Pian delle Querci farms a small parcel in the hills south of Montalcino, and this is their Brunello from the 2018 vintage. Brunello di Montalcino is one of Italy's strictest appellations: 100% Sangiovese, nothing else permitted, and a minimum of two years in wood followed by four months in bottle before the wine can be sold. The 2018 growing season in Tuscany ran cool and even, which tends to give Sangiovese a finer, more lifted frame than in the hotter years.
- Sangiovese, the only grape allowed in Brunello di Montalcino.
- Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Tuscany, central Italy.
- 2018, a cool and even vintage in the region.
- Full body, high tannin, high acidity, bone dry.
- 14.5% alcohol, 750ml.
How it is made
Brunello must be pure Sangiovese, grown on the warm, dry hills around the town of Montalcino, south of Siena. The appellation requires at least two years of ageing in wood and four months in bottle before release, and most producers go well beyond that minimum. It is a slower, more structured wine than Chianti, built to sit in the cellar.
How it tastes
Sour cherry leads, then leather and tobacco, with dried herbs and a touch of undergrowth behind them. The tannins are firm and the acidity is high, which is what gives Sangiovese its grip and its length. There is a light vanilla note from the wood, and a dense, jammy depth underneath the savoury edges.
Good to know
Montalcino's vineyards sit higher and further south than most of Tuscany, and the Sangiovese grown there ripens later and thicker-skinned than anywhere else in the region. That is the whole reason Brunello became a separate appellation in the first place, rather than a corner of Chianti.
