Brunello di Montalcino 2019
Highlights from the Hunt & Speller En Primeur tasting
One of the last tastings of the year before the calendar wraps up ahead of Christmas, Walter Speller and Jane Hunt’s Brunello di Montalcino En Primeur is a chance to get to grips with the latest vintage of one of Italy’s most successful and prestigious fine wines before the vintage is officially released on 1st January the following year.
There has been considerable interest in the 2019 vintage, with commentators mentioning it in the same breath as the mighty 2016 or impressive 2010. After the torrid 2017 harvest which produced intensely dry, chewy wines with burly tannins, and the charming 2018s (which were, as so often, written off as being un-great despite being delicious), 2019 was a return to more classical form for Brunello di Montalcino.
The vintage itself seems to have been orthodox - wet springs, warm summers where rain alternated with heat, especially in August, and kept disease pressure low, followed by a late harvest thanks to cooler nights in October, which kept alcohols reasonably in check. Quality and quantity both look good and producers seemed happy in the end.
Unfortunately, not everyone shows their wines at this tasting, with many of the top producers absent. That is a shame, and I am sure there are reasons for it, but it doesn’t help Brunello di Montalcino as a proposition in the world market when tastings are unable to represent the full breath of what has been achieved in a vintage.
Nonetheless, here are some of the wines that impressed me in the tasting. I focussed on the straight Brunello di Montalcino wines, although when they were really good, I tasted other wines from the same producer.
Argiano Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2019
Despite its fame, I haven’t always got on brilliantly with the Argiano wines, but the 2019 was the first wine of the tasting (it was alphabetical) and an absolute blinder. I went back and retasted it again at the end, just in case I was being over-generous at the beginning, but no — it’s really good. Expect intense dried strawberry and tomato fruit, big, ripe, al dente tannins and plenty of stuffing in the middle. It’s rich, but there’s juice, and it finishes slightly minty. I think this is likely to be a wine that gives great pleasure every stage of its development.
Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2019
This is less immediately pleasurable than the Argiano, but it also has more depth. Pork pâté, mushroom, dried red fruit, something reminiscent of tree bark, bay leaf and with a touch of liquorice on the finish. A more savoury interpretation than Argiano but a really impressive showing. Canalicchio di Sopra’s single vineyard La Casaccia 2019 is also a very impressive wine, but more gruff at this stage, and it will need considerable time in bottle if it is to exceed the pleasure of the straight Brunello.
La Gerla di Sergio Rossi Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2019
La Gerla, once part of Biondi Santi’s estate until Sergio Rossi bought it in 1976, really impressed me this year. The wine is very typical of 2019 as a vintage: ripe, structured by fine, papery tannins, a little austere, with delineated red fruit and elevated acidity. It should make for a refined glass of wine once it softens up in bottle, which might take a few years.
Salicutti Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2019
An outré and distinctive style, this has bright, edgy notes of pomegranate, redcurrant and cranberry with poignant acidity, fine, smooth tannins and a tapered finish that recedes gracefully. It is not, however, austere; there is glycerol richness and extract and real length here. Idiosyncratic, but hugely characterful and convincing.
Sesti Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2019
Consistently one of my favourite estates, Sesti has produced a riveting Brunello in this vintage. The wild strawberry meets brick dust contradiction that makes these wines so engaging is there, with leather, tobacco, laurel leaf and terracotta, but balanced by papery tannins and buttressing acidity. This should age magnificently and is a monumentally pure expression of Brunello Sangiovese. Their Phenomena Riserva 2018 that was also shown is mellow, savoury and richly textured with a touch of membrillo; quite wonderful.
La Rasina Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2019
This estate has turned out a very good wine in 2019. With plenty of oomph and Tuscan Sangiovese stuffing, this is packed with tomato, tapenade and dried cherry fruit, in a richly savoury style with lifted acidity and ripe, assertive tannins. It’s highly structural and should develop handsomely but is already broachable with food. Great length too — the complete package. Their single vineyard Persante 2019 is also an impressive wine but only time will tell how or if it will outshine this wine. I’d go for the regular Brunello, personally.
Talenti Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2019
A refined expression of Brunello, this is a little austere, quite fine-boned with an acid-derived structure that uses brilliantly integrated oak for aromatic complexity. Fine papery tannins support a chiselled, spicy and surprisingly delicate palate.
Uccelliera Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2019
This estate can tend to chunkiness, but 2019 is good here. Brawny and monumental in structure but it undeniably intense, concentrated, persistent and uncompromising. A Brunello of density and power that will reward time in cellar over enthusiastic impatience.