2019 Brunello
by Jack Chapman
You will be ‘Spoiled for choice’ – Michael Morris MW, Decanter.com
We don’t have another vintage of such volumetric importance and uniform quality in the foreseeable future. – Monica Larner, RobertParker.com
Montalcino continues to create world-class wines of the highest calibre and, in most cases, at reasonable price points. – Eric Guido, Vinous.com
‘When a year is this great, there is no need to say anything’, is a quote I will pinch from a producer in Brunello, whilst I struggle to add anything of value to the sentiment. 2019, or 2016? This will be the debate. Which you favour will simply come down to preference, but both represent the very finest Brunello can offer.
2019 was easy. There was enough rain in winter to top up the water table, April and May were quite cool, so there was little disease pressure, and the summer was wonderfully sunny, but without many excessive heat spikes. There was also the odd scattered shower, just to keep things fresh.
At harvest, fine conditions meant most producers could pick at their leisure, choosing optimum moments to do so.
The resulting wines are outstanding, with the only danger being over-extraction in the winery. Where 2016 is very elegant and fresh, 2019 is forward, fleshy and bold – both have enormous structure and will be incredibly age worthy, but where 2016 is a sleeper, 2019s will be the sort of wine you are happy to open from day one, to year 20.
All our producers below made some of their best wines, reflected by all achieving some of their highest scores ever. Carlo & Bianca Ferrini’s magical Giodo was even given the highest score in the whole region by RobertParker.com.
There is an embarrassment of riches here. World class wine at very modest prices. Unless you are deathly allergic to Sangiovese, I recommend stockpiling as much as you can – I don’t think we will ever see these prices again.
If you have any questions about the wines or would like to place an order, please email your account manager or privateclients@leaandsandeman.co.uk.
REVIEWS
Michaela Morris – Decanter
You will be ‘Spoiled for choice’
Monica Larner, – RobertParker.com
'We don’t have another vintage of such volumetric importance and uniform quality in the foreseeable future.’
Eric Guido – Vinous
'Montalcino continues to create world-class wines of the highest caliber and, in most cases, at reasonable price points.'
Collemattoni
This is a small, 13-hectare estate, spread across the Southwest and Southeast of Montalcino. The winery (and some of these 13 hectares), sits in San Angelo in Colle on the southern side of the hill of Montalcino, nestling above the famous and rather larger Col d'Orcia vineyards (145 hectares). Winemaker Marcello Bucci is making wonderfully good wines which have rapidly increased both in quality and international recognition.
With his new winery now well and truly bedded in Marcello is thriving with the greater control and flexibility he now has - this is an estate going from strength to strength and the wines have a real true imprint of these beautiful rolling hills and Marcello's gentle manner. The wines from these vineyards are fuller and riper perhaps, than Fuligni or Padelletti. However, where there may be less lacy finesse, they more than compensate with indulgent joy, not to mention with their pricing. Collemattoni make some of the best value wines of the region.
2019 BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO Collemattoni
The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino is rich with a dark blend of crushed strawberries and plums complemented by minty herbs and camphor. This displays soft textures and a core of ripe wild berry fruitsThe 2019 Brunello di Montalcino is rich with a dark blend of crushed strawberries and plums complemented by minty herbs and camphor. This displays soft textures and a core of ripe wild berry fruits guided by brisk acidity. A web of fine-grained tannins saturates toward the close. The 2019 tapers off structured and long, leaving a dusty sensation. However, it's still fresh, as bitter hints of black tea and an air of sage resonate. This will take time to come fully into focus. Drinking range: 2026 - 2034 Rating: 92 Eric Guido, www.vinous.com (Mar 2024)
In Bond
Fuligni
Our relationship with Roberto goes back to the mid-nineties. We have always loved the wines here, which combine the concentration and elegance of the best of Brunello. They can be drunk more or less from release, and are so perfectly balanced that they age beautifully.
Year after year Roberto and his team hit the highest heights of what is possible here. Truly classic Brunello is what they do best So fine, so poised with great tension and yet depth of fruit too - these are wines that make you think, stop you in your tracks and stun you in a way that very few producers can manage, The two current releases are nothing short of mesmerising.
Fuligni’s vineyards are some of the highest and coolest in the area, perched on the slopes to the east of Montalcino and this gives them enormous advantage, ensuring a finesse and elegance that others struggle to imitate.
Padelletti
The Padellettis are one of Montalcino's oldest families, and one with an illustrious past, stretching back into the 13th century at least. In 1529, Giovanni Padelletti, an architect, was given charge of a section of wall and two gates for the defence of the city against the Spanish invaders, and his descendants still own them. Under the Medicis they had to lie low, but by 1576 they are again listed as owning land and vineyards.
From this six hectares they select less than a quarter of the grapes for Brunello, so this is a charmingly small production of the utmost quality. Traditional practices are respected with the winemaking, where the wine is fermented in cement tanks and aged in large Slavonian oak casks in their original cellars in central Montalcino, on Via Guido e Dino Padelletti, right under the family's historic house.
‘Padelletti holds the traditional line in the extreme northeast of Montalcino. Their properties are some of the highest-elevation vineyards in the area (between 400-430 meters) and are insulated by surrounding forests. The wines are always pure representations of vintage and place, communicating a throw-back style without ever coming across as rustic.’
Eric Guido – Vinous.com
Podere Giodo di Carlo Ferrini
'Eleganza, Eleganza, Eleganza' is the mantra of the enigmatic Carlo Ferrini who has once again crafted a beautifully focused, sleek Brunello from his own immaculate, small estate of just 5.5 Hectares in Montalcino. Giodo is named in honour of his parents 'Giovanna and Donatello'. Since the first vintage in 2009, this estate has fast become something of a cult classic, immediately right there - in amongst the established top Montalcino producers.
With limited production and incredible provenance, it is no surprise that these wines are in huge demand and heavily oversubscribed.
