Jan 14, 2011

2001 Brunello

Our February event will feature Brunello!!  Details coming very soon.

Brunello, roughly translated as "nice dark one" in the local dialect, is the unofficial name of the clone of Sangiovese grapes grown in the Montalcino region. In 1980, the Brunello di Montalcino was awarded the firstDenominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) designation and today is one of Italy's best-known and most expensive wines.

In his book Tuscany and Its Wines, the eminent British writer Hugh Johnson described Brunello di Montalcino as Tuscany's biggest and boldest wine, adding that "In the last years of the 20th century Brunello di Montalcino far outpaced Chianti in esteem; formed, one might say, its own category of Supertuscan."   Johnson's oblique reference to those popular Tuscan blends ignores the fact that in Brunello di Montalcino, Sangiovese stands on its own, without the help of any other variety such as found in other Tuscan reds.  Brunello is the only Tuscan Sangiovese-based red wine that is not blended with another grape.



Brunello di Montalcino is made 100% from Sangiovese. Traditionally, the wine goes through an extended maceration period where color and flavor are extracted from the skins. Following fermentation the wine is then aged in oak. Traditionally, the wines are aged 3 years or more "in botte"-large Slavonian oak casks that impart little oak flavor and generally produce more austere wines. Some winemakers will use small French barrique which impart a more pronounced vanilla oak flavor and add a certain fruitiness to the wine.

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