Audrey’s Top 20 Brunello of 2019

2019 Il Marroneto Brunello Di Montalcino Madonna Delle Grazie

For lovers of this estate, you’re going to want to stop everything and go find the 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino Madonna Delle Grazie if you have the means. There’s simply nothing else like it, and it needs to be experienced. It pours a saturated, youthful ruby color and has an unmistakable and distinctive nose that is highly expressive, with layered aromas jumping from the glass and unfolding notes of cassis, wildflowers, orange marmalade, clove, and blackberries. (Words do this no justice.) Equally potent and layered on the palate, it continues seamlessly, with noble structure and profound concentration through a stunning and long finish that lasts for several minutes (or as long as I could give it until moving on). Remarkable and singular, it truly stands apart from the crowd, even in this phenomenal vintage, where it’s hard to do much wrong. Profound. It’s a showstopper now and will be one of the great wines of the region for decades. Drink 2028-2050.

Il Marroneto was established in 1974 by Alessandro Mori, who today is joined by his son Iacopo as winemaker. Originally from Siena, Alessandro was looking to create a small winery and was encouraged by a priest in Montalcino to take a look at a church property on the northern side of the town, with its exposition overlooking Siena. It was there he found the home for his winery. Today, the Mori family’s approach to the vineyard and the winery remains traditional in that they work by more natural methods of temperature control, they do not implement green harvesting of the vines, and they do not work the soil, looking for nature itself to create its selection. The ground here is 75% sand, the ideal soil for Sangiovese. Today they own eight hectares of vineyard, with their prime holdings just outside the winery, the two hectares that make up Modanna delle Grazie sitting at 440 meters above sea level. All of their vineyards have a northern exposition, which is important for the cold winds in the early evening and through the night.

2019 Poggio Di Sotto Brunello Di Montalcino

I was able to taste the 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino three times for this report, and it’s one of the great wines of the vintage. It takes on a bit more muscular style for the Poggio di Sotto estate, but it retains the DNA of the estate at large with its outstanding clarity. It’s medium ruby-colored and reveals notes of pure cherry, anise, wildflowers, wet stone, and tea leaf. Structured and long on the palate, it has ripe, chiseled tannins, a balanced spine of acidity, and notes of salted orange through the finish, with a long-lasting perfume. Its transparency, balanced with its complexity, makes this one of the most intriguing wines, and if stored properly, it will only improve with time in the cellar. Drink 2027-2047.

2019 Salvioni Brunello Di Montalcino La Cerbaiola

A jeweled red color, the 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino La Cerbaiola is wonderfully detailed on the nose with aromas of ripe cherries, cedar, dried roses, fresh leather, and mint. It carries beautifully onto the palate, with a medium to full-bodied frame and ripe tannins woven together with warming spice and fresh acidity. Everything you hope for, with lovely purity and fantastic length, this superb offering from Salvioni is complete and a benchmark wine for the vintage. Drink 2027-2050. 9900 bottles produced.

In January I met with Alessia Salvioni in the original historic cellar that is based in the center of the town of Montalcino, and the estate also has a second cellar in the vineyard where the fruit undergoes fermentation before being transferred to the casks at either facility. They have 20 hectares in total, with only four hectares of vineyards that are all classified as Brunello vineyards, so in the years that they do produce a Rosso di Montalcino, it comes from the same vineyards. In the vineyards, they have two parcels, the original plantings with older vines planted in 1980 and 1985, and the second parcel originally planted in 1990, with replanting taking place in 2000 and 2017, all at 447 meters elevation. Harvest occurs when they feel the grapes have achieved full ripeness, which tends to be on the later side. Fermentation occurs in temperature-controlled stainless steel with vigorous pumpover. In the cellar, they take a pure approach using 20-hectoliter Garbellotto Slavonian oak casks.

2019 Gianni Brunelli Brunello Di Montalcino

Displaying a deeper though youthful red hue, the 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino is expressive with cherry liqueur notes coaxing from the glass, and it is well-woven with plush, refined aromas of fresh leather, crushed flowers, mocha, and fresh herbs. Expressive, with focused clarity, a great, pure feel, notes of blood orange, and mineral undercurrents all weaving together through the palate, it’s long and pure, with noble structure and balanced energy. Bursting with life and refinement, it offers nervous tension and a lingering perfume of dried apricot on the finish. At this youthful stage, there’s a hint of oak spice that frames the wine beautifully, but it demands cellaring to come together further. This is going to be one to cellar and drink over the coming decades. Drink 2027-2050.

The wines for this report were tasted with Laura Brunelli at her estate, overlooking the southern vineyards of the region from the Podernovone property where the winery is located. Since her husband Gianni passed away in 2008, Laura has continued to raise the bar for what is possible in the region at large. She farms two areas: the historic property of Le Chiuse di Sotto in the Northeast, which is a 5-hectare property with two hectares dedicated to vines, as well as Podernovone, which consists of 4.5 hectares and four vineyards – Olmo, Oliva, Quercia, and Gelso. In addition to Sangiovese, they also work with Merlot planted at Podernovone. She is meticulous in the vineyard, working with small yields. After a slow maceration process, the wines are raised in 5- to 30-hectoliter barrels made from Slavonian oak. If traveling through Siena, her restaurant, l’Osteria delle Logge, is a must stop for lunch or dinner. It should be no surprise that the wine list is exceptional and full of Tuscan gems, while the cuisine is top-notch. They offer Tuscan classics with modern refinement, and the hospitality is second to none.

2019 Val Di Suga Brunello Di Montalcino Poggio Al Granchio

A rich magenta hue, the 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino Poggio Al Granchio is a serious wine that amplifies things further and will need some decanting if opening now. Forward with great aromas of graphite, black cherry liqueur, cracked pepper, sage, and porcini, it’s full-bodied yet weightless on the palate and has phenomenal concentration while remaining elegant all the way through, it offers plush, velvety tannins and mineral undercurrents while retaining wonderful purity and a seamless texture. This stunning wine deserves several years in cellar. Drink 2026-2046.

2019 Canalicchio Di Sopra Brunello Di Montalcino

Canalicchio Di Sopra makes a powerful statement with their release of the 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino and puts their stamp on this vintage with confidence. Tasted multiple times, this brooding, layered, and noble wine is jeweled in appearance, pouring a dark ruby/red color, and offers a gorgeous bouquet of black cherry preserve, wildflowers, licorice, cedar, and incense. Moving to the palate, it’s powerfully structured and full-bodied, with rich tannins and great length throughout. A very impressive wine with a flourish of saline and mouthwatering notes of black tea on the finish, it demands time in the cellar and, if stored properly, should age gracefully over the next 15-20 years. Drink 2026-2046.

I met with Francesco Ripaccioli for this report both at his family estate on the north side of Montalcino, as well as here in New York to taste older vintages of Canalicchio di Sopra in January 2024. He, along with his brother and sister, represent the third generation of the estate. Canalicchio is divided between two areas of Montalcino, the first parcel purchased by his grandfather, Primo Pacenti, after World War II, and the second in Montosoli, where they have six hectares of vine that his father purchased in 1958. Today the combined land spans 60 hectares, 19 of which are dedicated to the vineyards, and for their wines, they both combine the terroirs of the two regions as well as make unique expressions for each of the two locations. The rest of the land is committed to biodiversity and to an Agriturismo also on the north side of the Montalcino hill. Their wines show a lot of complexity, with age-worthy potential across all categories, as readers will find in my notes on the library vintages. The (unofficial) sub-zone of Canalicchio is characterized by a particular type of calcareous clay, with a high pH of 8.2, which contributes to a very elegant texture that you can find in the wines coming from the Cassacchia Vineyard. In Montosoli, there is more dry soil with galestro and schist, although it has the same pH. The Montosoli side tends to contribute more structure and salinity to the resulting wines. In the cellar, they ferment the wines separately and produce these three expressions of Brunello as well as Rosso di Montalcino.

2019 Le Ragnaie Brunello Di Montalcino Ragnaie V.V.

A similar medium red color, the 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino Ragnaie V.V. is another showstopper, with stunning floral and layered aromas of licorice, ripe red cherries, blood orange, and clove. Mouthwatering and structured, this is a noble wine, and while it’s medium-bodied. It’s not for the faint of heart. With ripe, angular tannins that frame this wine, it propels through the palate with notes of saline and vibrant acidity. Long and tension-packed, it demands several years of proper cellaring and feels as though it will improve over the coming two decades at a glacial pace. Drink 2027-2047.

Le Ragnaie is perched at a high elevation just south of the hill of Montalcino. Led by the estate owners, Riccardo and Jennifer Campinoti, this estate is producing some of the most compelling single-vineyard expressions of Brunello to date, with clarity, focus, and distinction between each of their crus. Elevage takes place in large Slavonian oak barrels. Additionally, for those looking to travel to the region, they have an agritourismo at the winery, which is a short drive from the town of Montalcino.

2019 Le Chiuse Brunello Di Montalcino

Pouring a jeweled ruby color, the 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino benefits from a little air on opening and reveals a layered yet pure bouquet of raspberry liqueur, mocha, candied violets, and anise. Medium to full-bodied, it’s light on its feet while having outstanding concentration and length, with refined tannins and an even a spine of energetic acidity to keep it driving through the palate. A stunning vintage for Le Chiuse, this is going to have a very wide drinking window over the coming two decades.

Today the historic property of Le Chiuse is run by Lorenzo Magnelli, who took over his family estate in 2006. The original vineyard land of the current property was used for the Riserva for Biondi-Santi, but when Tancredi Biondi-Santi passed away, the Biondi-Santi estate was divided between his son, who carried on the family’s winemaking tradition and received the largest section of the estate, and his daughter, who did not have a passion for wine, but promised her father to hold onto this smaller portion for the next generation. Lorenzo’s parents took over the winery with the first vintage in 1982 and changed the name to Le Chiuse in 1992. In the vineyard, Lorenzo has one of the most interesting philosophies with regard to harvesting for Brunello Annata versus the Riserva. Rather than select grapes from specific plots, or selections of barrels, he selects grapes from either side of the vine. He uses the smaller clusters from the same vineyards and the same vines that are coming from the cooler side facing the east, with the less harsh sunrise exposure, which creates a more austere selection, and the opposite side of the vines, which receive the more direct afternoon sun, goes into the Brunello Annata.

2019 Giodo Brunello Di Montalcino

Tasted for a second time at the estate, and pouring a dark ruby/red color, the 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino is complex and stunning on opening with continuously unfolding aromas of black raspberries, polished leather, sandalwood, blood orange, and rosemary. Raised in French oak barrels of various size, the palate is equally compelling with outstanding structure and is sustained on the palate for ages, with lush tannins and perfectly ripe acidity. While it is appealing and showing off now, it has tension for days and is exceptional, with a lot of purity, although it never lacks for richness. This is a truly remarkable wine amid a slew of successes in this phenomenal vintage. Drink 2025-2050.

2019 Casanova Di Neri Brunello Di Montalcino Giovanni Neri

A rich red/garnet color, the 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino Giovanni Neri is a muscular and highly expressive, moody wine with layered and compelling aromas of cigar box, fresh tobacco leaf, dried currants, worn leather, crushed stones, and salted orange peel. Mouthwatering and structured, it has a chiseled structure with ripe tannins and mouthwatering, fresh acidity, and it’s long on the palate. It demands time in the cellar before drinking over the coming 20-30 years.