THE BRUNELLO GENERATION II

ou could be forgiven if, in the fame and calibre of Brunello di Montalcino, you considered their wines to be rather homogenous, since we are talking of one grape variety, the Sangiovese, with strict winemaking standards grown in a DOCG region which is relatively small in comparison to say Chianti or the Super Tuscan Bordeaux-style blend of wines. But the overriding Brunello feature is rather the opposite. Brunello comes in a diversity of styles and flavour profiles some of which can be comfortably drunk in their youth due to their immediate and generous approachability; others require somewhat more cellaring to really come to their own exuberant expression; and others still remain reserved and austere until well into their old age a few decades later when they blossom into a tertiary complexity of gamey undergrowth and minerality that can equally rival high-end Bordeaux or Burgundy, writes Kris Bonavita.

Essentially the main characteristic that defines these families of wines, or groups of styles, over and above a vine grower and winemaker’s choices, is the specificity of terroir. An anomalous term that can be roughly explained as the different raw elements: geography, geology, height from sea level, soil type, sun exposure, and microclimate which help determine the chief characteristics of the grapes grown and their specific and identifiable