The global pandemic seems to be a ghost from the distant past that we are reluctant to remember. However, when tasting the 2020 Brunello di Montalcino and talking to the winemakers, inevitable references to this bizarre time kept popping up.

Overall, the weather was not extreme, but we remember the very hot summer. There was plenty of rain both in winter and in late May/early June, which shaped the vintage and allowed the vines to grow relatively stress-free on the rolling hills around Montalcino.

There were mildew problems here and there. These water reserves were also necessary, as a very hot summer followed, which is why the freshness of the wines is surprising. This was partly due to the cool nights, especially in the last few weeks before the harvest, which slowed growth somewhat and made it possible to develop differentiated aromas. Using the foliage to shade the grapes and protect them from sunburn was a top priority in the vineyard. In the cellar, winemakers resisted the temptation to over-extract the wines - as was often the case in the 2000s. A welcome paradigm shift that shows that the winemakers have understood that less is more.

"The wines are a bit like those from 2015, only with more freshness," confirms Francesco Ripaccioli from Canalicchio di Sopra, which is located on the north-eastern side of the appellation. The winery produces excellent wines, which are also among the best in the appellation this year - including the crus from the famous Montosoli hill.

At first, a comparison with 2015 was inevitable, as many of the wines did indeed display a similar Mediterranean, generous fleshiness that many 2015s exhibited in their youth (and still do today). However, they are not quite as compact and I find that the tannin management of the 2020s is often better resolved: they are usually sweeter and silkier than comparable wines from 2015, which have a somewhat more porous tannic texture.

Hier und da gab es Mehltau-Probleme. Diese Wasserreserven waren auch nötig, denn es folgte ein sehr heißer Sommer, weshalb die Frische der Weine überrascht. Das lag zum einen an den kühlen Nächten, besonders in den letzten Wochen vor der Ernte, die das Wachstum etwas verlangsamten und eine differenzierte Aromenbildung möglich machten. 

Die Nutzung der Laubwand zur Beschattung der Trauben und zum Schutz vor Sonnenbrand hatte im Weinberg höchste Priorität. Im Keller haben die Winzer der Versuchung widerstanden, die Weine zu stark zu extrahieren – wie es häufig in den 2000er Jahren üblich war. Ein erfreulicher Paradigmenwechsel, der zeigt, dass die Winzer verstanden haben, dass hier weniger mehr ist.

«Die Weine sind ein bisschen wie die aus 2015, nur mit mehr Frische», bestätigt Francesco Ripaccioli von Canalicchio di Sopra, das auf der Nordostseite der Appellation liegt. Das Weingut erzeugt hervorragende Weine, die auch in diesem Jahr zu den besten der Appellation zählen – einschließlich des Crus aus dem berühmten Montosoli-Hügel.

I was also reminded of 2016 with its freshness and brightness in some of the wines.

Conclusion: The vintage may not come close to the great 2016s and 2019s, but it is a remarkable vintage with many top wines. The year stands above the straightforward, fresh but also racy 2018 vintage and the powerhouses of the dry 2017 vintage.

What I particularly like about it is the combination of the generous aromas of the ripe Sangiovese fruit with a wonderful juiciness, the wonderful floral and mineral-balsamic notes and, as a counterpoint, the animating freshness and juiciness of the wines. Despite the hot growing season, in which temperatures in August sometimes reached 40 degrees Celsius (five days in a row), the wines are neither jammy nor overloaded, but well-proportioned, radiant, juicy and extremely lively with good balance.

Some Brunello winegrowers attribute this freshness to the night-time fluctuations during the short period of heat, when temperatures dropped to around 25 degrees Celsius in the early morning. Isolated rainfall at the end of August and beginning of September brought relief to the vines and allowed them to grow again. In addition, the north-facing and higher vineyards were less affected by the heat and withstood the drought better.

Of course, Montalcino is not a homogeneous terroir, but a diverse one, mainly due to the different altitudes, exposures and soil conditions.

The northern slopes of Montalcino, with their cooler clay soils, often produce fragrant and elegant wines, while the wines of the southern areas are characterized more by Mediterranean warmth and salty nuances. Together they produce a charming and surprising vintage that has enough structure to age well.

Once again, the wines of stars such as Canalicchio di Sopra with an outstanding "La Casaccia" and an equally great Riserva, Salvioni with a great classic, Casanuova delle Cerbaie with a breathtaking Riserva Vigna Montosoli, Casanova di Neri with its Annata and Cru Tenuta Nuova, as well as Poggio di Sotto with an equally great Riserva, to name just the most prominent. The classics Fuligni, Talenti and Le Ragnaie are also among the top wines, some of which shine with their individual vineyards located at altitudes of over 600 meters and owned by the highest and coolest vineyards in Montalcino. These are great fine wines that are still little known here.

TOP-NEWCOMER Giuseppe Gorelli

The top climber of recent years is Giuseppe Gorelli, who has once again bottled a great Brunello Annata and Riserva, and Giodo has also long been one of the top wines of the appellation.

The wines from classics such as Argiano, Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona, Capanna, Lisini and this time I also liked the wines from Fanti ("Vallochio") and Mastrojanni, where the young oenologist Giulia Härri produces very elegant, precisely contoured and fragrant wines. As is so often the case, Col d'Orcia, Caparzo, Banfi and Il Poggione offer good value for money.

Ebenfalls beachtlich sind die Weine von Klassikern wie Argiano, Ciacci Piccolomini d‘Aragona, Capanna, Lisini und diesmal gefielen mir auch die Weine von Fanti («Vallochio») und Mastrojanni, wo die junge Önologin Giulia Härri sehr elegante, präzise konturierte und duftige Weine produziert. Die im Rahmen einer von mir auf der ProWein moderierten Masterclass besprochenen Weine von Gaja's Brunello-Weingut Pieve Santa Restituta (Annata + Cru-Weine Sugarille und Rennina) gehören ebenfalls zu den großen Klassikern. Über diese spannende Masterclass mit Vertikale der beiden Crus werde ich separat berichten. Gutes Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis findet man wie so oft bei Col d‘ Orcia, Caparzo, Caprili, Banfi und Il Poggione. 

From Benvenuto Brunello 2024, the best-organized en primeur tasting, there will be a new rating system for the quality of the vintage. The previous stars (1 to 5) have been replaced by a complex system called "Brunello Forma", which evaluates countless geoclimatic data from more than 40 measuring stations spread across the entire production area. The result is a laboratory that is able to examine the harvest results and the characteristics of Sangiovese in the Montalcino area in detail and analyze them according to geological and microclimatic characteristics. In addition, an international team of tasters assesses the quality of the vintage. The conclusion: "Captivating, bright, juicy". It combines generosity with elegance and offers wines that are accessible, but whose tannins also promise interesting developments. So the impressions coincide with my analysis of the vintage.

A major differentiating factor with a decisive influence on the quality of the vintage is the altitude and exposure. In Montalcino, Sangiovese grows between 200 and around 600 meters above sea level and the higher the vines are, the later the ripening process takes place, which means that the wines not only taste "lighter" and fresher in color, but also in aroma - often with crisp, red berry fruit reminiscent of raspberry and pomegranate.

The wind also plays a major role: it is regularly windy in Montalcino. This is because the idyllic village is perched on a hill and is therefore exposed to the cool north winds and mild south-westerly sea breeze, which creates the best conditions for the health of the vines. This was a blessing in wetter vintages such as
2018, as the grapes dried out quickly. However, this was only partially successful in the difficult 2023 peronospora vintage.

The soils: Most of Montalcino consists of marl with a more or less active lime content, clayey soils, pietraforte (calcareous sandstone) and, in the more southerly parts, sand. Clayey soils bring body and longevity, sandy soils explosive aromas and lighter tannins, the calcareous shale clay brings minerality and saltiness to the wines.

And of course you have to keep an eye on the different exposures here too, because Montalcino has four areas and the wines - beyond individual styles and vintage diversity - turn out differently. In principle, Montalcino can be divided into four quadrants: Northeast and Northwest and again the same in the South. In the north, the climate is somewhat harsher and the nights are cooler, which is naturally reflected in the aromas and tannin structure.

Generally speaking, the wines from the north, especially from the north-east on the slopes of the Montosoli hill, are usually more elegant, more grippy and more crystalline in expression. They tend to show crisper red berries such as sour cherry and pomegranate and have a somewhat firmer tannic grip, but sometimes they are also somewhat less ripe and more angular, which requires and enables longer bottle ageing.

Tothe south, the extinct volcano Monte Amiata stretches upwards, and the Tuscan coast is only 60 km away as the crow flies. This is where the warmer sites are located, where the vines bask in the sun and receive just enough rain to allow sufficient sugar to develop in the fruit. In dry years, however, this can be a challenge.