Tasting Report: More Outstanding Brunellos To Buy – 2010s, 2009 Riservas

Brunello di Montalcino's 2010 vintage is rapidly justifying its reputation as the best year ever for Italy’s premier wine appellation. Demand worldwide has never been higher for the great sangivoese-based red of Tuscany, and rightly so. The wines show amazing depth of fruit, ultra-fine tannins and great length. It's hard to think of better Brunellos, which is why I regard so many of them as perfect wines. Please do check out my last two reports already posted on the site to learn more about the vintage.

The notes below, focusing mostly on 2009 Riservas, single-vineyard bottlings and a few remaining 2010s, highlight yet more outstanding Brunellos, many of which were not available for sampling until this summer. Indeed, one such late release – “Giodo” – had up to now never been reviewed independently. A personal creation of Tuscany’s famous enologist Carlo Ferrini, who consults for the famed wineries of Casanova di Neri, Petrolo and Podere Sapaio among many others, the wine originates from a tiny vineyard on the south side of Montalcino and may well be his best effort ever. Only 3,000 bottles were produced, and it's a perfect wine.

Ferrini’s tiny-production Brunello encapsulates what makes 2010 Brunellos so wonderful to taste and drink. Showing such fabulous depth of fruit and texture on the palate, it’s a wine that remains forceful yet bright balance and balanced; despite its intensity it manages to evince wonderful freshness that makes it a joy to drink now. The 100-point red should be released on the market in a few months from now. 

Another wine upholding the excellence of 2010 Brunello comes from a long-time favorite producer of Brunello, Poggio di Sotto. Despite the estate being sold a few years ago to a new owner, it continues to make traditional Brunellos in every sense of the word that suggest intense balsamic and dried fruit character on the nose and palate. The 2010 was so fascinating a wine that I tasted it over a period of 24 hours, and it gained in impressive complexity and structure throughout. I rated it 98 points. 

In juxtaposition with the 2010s, the 2009 Riservas are of course hard to get excited about. Nevertheless, given the rarity of truly classic years, this isn’t something that should deter buyers from opening and enjoying them now.

Photo 1: Giodo Brunello di Montalcino 2010; Photo 2: (from left to right) Ruffino Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Greppone Mazzi 2010 and Poggio di Sotto Brunello di Montalcino 2010