The Brunello di Montalcino

Don’t miss the most expensive wine of Italy!

Brunello is a familiar brand with wine-lovers all over the world. Brunello di Montalcino, the red wine comes from the vineyards of Montalcino in Italy. It is one of the best wines in Italy that is capable of aging for better taste as well.

Brunello di Montalcino is relatively a modern invention for a country like Italy that has been producing wine for about 3,500 years. The superior quality wine is a result of continuous studies of a single man and a winemaker Ferruccio Biondi-Santi. In about 1870, he grew a clone variety of the Sangiovese known as the Brunello. He found that the berries were smaller in size and resistant to pest attacks. So he replaced his vineyards with this single variety and produced a wine that proved to be excellent in taste and quality than the previous one. He was so impressed that he named the wine Brunello di Montalcino in order to honor of the town Montalcino. Connoisseurs across the world consider this as one of the best when it comes to the aging capacity for a century and even longer.

The Brunello Di Montalcino is limpid and has a brilliant garnet color and with a persistent, intense, ethereal and full odor. The odor can be attributed to the brush lands and aromatic woods, a trace of vanilla, small fruit and fruity jams. The taste of the wine is elegant and has harmonic body strength due to its breeding. Brunello di Montalcino is one wine that tastes better and better with aging. The taste can depend on the number of years it is bottled. It can range from over 10 years to about 30 years or even longer.

It is difficult to say for how many years the wine will improve in bottle. The bottling also depends on the way it is stored, the temperature, light etc. The bottles also need to be laid horizontally.

Brunello is made from Brunello clones of the Sangiovese variety. The names of grapes are different for different varieties and the area in which they are found. Strangely, the name of the grapes used to make this wine and the wine itself has the same name – Brunello. After the harvest, only in the fifth year will the Brunello be released. They are required to be aged for two years in wood and four months in bottle. Traditional wines are aged for over three years in large oak casks. These help to impart a flavor of oak and also help to soften the wine. Today, they are stored in small barrique for small periods of time and impart a more refined oak flavor.

The DOCG
While producing these wine, severe standards needs to be followed in order to yield good results. They include yield limits and duration for aging as well. The wine produced will be subject to a tasting or evaluation by a committee whose primary task is to make sure that the wine contains all special qualities. The wine can bear the label DOCG only after passing the test.

The requirements are as follows:

*Production area - Municipality of Montalcino
*Vine variety - Sangiovese (‘Brunello’ in Montalcino)
*Maximum yield - 80 quintals per hectare
*Yield of wine from grapes - 68%
*Required ageing in wood - two years in oak casks
*Required ageing in bottles - 4 months (6 months for the Riserva)
*Color - intense ruby red, tending to garnet with ageing
*Aroma - characteristic and intense
*Flavor - dry, warm, slightly tannic, robust and harmonic
*Minimum alcohol grade - 12.5% by volume
*Minimum total acidity - 5 g/Lt
*Minimum net dry extracts - 24 g/Lt
*Bottling - must take place in the production area
*Sale - 5 years after the harvest year (6 years for the Riserva)
*Packaging - Brunello di Montalcino can be put on sale only in Bordeaux style bottles

Brunello di Montalcino was one among the first D O C G (Denominazione di Origine Controlata e Garantita) wines of Italy that had to be barrel aged for at least 36 months. It also had to be bottled for a year before releasing. The bottles that carry the name Rosso di Montalcino are those that are marketed without enough aging. The changes in climate and even the geography of the land contribute to the taste, texture, color and appearance of the wine. Some of the estates like Santa Restituta, Carmigliano and Argiano produce more alcoholic and softer, well-extracted wines fit to be consumed early. Modern winemakers produce wines that can be enjoyed even after just few years of bottling. About 90 of the wineries produce Brunello di Montalcino and they can be tasted in these wine shops located within the citadel walls.

Brunello di Montalcino - Combinations
The harmonic body of the wine and its elegant taste makes it possible to enjoy the wine with a lot of complex combination of dishes that include red meat, mushrooms and truffles. It is also excellent when taken with cheeses like parmesan, aged tomes and Tuscan pecorino. It makes an excellent combo to be consumed with international cuisine of meat dishes or complicated sauces. Brunello is also considered as a meditation wine. The wine Brunello has to be served in crystal glasses that are ballon shaped and that will make it possible to capture the harmonious and compound nature of the wine. The temperature required for serving the wine is 18-200C. If the wine is decanted in a crystal decanter, one can completely enjoy the purity of the wine.

Brunello di Montalcino - Commercial
Until the mid 1960s, the world did not know the existence of such a wine. It was known only to the locality where it was produced. But now, its brilliant taste has become so famous with lovers of original taste that it has found its way on to the tables of many international hotels. Today, it is considered as the most esteemed wines of Italy in terms of quality. This can be understood from the fact that the number of bottles produced in 1975 by 25 estates was about 800,000 which rose to over 3.5 million by 120 estates in the year 1995.

Brunello di Montalcino with its aristocratic and harmonious flavor has penetrated the world market and has since been known as a world phenomenon. This is one that has also contributed to the image of the country and the country’s wine culture.

A recent tasting of the 50 year old Brunello di Montalcino Riserva resulted in excellent condition and reminded of wild mushrooms, cigar box and truffles. It still had the vibrant color, firm texture and was finely balanced to any palate. It was also satisfying, smooth and had a real long finish.

Brunello di Montalcino today is under threat by modern wine making techniques. The color of the wing is being made more intense in order to gain high scores from the tasters and the wine press. Though some wineries follow the age old traditional processes to produce the wine, some modern industries make rich and dark wines like the Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona. The condition of the soil and climate of the vineyard could be the reasons behind this.

Brunello necessarily is a modern fruition. The modern rules of wine making were first suggested by the Biondi Santi family in later half of 1800. Today, the roots of the industry lie in the hands of a few producers of the 1960s. Today, there are about 200 producers in the Consorzio itself. The production has increased to over 6,000,000 bottles, i.e; 500,000 cases.

Top Producers

Agostina Pieri
Costanti
Cerbaiona di Diego Molinari
Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona
Le Chiuse
Le Macioche
Pertimali
Poggio di Sotto
Salvioni
Siro Pacenti
Val di Cava

One other main DOCG from Montalcino is Rosso di Montalcino. It has a few limitations on aging. The wine cannot be released before September 1 of the year of vintage. The 100% Brunello grapes have to be grown in an enclosed zone within Montalcino. The resulting wine can be soft and easy to drink when it is still young and also be capable of aging.

Brunello di Montalcino still manages to retain the top position of being `Italy's most expensive wine.' Many wines like the Sassicaia and the Tignanello are not behind the Brunello. Few other locations worthy of study are Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano, Rosso di Montepulciano and wines from Montecarlo and Lucca.

As a wine that was first awarded the DOCG status, it is a testimonial to true aristocracy, fabulous taste for aging and balance. The master winemakers of Banfi's master transform the Sangiovese grapes into an outstanding top-notch wine, which is perhaps the most appreciated and respected red wine of Italy. The Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino aged for a total of up to four years, including a minimum of two years in oak barrels is a is essentially a wine of strong character that has proved its capacity to attract and withhold the entire wine lovers by its rich color, complexity, depth, elegance and the lingering taste.

Enjoy a bottle of sip of Brunello either with roasts of meats, hearty stews or even rich variety of cheeses!