Latest Italian Releases
2020 Brunello, 2019 Brunello Riservas, 2021 Barbarescos, new wines from 2020 and 2021 in Barolo, and the 2021 releases from Le Macchiole.
2019 Brunello was outstanding and these Riservas prove the point. 2020 in both Tuscany and Barbaresco, continues this theme. 2021 in Piedmont is another top vintage as witnessed by Antonio Galloni's remark about Sottimano:
"As for the 2021s, they are every bit as magnificent as they were last year. Cold nights in September and into October provided ideal conditions for richly expressive, structured wines. The 2021s saw extended time on the skins and were aged in cask, with no racking until bottling. These are some of the most impressive wines I have tasted in 25 years of visiting the estate."
It is worth noting that Andrea Sottimano made the highest scoring Barbaresco in Galloni's notes, and that he decided not to bottle any wine as Barbaresco from the 2022 vintage 'The wines were just too far off the level of the 2021s and 2023s and not really what we strive to make here.' Stock up now with the 2021's and any remaining 2019s and 2020s.
Brunello 2019, you may remember from last year's annata releases, was a vintage to rival 2016, and the Riservas include some stunning wines; near-perfect vineyard conditions producing a year that can certainly rival 2016 in longevity, but won’t punish impatience should you want to drink sooner. Brunello 2020 is a lovely vintage, not at the level of 2016 or 2019, of course, but to quote Galloni again, 'The successful wines of 2020 are absolutely gorgeous.'
Our Barolo producers have all been making compelling wines in recent vintages, and yet still remain excellent value, which may come as a surprise given current levels of interest in the 'King of Wines'. These releases from 2020 and 2021 are all worth a close look.
Finally the latest releases from Le Macchiole are from the benchmark 2021 vintage and we can only quote Antonio Galloni again: 'This is a stellar set of 2021s from Le Macchiole'.
Some of these wines are often tightly allocated, but please do register your interest and we will try and accommodate as best we can.
Jack, Angus, Tom & Toby - L&S Private Client Team