Part One: Five of the most Collectible Brunello 2020's
Highs from the Hill of Montalcino
Part One: Five of the most collectible Brunello 2020s
Text and photos by John Szabo MS
Moonrise over Montalcino, November 2024.
Montalcino is one of those postcard-perfect, hilltop Tuscan towns, a jewel of medieval architecture once considered an impenetrable stronghold. It’s protected by massive walls and a great fortezza, still standing today, constructed from the sandy brown pietraforte stones quarried locally, and which underlie many of the region’s best vineyards. When Florentine Cosimo de’ Medici took over the city in 1559, the town was the last independent municipality in Italy.
Montalcino derives its name from Mons Ilcinus, the Mount of the Lecci — Italian for holm oaks, as the image of these trees on the town’s coat of arms suggests. About 25 miles (40 km) south of the city of Siena, visible on a clear day, Montalcino overlooks the Val d’Orcia, to the east, and the Tyrrhenian Sea, to the west, from its imperious perch at close to 2,300 feet above sea level. Vineyards blanket the hill on all sides and stretch south passed the Abbey of Sant’Antimo with the extinct Monte Amiata volcano in the distance.
"Montalcino is not particularly famous, except for the goodness of its wines,” wrote English traveller Charles Thompson in 1744. Now, nearly 300 years later, Montalcino stands as one of Italy’s most famous towns, thanks, in particular, to the goodness of its wines.
The origins of Brunello as we know it can be traced back to Clemente Santi, who established the Biondi Santi estate, and who’s 1865 vintage turned heads as far away as Paris. But it wasn’t until the second half of the 20th century that Brunello di Montalcino evolved into an international symbol of the finest Italian wine. And in 1980, Brunello di Montalcino became the first Italian wine to be granted DOCG status (Denomination of Origin Controlled and Guaranteed), the highest designation in the national wine hierarchy. Success and fame followed swiftly, and the number of producer-bottlers has swelled to over 200 today.
"The success of Brunello stems from years of dedicated work,” says Count Francesco Marone Cinzano of the Col d’Orcia estate, one of the original founding members of the Consorzio Brunello di Montalcino, formed in 1967. “In 1974, only 75,000 bottles were sold. By 1980, sales exceeded 400,000, with several tens of thousands going abroad. The DOCG recognition was a pivotal moment, marking the definitive acknowledgment of Brunello di Montalcino’s quality and its historical, economic and social value."
Caption: Tenuta Corte Pavone’s Cypress-lined driveway, used in multiple films and streaming series.
Montalcino has led the way in wine tourism in Italy, with some of the first open cellars and guided tours in the country. The region welcomes thousands of visitors every year, concentrated in the summer.
But for a wine writer, the best time to travel to Montalcino is the middle of November for the annual unveiling of the new releases, and an event called Benvenuto Brunello. It’s been an annual stop on my travel calendar for more than 15 years, a perfect opportunity to size up the latest vintage just a few weeks before the official release on January 1. During the day, the Museo del Chiostro is filled with writers sampling wines served by a squadron of sommeliers; by night, you’ll find many of them milling around the Gothic arcades of the Logge near the Piazza del Popolo in the town centre, spilling out of the town’s best wine bar, Alle Logge, underneath the oft-photographed Palazzo dei Priori.
By law, Brunello di Montalcino must be aged a minimum of five years from the harvest, of which two years must be in wood, and six years for Brunello Riserva. Thus, for the 2024 edition of Benvenuto, 2020 Brunello “annata” and 2019 Riserva were presented.
Part One of these posts covers the best of the 2020 vintage; Part Two will cover the best of the 2019 Riservas.
2020 Brunello Vintage
The 2020 vintage is a triumph of accumulated knowledge and hard-won experience. Weather was not ideal. It was a scorching summer, which, in similarly hot years in the past like, say, 2017 or even 2009, resulted in notably jammy, raisined wines with hard tannins and dried out fruit. Yet there’s a freshness across the board in 2020 that defies logic. The heat and drought posed a challenge for sangiovese, a variety particularly sensitive to stress. But a combination of viticultural techniques learned in those previous years to limit the stress, and an almost maniacal devotion to refinement and precision in the cellar that seems universal across the denomination these days, conspired to create wines of remarkable fruitiness and upfront pleasure. “We harvested earlier in order to maintain freshness and elegance,” says Pietro Riccobono, director of winemaking at Val di Suga. “Learnings from the previous few hot and dry vintages really helped us make the right decisions.”
Count Marrone Cinzano of Col d’Orcia, calls it the “harvest of resilience,” which is a nod not only to the resilience of grapevines under extreme conditions, but also to the vineyard as a bastion of strength during the dark months of the pandemic and lockdowns. “The 2020 vintage symbolizes hope. It also embodies quality and aging potential, earning the highest five-star rating from the Brunello Consortium.”
The consistency of the wines was remarkable. Nearly 20 percent — some 30 wines of the 150 I tasted — merited “outstanding” status, 95 points or above. Fifteen or even ten years ago this would never have been the case; quality was far more heterogeneous. While offering plenty of immediate pleasure, many of the 2020s will also age gracefully through the mid-term, into the mid-late 2030s without concern.
Here are five estates that got everything right in 2020, and five from 2019. These wines should be in every collector’s cellar.
BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2020: A COLLECTOR’S GUIDE
Caption: Hayo Loacker of Corte Pavone.
TENUTA CORTE PAVONE
The Loacker family from Bolzano, Alto-Adige, purchased the Corte Pavone estate on the first hill west of Montalcino in 1996, expanding on their vineyard holdings in the north (Weingut Loacker) and in the Maremma (Tenuta Valdifalco). Organic farming was implemented immediately; it is now biodynamic. Hayo Loacker has run the property since 1998 with a Teutonic devotion to precision; after taking detailed infrared measurements across the entire estate, Hayo established seven micro parcels, five of which are bottled separately as crus in a very Burgundian-like obsession with terroir.
Corte Pavone Brunello di Montalcino Campo Marzio 2020
97 points
Campo Marzio is the only remaining original vineyard on the estate, 1.6 hectares planted in 1958, which makes it among the oldest commercial vineyards in Montalcino. It’s a site with a mix of shaly limestone rocks, and clay with loam, and tends to yield a sturdy, structured and age-worthy Brunello of special depth and class. The 2020 delivers a very fine and complete set of aromatics, and wow, such a full and complete palate — this is effortless, spectacular wine. Length is also extraordinary; the finish just goes on and on and on, and complexity is off the charts. Such class, ease, comfort and fluidity. It’s surprisingly delicious now, though will of course repay cellaring, into the end of the next decade for the fully mature experience. This is surely one of the wines of the vintage.
CASANOVA DI NERI
Giovanni Neri purchased the Podere Casanova in 1971 and renamed the estate Casanova di Neri, converting the poly agricultural holding into a dedicated wine estate. Other vineyards were acquired to complete the range of single-vineyard Brunellos produced by the winery today: Tenuta Nuova (Le Cetine), Cerretalto, Podernuovo and Pietradonice (planted to cabernet sauvignon).
Son Giacomo has run the estate since 1991, though now the reins are being ceded to the third generation, Gian Lorenzo and Giovanni. The estate has enjoyed critical acclaim for years, though the 2020s are the best in my view. There’s been a notable shift in winemaking style with the arrival of the next generation, from the richer, riper style that made Casanuova a favorite (especially in the U.S. and with publications like Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate) to wines that have finer detail and greater transparency without sacrificing depth and concentration.
Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino 2020
95 points
The latest classic Etichetta Bianca (white label) is open and voluminous on the nose, with wide-ranging aromatics; an absolute beauty, intensely spicy and resinous with ample red fruit alongside. It’s complex and complete. The palate is a sheer joy of fine tannins and zesty acids in synchronicity, and length is excellent. A model of 2020 Brunello, and a terrific new direction from Casanova into more refined and elegant territory. It will drink well quite early on, from about 2026; or hold comfortably into the mid-to-late 2030s.
Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova 2020
96 points
A savoury and tonic, appealingly medicinal edition of Casanova’s Tenuta Nuova, featuring orange zest and savoury herbs, adding considerably more fruit on the palate, slipping from red into blue fruit. The structure is ample and firm, certainly more dense than the estate’s Etichetta Bianca 2020, while length is superb. A bold and concentrated wine with a high degree of finesse, a wine that will need three to four years, at least, to come into prime drinking. Lovely wine.
Caption: The hills south of Montalcino near Podere Giodo.
PODERE GIODO
Podere Giodo is the personal project of famed Italian wine consultant Carlo Ferrini. Ferrini has a long list of high-profile clients, but in 2002, after years of searching, he purchased this property in southern Montalcino between Sant’Antimo and Sant’Angelo in Colle to plant and craft his own celebrations of Sangiovese. (Ferrini also owns vineyards and makes wines on Mt. Etna, the superlative Alberelli di Giodo). His 2020 is the Musigny of Brunello.
Giodo Brunello di Montalcino 2020
96 points
Lovely pale-medium, limpid garnet red colour; perfumed and spicy, herbal but not green, more tonic than fruity. The palate is soft and gentle, perfumed and finessed — so elegant, gentle but complex and delightful, and above all, satisfying. A wonderful wine so in line with the zeitgeist, one that matches expectations of fine wine lovers from anywhere. It’s drinking beautifully now — in fact, I wonder, why wait? Though you could cellar into the early 2030s for a more evolved and savoury expression.
Caption : The old office at Biondi-Santi.
LE CHIUSE
Le Chiuse is a magnificent estate on the generally cooler, north side of Montalcino. It has a storied past. It was in the Biondi Santi family for more than two centuries and was the source of the famed estate’s legendary Brunello Riserva made by Franco Biondi Santi, and his father, Tancredi, before him. Today the vineyards are under the care of Lorenzo Magnelli, son of Franco’s niece Simonetta Valiani and great-great grandson of Tancredi, who continues to produce wines of marvellous finesse and ageability under the Le Chiuse estate name. The unique Riserva “Diecianni” is released only after 10 years of ageing, four more than required by law, and is intended to establish this special vineyard’s penchant for age-worthy wines and, says Lorenzo: “To give time to a wine that asks for time.” Le Chiuse’s wines are reliably in the upper echelon of Brunellos year in and year out.
Le Chiuse Brunello di Montalcino 2020
96 points
Gorgeous perfume off the top here from Lorenzo Magnelli’s 2020, a wine of consummate balance and precision, and purity, with a degree of complexity rarely equalled in 2020. Tannins are perfectly dialled, fine and ultra-refined, with comfortably ripe acids framing the ensemble. The back end expands and grows with long lasting echoes. A magnificent wine, best from 2027 or so — it should have a long landing strip of pleasure lasting well into the 2030s though it will be tempting earlier.
VAL DI SUGA
Val di Suga was established in 1969 on the north side of Montalcino and was among the first estates to create single-vineyard Brunellos, first with Vigna al Lago in 1983 on the northern slope near the winery, followed by Vigna Spuntali in 1988 on a southwestern slope. The estate then came under the ownership of Tenimenti Angelini, who increased the planted surface area and renovated the cellar. The Poggio al Granchio cru was added in 2009, a parcel in southeastern Montalcino towards the Monte Amiata.
Val di Suga Brunello di Montalcino Poggio al Granchio 2020
96 points
Poggio al Granchio is the highest of Val di Suga’s vineyards in the southeast sector of the appellation near the Monte Amiata at close to 1,500 feet above sea level. The wine is aged 24 months in wooden vats followed by 18 months in concrete and more in bottle before release. It’s usually the most structured and powerful wine in the range, with plenty of ferrous notes alongside taut, tart cherry fruit, black and red. I love the stony, severe nature of the palate — this really grips the tongue. Fruit is very much a secondary, or even a tertiary feature. A wine lover’s wine, austere and mineral. It will need considerable time to come around, at least four to five years, I’d suggest. A grand wine.
Next Up:
Part Two: Five of the most Collectible 2019 Brunello Riservas.