Brunello Riserva 2019 Vintage Report: Consistency and Quality From a Remarkable Year

The newest Brunello di Montalcino Riserva feels like a vintage straight out of a James Bond movie, where the secret agent asks for a bottle of the newest famous Italian red with great confidence – “The 2019 Riserva Brunello, please” – instead of his usual Bollinger Champagne.

That’s how a producer put it to me when describing  his take on the singularity of the 2019 vintage, and our initial tastings perfectly capture the consistency and quality of this remarkable year.

The greatest Brunellos – those with balance and readily apparent aging potential – are historically harvested in October, and this was no different for the 2019 vintage, which  produced wines with amazing balance, structure and freshness alongside concentrated fruit.

James, Senior Editor Jacobo García Andrade and I rated 104 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Riservas in early December in our tasting office in Tuscany and were elated with the results. Just like the “normal” 2019 Brunellos, these are wines with class and verve. It’s a vintage not to miss if you love quintessential Brunellos that recall classic years like 2016, 2010 and even 1997.

In Montalcino, nestled in southeastern Tuscany between Siena and Mount Amiata, the grape-growing season in 2019 was warm without excessive heat spikes, and rain arrived at just the right times. It was a harvest that unfolded smoothly, offering winemakers clarity and ease in interpretation.

According to official data from the wine producers organization Consorzio del Vino Brunello, winter saw slightly above-average temperatures compared with recent years, with subzero lows mostly in early January. Rainfall was concentrated between Jan. 18 and 25 and in the first days of February, totaling about 70 millimeters over two months. Budbreak occurred on schedule, aided by around 100 millimeters of rain and average temperatures of 10 degrees Celsius (50 Fahrenheit) from March through May.

This weather conditions slowed vine growth by roughly two weeks – a positive factor for sangiovese heading into summer. June and July were largely dry, except for a significant storm that delivered about 70 millimeters of rain over two days at the end of July. Average temperatures during the two months ranged between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius, with only two days peaking at 35. August followed with minimal rain – just 20 millimeters around Aug. 25 – and high temperatures that consistently averaged from 30 to 35 degrees Celsius. This was a relatively cool growing season for Tuscany, considering that many recent hot and dry years have featured summer temperatures hitting 40 degrees Celsius and above for multiple days in late July and August.

Thanks to healthy water reserves and moderate temperatures, the vines’ foliage remained fully intact, enabling a slow and even ripening process ideal for achieving optimal phenolic maturity. Rainfall in early September delayed harvest slightly, helping to moderate alcohol levels in the grapes. A mild, stable September pushed picking into early October, delivering perfectly balanced fruit.

The resulting wines display remarkable intensity and definition, with clean aromas of fresh fruit and dried flowers. The best examples offer depth and balance, combining refined tannins with both grace and power, and are drinkable now but also have strong aging potential.

Despite their obvious quality, the release of the 2019 Riservas, on Jan. 1, was somewhat restrained, with some wineries, such as Biondi-Santi, opting not to produce Riservas, favoring single-vineyard selections instead. In fact, James and I tasted just over 100 Riserva wines from a region with more than double the number of producers.

“An increasing number of our members prefer to focus on selections from single vineyards or single barrels, releasing them as Brunello annata because the Riserva, with ongoing climate change, requires an aging process that many consider too long,” Andrea Machetti, the director of the Consorzio del Vino Brunello, explained.

The shift was evident as early as the 2018 vintage, but the change was attributed to the lighter profile of the wines that year. However, the quality of the 2019 Riservas is on a wholly different, exceptional level, so the relative paucity of offerings will be more keenly felt.

Alessandro Mori of Il Marroneto said about 2019: “It was a straightforward vintage, with water and sun arriving at the right times. Even the acclaimed 2016 was less consistent.”

Interestingly, Mori did not produce a Riserva in 2019 but will for 2020, which will make it only their second Riserva ever, following the 2013.

“For us, 2020 was better,” Mori said. “We’re in a high-altitude position, and the musts require more time to mature. As Mario Cortevesio [the renowned Brunello winemaking consultant] used to say, ‘Wine needs its time.’”

Roberto Giannelli of San Filippo, on the other hand, said he thought he had produced “my best Riserva ever,” with the San Filippo Brunello di Montalcino Le Lucere Riserva 2019.

“In my opinion, the 2019 Riserva stands out for intensity and finesse,” he said. “We’ve managed to combine elegance and strength – a rare feat for sangiovese."

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Across Montalcino’s unofficially defined zones, the quality of 2019 Riservas shines across the board. From the warmer, sandier lower areas like Banfi’s Poggio all’Oro and Ciacci Piccolomini’s Pianrosso Santa Caterina to the higher elevations in the east, home to Gianni Brunelli and Salicutti, and even in the northwest around Castiglion del Bosco, there is remarkable, excellent consistency.

The two best examples are the full-bodied yet weightless Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Madonna del Piano Riserva 2019, which has “breathtaking purity of fruit” alongside its depth and presence, according to James, as well as the Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto 2019 (not marked a riserva but a single-vineyard Brunello released at the same time), which he enthusiastically described as “seductive” with “incredible depth” and questioned if it was the “wine of the vintage.”

Just a step below is the Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona Vigna di Pianrosso Santa Caterina d'Oro Riserva 2019, from owner-winemaker Paolo Bianchini. This is a graceful interpretation of the pebble-soil terroir in Bianchini’s vineyards near the Orcia River, with its ripe yet fresh aromas showing plums, cedar, rose petals and hints of leather. The polished tannins here are powerful but reserved, showing great presence and character. In all, it’s a “monumental” wine, according to James.

The classy and traditional Livio Sassetti Riserva 2019, meanwhile, shines for its transparency and ultra-fine texture, while the Poggio di Sotto Riserva 2019 confirms its consistency after being one of the standout samples from last year. It’s silky and graceful but you can also bet on it for the long haul.

Another wine deserving of mention is the Gianni Brunelli Riserva 2019, which is probably the best ever from the estate. It shines with its youthfulness and shows telltale raspberries fresh with smoky-woodland and licorice depth alongside amazing structure. Like many of the Brunello Riserva 2019s we tasted, it has all the hallmarks of the vintage in that it is classic, balanced and is meant for exquisite aging.

– Aldo Fiordelli, Senior Editor

Note: You can sort the wines below alphabetically by winery name and by score. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.