On February 24th, I attended the Benvenuto Brunello wine tasting which was held at an event space at 583 Park Avenue on the East side of Manhattan.

Brunello di Montalcino is a red wine from Tuscany, Italy like its well-known cousin, Chianti. The region became a DOCG (Denominazione Di Origine Controllata) in 1980.

Like Chianti it is made with the Sangiovese grape but with a local clone called Sangiovese Grosso and unlike Chianti, Brunello has to be made with 100% Sangiovese with different aging requirements.

The regular bottling is released five years after the vintage and the Reservas are released six years after the vintage. The 2021 vintage for the regular Brunello which was showcased at this tasting was released in January of this year.

The Sangiovese Grosso grape has high tannin and acidity, they say that makes them good food wines, it also means that they can be a bit hard edged when they are young, especially if you are accustomed to drinking fruit forward, New World wines. Brunello’s like Barolo’s, need years of aging to soften the hard edges.

It was a walk around tasting for members of the Press and Trade to sample the current release vintage of Brunello di Montalcino as well as Rosso di Montalcino from over 48 producers.

I attended the Masterclass which poured five regular and five single vineyard Brunello’s from the 2021 vintage.

“Brunello 2021: Decoding the Vintage”

Masterclass hosted by Gabriele Gorelli, MW

Abbadia Ardenga Brunello di Montalcino: Clear medium brick, red cherry and roasted herbs on the nose, silky red fruit with white pepper notes, moderate tannin and acidity on the long finish.

Altesino Brunello di Montalcino “Vigna Montosoli”: Clear dark red, brick rim, dirty tar and black cherry on the nose, chewy red fruit with tree bark notes, ending with dusty, very tight tannin and crisp acidity.

Argiano Brunello di Montalcino: Clear medium brick, milk chocolate, green herbs and red cherry on the nose, tight and dusty fruit, chewy finish, firm tannin.

Camigliano Brunello di Montalcino “Paesaggio Inatteso”: Clear dark brick, dark chocolate and tarry black cherry on the nose, medium red fruit with pickle juice notes, firm tannin and crisp acidity.

Col D’Orcia Brunello di Montalcino: Clear medium brick, dusty tar, barnyard and roast meat on the nose, dusty red fruit with stone and herb notes on the firm finish.

Corte Pavone Loacker Brunello di Montalcino “Fior di Meliloto”: Opaque medium red to black, crushed sweet black fruit and black tar on the nose, chewy black fruit ending with dusty, mouth filling tannin, moderate acidity.

La Fiorita Brunello di Montalcino: Clear medium brick, dusty cardboard, sweet spice and some earth on the nose, chewy red fruit with saline notes ending with firm, tongue coating tannin.

Marchese Frescobaldi Brunello di Montalcino “Castelgiocondo”: Clear medium brick, dusty dark chocolate and red cherry on the nose, tight red fruit with saline notes ending with very firm tannin.

Podere Brizio Brunello di Montalcino: Clear medium to dark brick, earth and tarry dark chocolate on the nose, juicy red fruit ending with dusty, firm tannin and crisp acidity.

San Polo Brunello di Montalcino “Vignavecchia”: Clear medium brick, barnyard and roast nuts on the nose, juicy red fruit with herbs notes, firm tannin on the long finish.