Brunello di Montalcino DOCG
Brunello di Montalcino DOCG
It is a weighty and famous wine, the Brunello. A Tuscan wine that is inextricably linked with the town of Montalcino, a small, sleepy village in Tuscany, picturesquely situated on a hill between Florence and Rome. Brunello di Montalcino is one of the great wines of Italy and is part of the triumvirate, three great B's of Italy: Brunello, Barolo and Barbaresco, where a great vintage can last for several decades.
It is the Tuscan of the three and is made from a variety of the Sangiovese grape, the Sangiovese Grosso or Brunello. The red wine must then mature for at least two years in oak barrels and another six months in the bottle, according to the restrictive regulations of the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino. A Brunello may only be sold from 1 January in the fifth year after the harvest. In 1966, the small area was among the first eight in Italy to receive the status of a Denominazione di origine controllata, and in 1980 it was even the first area to receive DOCG status. The long maturing period, however, rewards this with wonderfully ruby-red, intense wines; the first thing that tickles the nose is the intense aroma. Brunellos caress the palate warmly and tartly, but harmoniously and - naturally due to their long barrel ageing - tannin-emphasised. More recently, Brunello has been in the headlines because of its strict regulations; the Brunellogate wine scandal of 2008 made waves and led to a temporary ban on imports to the USA. To coincide with Vinitaly, the media spread rumours that some of the producers had violated varietal purity and added international grape varieties. Little could be proven, but the damage to the image of red wine from Tuscany was great. Some renowned producers insisted on a relaxation of the requirement for varietal purity, arguing on competitive grounds. But the Consorzio remained firm: by a large majority it decided to stick to the varietal purity and thus to the uniqueness of the wine and went against the trend of using international grape varieties to produce a rather mean, international and polished wine. As other regions in Tuscany such as Bolgheri or Chianti Classico DOCG have long done. So, as is so often the case, a scandal also had a good side. However, in order to give the winegrowers in Montalcino more room for creativity, the Sant'Antimo category was added to Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino, which also allows non-resident grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon. This has created space for new, modern wines. Whoever wants to.