Wine | Brunello di Montalcino

Brunello di Montalcino is Sangiovese taken as seriously as Italy takes any wine. One grape, one hill town in southern Tuscany, and a set of rules that are among the strictest in the country: 100% Sangiovese Grosso, a minimum of five years of ageing before release — at least two of them in oak — and six years for a Riserva. No blending in Merlot to soften the edges, no early release to improve cash flow. The DOCG denomination was Italy's first, granted in 1980, and Montalcino has spent the four decades since defending it.

The result is a wine that behaves differently from almost anything else on a shelf. Young Brunello is tight, tannic and faintly austere. Given air — or given years — it opens into dried cherry, leather, tobacco leaf, balsamic and a savoury, almost dusty earthiness that Tuscan Sangiovese produces nowhere else quite so completely. It is a wine for food, for slow evenings, and for people who are content to wait.

Where to start

The best entry point in this collection is Collina Dei Lecci Brunello Di Montalcino ($32.99) — genuinely well-made Brunello at a price that lets you find out whether the style is for you before committing further. Sant Arturo Brunello di Montalcino ($34.99) sits alongside it as the other value pick, a touch riper and slightly more approachable young.

A step up, La Poderina Brunello Di Montalcino ($39.09) and Mocali Brunello di Montalcino ($47.99) are the collection's mid-weight benchmarks. Mocali in particular is a good demonstration of classical Montalcino: dried fruit rather than fresh, firm acid, tannins that need either a decanter or a steak.

The serious bottles

Castello Banfi Brunello Di Montalcino ($68.09) is the most recognisable name here and the one most likely to be familiar from a restaurant list — polished, modern in style, consistently made. Fattoria La Fiorita Brunello di Montalcino ($69.99) is the collection's most expressive bottle, and Carpineto Brunello di Montalcino ($59.99) the most classically structured.

For something less widely seen, Tenuta San Giorgio Brunello Di Montalcino Ugolforte ($45.99), Armilla Brunello di Montalcino ($45.09) and Tenuta Poggio Il Castellare Brunello di Montalcino ($56.09) are all small-production estates that reward the attention. These are the bottles to buy two of — one to open now, one to leave alone for five years.

Serving and cellaring

Decant young Brunello for at least an hour; ninety minutes is better. Serve at 60–65°F, cooler than most people pour red wine, because warmth exaggerates the alcohol and flattens the acid that makes the wine work. It wants food with fat and salt — bistecca alla fiorentina is the regional answer, but braised short rib, aged pecorino, wild mushroom risotto or anything with rosemary will do the same job.

On cellaring: a good Brunello from a decent vintage will improve for ten to twenty years, and a Riserva longer. If you have somewhere dark and cool to keep bottles, this is one of the categories where patience is genuinely rewarded rather than merely traditional.

Related collections

If Brunello appeals, the neighbouring categories are worth exploring. Our Sangiovese collection covers the same grape across Tuscany at gentler prices — Carpineto Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva ($32.99) and Marchesi Antinori, Peppoli Chianti Classico ($24.99) are both excellent introductions to what Sangiovese does outside Montalcino, and both make sensible weeknight alternatives to a bottle you'd rather save. The broader Tuscany collection puts the whole region in one place, and the red wine collection and full wine collection go wider still.