Brunello di Montalcino

A Tuscan wine with history: the Brunello di Montalcino is one of the most complex and longest-lasting red wines that Italy has to offer. The wines from the south of Tuscany have been inspiring the entire wine world for a long time. 

What kind of wine is Brunello?

Along with Barolo and Amarone della Valpolicella, Brunello di Montalcino is one of Italy's three great red wines. And while we're on the subject of direct comparison: of these three, Brunello di Montalcino is the one with the highest average price. In this case, its reputation and price are based on the exceptional quality of the wine, which promises just as much enjoyment when young as when aged. The only difference is that the wine has a completely different character when it is aged. But let's just delve into the exciting history of Brunello di Montalcino.

Where does Brunello come from?

As the addition ‘di Montalcino’ already suggests, the Sangiovese grapes for Brunello thrive around the tranquil town of Montalcino in southern Tuscany. Welcome to central Italy! The 2,000 hectares of vineyards are spread over areas that are not quite as high as in Chianti, for example. Since the hills are also somewhat gentler, the climate here is also somewhat warmer.

Added to this are the Galstro soils. Both ensure that the grapes develop an intense aroma. Because the weather around Montalcino is very good and, above all, usually very dry until late autumn, the harvest can usually start late. This makes the grapes even more intense. Brunello di Montalcino was awarded DOC status for the first time in 1966, giving it protected designation of origin. In 1980, it was upgraded to DOCG status.

Why is Brunello actually called Brunello?

In English, ‘bruno’ means ‘brown’. In the 14th century, it was used to describe the colour of a wine from Montalcino that had turned brown due to oxidation. However, this wine has nothing to do with today's Brunello. In fact, the name Brunello was coined by the winemaker Ferruccio Biondi Santi, who had the vision of creating a unique and great wine as early as the mid-19th century. As luck would have it, one day Ferruccio Biondi Santi found a vine in his vineyard whose grapes looked completely different from the Sangiovese grapes growing all around it.

Biondi Santi thought he had discovered a new grape variety – and named it Brunello because of the brownish colour of the berry skins. What the winemaker could not have known at the time, of course, was that it was actually a variety of Sangiovese. But this was not finally clarified until around the turn of the millennium. So the man can be forgiven at this point. But it wasn't just the grape variety that Ferruccio Biondi Santi came up with for his Brunello; he also came up with a very special vinification method.

How is Brunello made?

Ferruccio Biondi Santi aged his Brunello in wooden barrels for a particularly long time. Well, at the end of the 19th century, this wasn't that unusual, because the region's wines were even sold exclusively in wooden barrels. But Biondi Santi did it differently. When he had his wine tasted for the first time in Siena in 1880, he bottled it first. A small sensation in Tuscany! Incidentally, the first vintage did not come onto the market until 1888 – that's how long the winemaker allowed his Brunello di Montalcino to mature in the bottle!

These long maturing periods have changed little to this day. A Brunello must mature for at least 42 months in Slavonian oak barrels – and then another 24 months in the bottle. Hardly any other Italian red wine is aged for so long or has such a long bottle ageing period! To this day, a Brunello di Montalcino must be made exclusively from Sangiovese. After the Brunello grape variety was renamed Sangiovese Grosso (because of the large grapes), it has since been discovered that the soil is responsible for the large grapes. That is why the different-looking grape around Montalcino is now simply called Sangiovese.

Why is Brunello so expensive?

The fact that a Brunello di Montalcino is one of the most expensive red wines in Italy is partly due to the long ageing period. After all, it takes at least 5.5 years from the harvest to the first sale before a winery earns anything from its Brunello. Not to mention the fact that you always have several vintages in your cellar. A lot of space is needed per se. Another reason is the very high prices that a winemaker has to pay for a hectare of vineyard. If you want to buy a hectare, you have to put up to a million euros on the table!

The third and final factor is, of course, prestige. Until the 1920s, the Biondi Santi winery had a virtual monopoly on Brunello. But due to its success, other winemakers then followed suit. This increased the quantity, which meant that the wine could also be sold outside the region. But then a few disasters occurred. First, phylloxera destroyed large areas of Tuscany, the global economic crisis hit with full force in 1929 – and then the Second World War began. The Brunello winemakers only recovered slowly from this. In 1960, 11 winemakers cultivated just 63 hectares! But with the introduction of the protected designation of origin, Brunello production picked up again. Wineries such as Biondi Santi, Cupano, Poggione, Salvioni, Soldera, La Fiorita, Podere le Ripi and Cerbaiona ensured that Brunello is now in demand all over the world.

What does Brunello taste like?

The only question that remains is the taste. A young Brunello sparkles in a rich ruby red colour, the riper it is, the more it tends towards a garnet red. The wine has an intense aroma of cherries and plums, as well as tobacco and herbs. When aged, hints of caramel and undergrowth are also added. The tannins are initially firm but still silky. The older the wine, the silkier the tannins become. Whether powerfully youthful or harmoniously aged, a Brunello is always elegant and impresses with an enormously long finish.

Due to its intensity, a Brunello di Montalcino is the perfect companion for game and stews. But it can also be enjoyed with guinea fowl or duck. It is equally delicious with lamb dishes of all kinds – or roasted aubergines. Discover the variety of Brunello at Best of Wines now!