TastingsTerritories and wines

Benvenuto Brunello, the preview of Montalcino

by Riccardo Viscardi
benvenuto brunello 2024

Thoughts on Benvenuto Brunello 2024, the vintages presented and our best tastings of both the 2020 Brunello di Montalcino and 2019 Reserves at the Montalcino preview.

The now traditional Benvenuto Brunello, a Montalcino preview of the Brunello di Montalcino vintages on the market from January 1, 2025, saw us busy throughout the middle week of November. Two days were organized by the Consortium for the technical tasting, plus one dedicated to meeting with producers and the traditional banquets, strongly desired by the members.

Excellent organization at Benvenuto Brunello, the Montalcino preview. Wines in perfect temperature, quick and punctual service allowed us to taste all the Brunellos, both from the 2020 vintage with the relevant selections (always on the rise the latter even in let’s say transitional vintages), and the Brunello Riserva 2019 presented by practically all the 124 participating producers.

Some general considerations

Goblets Welcome BrunelloSome reflections are general and we make them now: it seems to be uncontrollable the growth of vineyard mentions by companies, in a maelstrom whose meaning is not understood except that of an atomization of corporate identity. Few are those who buy new land to make a particular vineyard in a well-characterized area of Montalcino.

So it happens that instead of having the classic Brunello vintage and the Riserva you have 3-4 wines, with the logical consequence that the Brunello vintage is simplified and the Riserva sometimes lacks personality because of the choices made upstream by the producer. It seems to me a scraping the bottom of the barrel and almost raping a great territory that so atomized is unable to express itself. Then there are the virtuosos who buy vineyards in vocated areas and from there create a vineyard project with excellent results and are the first to not bottle the single vineyard if the vintage does not satisfy them (for example, Val di Cava did not produce Montosoli 2020). Another consideration is that the quality gap between the various producers is widening again

significantly by creating a sharp caesura between those who are living and those who have projects, knowledge and science. In this picture, the most worrying aspect is a uncontrolled quest toward finesse which often results, in many Brunellos, in a banality which causes the wines to lose the pathos that has been their planetary success over the past 30 years. In many wines Montalcino is no longer recognized and can get confused with other Tuscan appellations creating chaos. From these considerations it follows that we are moving more and more toward the reliability of certain brands and not of the appellation which has been fundamental to the common success, the stability of the companies and the high price of bulk.

The vintages in the tasting

Specifically on the vintages presented during Benvenuto Brunello, we had a beautiful performance of the 2020 which denotes good balances in the best performers despite the heat and lack of summer rains; in addition, the harvest was also well managed despite the rains in early and late September. A harmonious ready-to-drink vintage with fair aging potential. Particularly happy with the vintage were the areas of Montosoli, of Upper Sixth and around the dirt road, of Santa Restituta

and some high areas on the ridge leading to Castiglion del Bosco. Also good the eastern Cerbaie and the San Polo area. Uneven Castelnuovo dell’Abate with the side towards Amiata rewarded more than the inner valley.

The 2019 Reserves were very much affected by the winery’s philosophy but some are truly outstanding as expected from the vintage. Austere, fascinating wines, long aging but well predisposed to immediate drinking, definitely complex the best.

Our choices

Below are about thirty 2020 Brunellos and 2019 Reserves – in alphabetical order by producer – that you will find in the 2026 guide (with their scores). We must remember that these are wines that will be released on the market in 2025 and not all in January. We will probably see them in wine shops after the summer and start drinking them next fall or even in winter 2026.

Brunello di Montalcino 2020

Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2019

Vicecuratore della Guida Essenziale ai Vini d’Italia e articolista di punta di DoctorWine, unisce la sua formazione in chimica a una profonda passione per il vino. Con oltre trent’anni di esperienza, è un esperto degustatore, in primis di Sangiovese (è noto anche come Mr. Brunello), in generale di rossi, ma apprezzato anche per la conoscenza dei vini bianchi. La sua preparazione scientifica lo distingue come un degustatore tecnico di straordinaria competenza.

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