Tag: Brunello di Montalcino

On February 4th, I attended this year’s New York City edition of Benvenuto Brunello tasting tour which was hosted by the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino. The tasting was held at the event space GH On the Park, located at 54 West 40 Street in midtown Manhattan.

The event had 34 producers showing their 2020 Brunello’s, their 2019 Riserva’s and their 2023 Rosso di Montalcino.

According to the DOCG laws, the regular Brunello has to be aged a minimum of 4 years before release the next January and 5 years for the Riserva’s so these wines are the current vintages to be put on the market. So this tasting was a good opportunity to see how the current vintages turned out.

The Brunello wine region is in Tuscany, Italy with the town of Montalcino anchoring the territory. It’s a cousin to its famous neighbor, Chianti though different rules apply. Other than the aging requirements, Brunello has to be made with 100% Sangiovese Grosso (the local Sangiovese clone) while Chianti is primarily made with Sangiovese, but with a certain percentage of other grapes permitted. Brunello also tends to be more expensive than Chianti.

2020 in Brunello was one of those rollercoaster vintages, I felt the 2019’s had an edge over the 2020’s in which most of the wines I sampled had crisp acidity. The wines are still young.

Some of what I sampled:

2020 Argiano Brunello di Montalcino “Vigna del Suolo”: Clear medium brick, prunes, tar and cigarette smoke on the nose, chewy dusty fruit ending with firm, chewy tannins.

2019 Belpoggio Brunello di Montalcino: Clear medium brick, tar and leather on the nose, chewy red fruit, firm, long finish.

2019 Caprilli Brunello di Montalcino Riserva “AdAlberto”: Clear medium brick, stinky, smoky nose, tight with crisp acids and roast meat notes on the finish.

2020 Col D’orcia Brunello di Montalcino: Opaque dark red, brick rim, crushed black fruit and mint on the nose, juicy red fruit ending with firm tannins and crisp acids.

2019 Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino Riserva “Vigna Paganelli”: Clear light brick, closed nose of warm fruit, tight with firm tannins.

2020 La Magia Brunello di Montalcino “Ciliegio”: Opaque medium brick, crushed black fruit and green stems on the nose, tight red fruit with silky, mouth coating tannins with bitter almond notes on the finish.

2020 San Polo Brunello di Montalcino: Clear medium brick, smoke, sweet tar and dirt notes on the nose, juicy red cherry fruit, nice acidity and tannins.

2020 Tenute Silvio Nardi Brunello di Montalcino “Vigneto Poggio Doria”: Clear medium brick, crushed black fruit and smoke on the nose, tight with mouth coating tannins.

The Consortium of the Brunello di Montalcino was founded in 1967 and is an organization of large and small winemaking firms that keep an eye on quality control for the wines of the region. They also are active in promoting the wines of Montalcino both in Italy and abroad.

Brunello is produced in the same region of Italy, (Tuscany) as its famous cousin Chianti. Though the town of Montalcino is old, Brunello didn’t become the wine we know today until the mid 1800’s while Chianti as a wine has been around for centuries.

Most of the wines at this tasting were the non Riservas from the 2017 vintage since they just have been released this past January. Most were the regular Brunello with a handful of single vineyard wines from that vintage thrown in. There were also a few Riservas from other years as well.

This was a trade only event and was held at Midtown Loft & Terrace located at 267 5th Avenue in midtown Manhattan.

I thought that most of the wines had elegant fruit but at this point the tannins are a little hard edged which is not surprising for these young wines. I would like to revisit them after a couple of more years in the bottle.

2017 Vintage

Campgiovani: Medium brick, pretty nose of violet, tar and graphite, silky bright fruit ending in firm tannins.

Camigiano: Medium brick, closed nose of plum, silky, earthy fruit ending with silky, firm tannins.

Capanna: Clear medium brick with an amber rim, Asian spices on the nose, bright red leather fruit notes ending with crisp acids.

Carpazo “Vigna La Casa”: Clear medium red, closed nose, bright red fruit ending with firm, teeth coating tannins at the end.

Factoria dei Barbi “Vigna del Fiore”: Clear medium red sweet nose of red leather and tar, dusty red fruit with firm tannins.

Il Poggione: Medium to light red, slate and leather on the nose, crushed red fruit with tight tannins and some tart notes on the finish.

La Fiorita: Medium brick, red leather on the nose, silky fruit with teeth coating tannins.

Palazzo: Clear medium red, perfume of tar and cinamon spice, silky red fruit with some earth notes and firm tannins.

Pian Delle Vigne: Clear medium brick with an amber rim, closed nose of crushed raspberry, chewy fruit with fresh herbs on the finish with a nice balance.

Pinino: Medium brick in color, burnt bacon on the nose, cherry red fruit, drinking nicely.

San Polo “Vignavecchia”: Clear medium red, brick rim, funky earth on the nose, chewy dark chocolate fruit with silky tannins.

Tenuta Fanti “Vallocchio”: Medium red, ripe fruit notes on the nose, chewy and ending tannic.

Tenute Silvano Nardi: Opaque medium red, bright red berries and bacon fat on the nose, silky red fruit ending with firm tannins.

Val Di Suga: Light brick, crushed rocks on the nose, silky, earthy with crunchy tannins, nice balance with a touch of heat at the end.

Verbena “Le Pope”: Medium to dark red, pretty nose of graphite, tar and dark chocolate, dark red fruit with tart cherry notes on the firm finish.

Other Vintages:

2015 Col D’Orca Riserva “Poggio Al Vento”: Clear medium brick, perfume of violets and roast meat, silky, earth notes on the fruit and balanced tannins.

2016 Col D’Orca “Vigna Nastagio”: Clear medium red, tar, graphite and some barnyard on the nose, chewy with crunchy tannins.

2016 Corte Pavone Riserva “Poggio Molino Al Vento”: Clear medium red, tar, black cherry and dark chocolate on the nose, dense, silky red fruit with firm acids and a long finish.

2015 La Rasina Riserva “Il Divasco”: Medium red brick, nice perfume of sweet tar and roasted nuts, silky fruit with toasted notes ending with firm tannins.