My favorite place in the world is Montalcino and my favorite wine is Brunello. Sohere is a very short primer on Montalcino
The Wines Of Montalcino
The grape of Montalcino is a clone of Sangiovese that has been grown there for over 140 years, known as the Brunello clone. It has given its name to the most famous wine from Montalcino: Brunello di Montalcino. Brunello is earthy, spicy, and yet has a black or red fruit component (depending on the elevation and location of the vineyards in the zone.) It isn’t a big, flashy red, like so many wines today. It is a more mysterious experience, taking some time to unfold in the glass. But it’s silly to try and describe the wine; you just have to taste them. And this weekend is the perfect time to do so. We have acquired some older Montalcino wines and are offering some fabulous flights. because these wines are so limited and rare, we are going to pre sell the flights. The only way you can be sure to get the wine is to purchase them thru the links here. The specials on the food menu, you can just order and we will have a current vintage Montalcino flight you can just purchase. But the special wines are just that: Special.
What Is Brunello Di Montalcino?
Brunello has two meanings. In addition to being a clone of Sangiovese, “Brunello” is also the most famous wine of Montalcino. To be called Brunello, it must only be produced from 100% Brunello clone Sangiovese from vineyards rated for Brunello production. The wine must spend at least 2 years in oak; but the Brunellos we love get the traditional 3 years. But this is aging in large oak or neutral barrels,so the wines acquire complexity and texture rather than oak flavors. In top years, some wineries make a selection of their most concentrated wines and give them an extra year of aging before bottling and these are riservas.
What Is Rosso Di Montalcino
Rosso di Montalcino are the wines that don’t make the cut for the wineries’ Brunello or come from vineyards that only meet the quality standards of the Rosso DOCG. In any case, the limits on production of Brunello require that at least 20% of the harvest MUST be made into rosso; and great wineries use far more Brunello than that in their rosso blends. So Rosso is the great bargain of Montalcino.
This bottle of Rosso di Montalcino Le Macioche 2004 is a super example of rosso. Yet when it cameout it was far less expensive then dozens of California Cabs or Bordeaux; you could easily bought 3 bottles of hte Rosso for the costof one bottle of middle of the road cabernet or Bordeaux. Now, with 7 or so years in the bottle, it is smooth, spicy and yet very robust. It offers sd much or more drinking pleasure than those cabe, goes better with food and still has years of drinkability ahead of it. It will go great with our teres major steak.