Brunello di Montalcino, the king wine of Tuscany!

Steps towards better wine quality production in Italy began in the 1980's with the creation of the DOCG, denominazione di origine controllata e garantita.  This designation had stricter regulations for producers to make wines in order to be granted this status.  The first wine granted the DOCG was Brunello di Montalcino.  The others DOCG's to follow included Vino Nobile di Montepulciano from Tuscany, discussed in the prior blog, and the Piedmont regions with the wines known as Barolo and Barbaresco.  

About Brunello wines

Brunello is made from a clone of Sangiovese, but it is not blended  with other grapes though as Vino Nobile and Chianti can be. It also requires additional aging requirements, four years with at least two of those years in oak barrels.  Brunello Riserva wines requires five years of aging with at least half of that in oak. In this part of Tuscany, Montalcino tends to be a little warmer, creating wines that have a deeper, richer flavor profile showing fuller bodied versions of Sangiovese.

Biondi Santi of Montalcino

One of the biggest producers in this region that helped to make Brunello what it is today is the producer Biondi Santi, which I'm hoping I'll be able to stop and visit while there. In the late 19^th century he planted Sangiovese in his vineyards. At this time many folks were only drinking light style Chianti and sweeter wines. He let the skins macerate with the juice and then aged the wines at a time when this was unheard of. They didn't even have a road out to Montalcino until the 1960's. Due to his efforts he paved the way for this amazing wine to be what it is today.

The ageworthiness of Brunello

Brunello is a highly ageworthy wine.  These wines can age over 40 years! I myself have some that I brought back to the states years ago that have been aging at least 15 years at this point.  It is recommended you don't drink Brunello for at least 10 years, but if you did it sooner you will definitely want to decant it. These wines need the time to settle down from their youth and develop further in the bottle. As a society we typically don't have the patience and are  usually grabbing a bottle to enjoy that night.  

 

The best part about opening these bottles years later are the memories that are revisited from the times spent at the winery. Do yourself a favor and splurge one day, hold on to the wine and open it years from now for a special occasion and you will experience a treat.

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Pictures copyright of Consorzio Tutela Vini Soave