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Brunello & Montacino Part 1 - where, what, who & wood ! July 2002 |
WINE STYLE
I would say that Brunello can range from the chunky to the sublime. Always full bodied with medium tannins and good acidity, but occasionally with the flair, texture and finesse that I would associate with the very best red Burgundy. The wines I drank were always decanted, but to aerate rather than to isolate sediment. I'm not sure if there is an age at which this should not be done as I only went as far back as 1991. Producers recommendations are to drink from the 10th year of age with improvement continuing for another 20 - vintage permitting.
WHERE
Brunello can only be produced in the communal territory of Montalcino. Montalcino is a very pretty hilltop town in Tuscany, set at around 500m above sea level. This territory is around 10 square miles and produces 300-400,000 cases depending on the vintage.
WHAT
The grape is 100% Sangiovese Grosso (called Brunello here - but there are still dozens of local variations), which is different to the clone used in most of Chianti, the grosso generally has smaller grapes. Brunello is released 5 years after production or 6 for the 'Reserva'. So the latest available vintages are 1997 and 'Reserva' 1996. Wine is released for sale in February, so that's when the first 1997's came onto the market.
WHO
In 2001, the local wine association listed 210 wine producers in Montalcino, 141 members of whom bottled their own wine. I'm not sure if this is the whole story though, as Biondi-Santi a well-known high quality producer is not on the list - or at least not as Biondi-Santi anyway. Based on their land holdings, vineyards and other facilities, the local association tells each member how many bottles they are allowed to produce for sale each year. Bottling has to be in the Montalcino area.
WOOD
Wine must be aged in wooden casks, usually Slovenian or Slavonian oak. This type of oak is very hard so imparts oak character very slowly to the wines, just as well considering the basic wine must age 2 years in oak and the 'Reserva' must age for 3 in the wood, plus further bottle aging. Chestnut is also allowed, but I didn't find the name of a producer who used it. For instance, at the producer Altesino, I saw 12,500 litre casks (botti) that they will use for around 40 years. A simple water wash each vintage, and a 'shaving' of maybe 1cm off the barrel interior every ten years is how they are kept in condition. Some producers are also experimenting with French (Alliers) oak for their Brunello, which they originally used for their IGT (Super Tuscan type) wines. The Alliers oak is much softer so imparts its characteristics to the wine much faster, hence, is usually used only up to 6 months.
Brunello & Montalcino Part 2 - what to buy and where to eat.
Brunello & Montalcino Part 3 - the tasting notes.
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