Brunello Annual Report: Putting the Vineyard into the Vintage

If you look at the grape-growing season for 2019 in Montalcino, you might expect the region to have made some of its best Brunello di Montalcino ever. In fact, I found two perfect wines during my blind tastings of more than 200 different 2019 Brunellos two weeks ago at the hotel of Castiglion del Bosco. I also rated eight wines from 98 to 100 points, and 57 bottles scored 95 to 97 points.

The weather in 2019 was a throwback to the late 1990s, with a very wet spring that set up the vines nicely for the hot and dry summer. Moreover, very few heat spikes occurred during that time. July was relatively cool compared with recent scorchers, when mid-afternoon temperatures reached more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).  Plus, some rain fell in mid-July and August to revive vines during their growth. September also was warm, with only a few showers during the harvest.

“2019 was really easy,” said Federico Radi, the winemaker for Biondi-Santi. “We want to have more vintages like that. There was nothing difficult. The grapes were crunchy with a beautiful textural progression in tannins with a very deep and long finish as well as just the right amount of bitterness at the end. It gave what sangiovese should be” in quality and character.

This crunchy and pure fruit character came through in many of the 2019 Brunellos I tasted, and I loved them. It is what I like to call al dente fruit, when the grapes are picked at just the right moment and they have sweetness as well as firm and crunchy skins. The seeds are comparable to crispy coffee beans to taste and literally crunch in your mouth.

This was particularly true with the two 100-point wines I found in my tasting. The Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Giovanni Neri 2019 and Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Montosoli 2019 have incredible clarity of fruit and fine tannins as well as a transparency that takes them to their unique soils and locations on the hillsides surrounding Montalcino. I also liked the fact that the wines had much less of an emphasis on new wood. In fact, I believe that more and more Brunello producers are moving away from new barrels to used ones and larger formats such as casks, or botte, as they say in Italy.

“There has been a trend away from wood,” said Santiago Marone Cinzano, whose family owns the estate of Col d’Orcia. “This is excellent because it lets sangiovese be more honest and show its character.”

Added Giacomo Neri of Casanova di Neri: “2019 is a magical year for the wine and for the acidity in the wine. The Brunellos are vibrant. We had rain at the right moment, and it made the grapes even more beautiful. I like 2018, but 2019 is great and richer. It is at the same level as 2016, 2015, 2010 and 2006.”

This movement to clearness in Brunello producers’ wines also brings out the true character of where their sangiovese is grown, and I notice many more single-vineyard Brunellos being produced, which is an excellent development. It will add value to the already exceptional places where sangiovese is grown in the appellation. For me, the model for Brunello now is Barolo and Barbaresco, where the top vineyards and villages highlight the greatness of their respective appellations. And blended Barolos and Barbaresco are monikers for the great winemakers in their areas.

“People’s palates are much more attracted to vineyards,” said Luca Currado, whose family used to own Vietti winery in Barolo. He is now consulting at Castiglion del Bosco and is working with their winemaking team on developing more single-vineyard wines. “That’s really important. People are making wines much more in the style of their vineyards than the style of the winery. This is why many people are looking at their vineyard and making wines to reflect that.”

It's certainly easier to make wines that show the character of vineyards in a vintage like 2019 with such freshness and balance. So, what is a good comparison for 2019 as a vintage? First, I can say that it is better than 2018, which shares some of the balance and harmony of 2019 although it was diluted in many ways because of the excessive ran during the harvest and the generally large crop.

READ MORE BAROLO AND BARBARESCO ANNUAL REPORT: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

The 2017 has nothing to do with 2019, and it was marred by extreme heat and drought during the summer. Most 2017 Brunellos are big and rather jammy, although all things considered many producers made successful wines.

Some producers compare 2019 to 2010, 2015, and 2016 or a combination of the two or three.  “The 2019 is a synthesis of a number of years producing great wines,” said Vincenzo Abbruzzese of Valdicava, who made a perfect wine in 2019. “It has the character of 2015 and the structure of 2010. We are in an evolution, and we are looking more and more to show the character of our territory and our vineyards.”

Vintages that come to mind when I taste the 2019s are 2004 and 1997 or 1998. The wines have the neoclassical character to them because of their agility and harmony. And the tannins have a natural sense to them when you taste the phenolics of the grape and not the wood tannins of barrels – at least our top-scoring wines are like that. I discounted a number of 2019 Brunellos because of too much new wood barrel aging.

I think the 2019 Brunellos need about three to five years of bottle age to come into their own. So be patient unless you like the energy and structure of young Brunellos. “This year is definitely a year to age because it has tannins, but it has fine tannins,” said Roberto Guerrini of Fuligni. “No one remembers the 1988 but it reminds me of that vintage when it was young, although it’s even better.”

Regardless of the comparisons with other vintages, 2019 is definitely a vintage to buy. I heard good things about 2020 but they are apparently less structured than 2019, and the hype for the 2021 is already starting, with what I tasted from barrel suggesting that these will be very structured Brunellos for your cellar. But they will be less attractive compared with the 2019 when they are released in 2026, so it’s better to buy some of the sure thing – 2019.

– James Suckling, Editor/Chairman

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