “international” style, that is lighter and fruitier.
Sergei Gusovsky