Benvenuto Brunello 2022 returned to NYC presented by the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino. This was Benvenuto Brunello’s 30th anniversary. It was a two day event and because of Covid the format was different from past iterations when it was a walk around tasting.
This version was a seated tasting and waiters brought the wines to taste four at a time. I was at table 4 seat C. The bottles were numbered according to the winery and the letter that followed indicated the type of wine. The D above was for the 2016 Brunello Riserva. Il Gattopardo Restaurant, which hosted the event, was responsible for the service and it ran very smoothly.
The speaker was Lars Leicht, VP of Education for the Somm Journal, and Wine-Sherpa-in-Chief of Vino Viaggio. I have known Lars for a number of years and was very pleased to hear that he would speak about Brunello.
The production area for Brunello is the commune territory of Montalcino. The grape variety is Sangiovese in the town and territory of Montalcino in Tuscany.
Brunello must be aged 2 years in oak casks and 4 months in bottle or 6 for the Riserva. Bottling must take place in the production zone. The wine is available for sale from the 1st of January of the 5th year following the harvest (6th year for the Riserva). Brunello di Montalcino can only be sold in Bordeaux-type bottles. All Brunello is DOCG.
In my experience Brunello needs to age at least 10 years before (even in a not so great a year) I would even think of drinking it. Brunello improves greatly with age. If you want to drink something “approachable” and ready to drink young, then drink a Rosso di Montalcino which is produced for that purpose.
There were 53 producers presenting: Rosso di Montalcino 2020, Brunello 2017 and Brunello Riserva 2016. The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is an epic vintage. A balanced summer and autumn gave the grapes perfect ripeness. The right rains and temperatures never too high made this year one of the most important ever. The Consorzio rated the vintage 5 stars.
Lars said the 2015 and the 2016 are wines that will age and should be cellared to get the most out of them. The 2017 will be ready to drink soon. The 2017’s are mostly intensely fruity with crunchy wild berries. I would still wait another few years before I drank the 2017. The 2015 and 2016 vintages are classic vintages with a savory and subdued character.
I was able to taste the reserve from the 2015 vintage at a Wine Media Guild event at IL Gattopardo a number of months ago. I was very impressed with the wine. At this tasting I decided to taste only the 2016 Riserva and see how it compare to the 2015 Riserva. I tried to taste the wines from the same producers.
These are some of the 20016 Brunello Riserva I tasted.
Altesino
Banfi
Caparzo
Capinetto
Col’Orcia
Donatella Cinelli Colombini
Fattoria Dei Barbi
IL Poggione
La Fiorita
La Gerla
Ridolfi
Tenute Silvio Nardi
Uccelliera
After tasting the wines, I have to give the nod to the 2016 riserva. One would have to go back to the 2001 and 2004 vintages to almost find it’s equal. I was very happy to welcome back Brunello to NYC.