Brunello di Montalcino DOCG [broo-NELL-oh dee mawn-tahl-CHEE-noh]
The wines from Brunello di Montalcino are regarded as some of Italy’s best. They’re made totally from a Sangiovese clone, a strain of Sangiovese Grosso called Brunello (“little dark one”), so named for the brown hue of its skin. The wines are big, deep-colored, and powerful, with enough tannins and structure to be quite long-lived. Brunello di Montalcino wines have one of the longest aging requirements in Italy—4 years, 2 of which must be in wooden barrels. The riserva must age for 5 years. Brunello di Montalcino is one of the small number of DOCG areas in Italy and one of the six (along with Chianti, Chianti Classico,Carmignano, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano) located in the Tuscany region. This DOCG zone encompasses the vineyards around the hillside town of Montalcino, which is south and slightly east of Siena in the southern portion of Tuscany. The wine owes its beginning to Ferruccio Biondi-Santi, who, in the 1860s, planted Brunello on the hills with the belief that he could produce great wines. His family continues the tradition today under the Biondi-Santi label. See also Rosso di Montalcino DOC.
The New Wine Lovers Companion, 2nd Edition, by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst. Copyright © (1) 2003, 1995 by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst. Reprinted by arrangement with Barron's Educational Series, Inc.