2004 Brunello di Montalcino: A Vintage Full of Surprises

by Antonio Galloni

The much-anticipated 2004 Brunellos are now in the market and the moment of truth has arrived. Do the wines justify the hype or not? Like all things that involve Brunello di Montalcino, the answer is not a simple one. My first impression of the wines from bottle was not particularly positive as I encountered a number of disappointing wines from well-known producers. Then an interesting thing happened. I tasted Brunello after Brunello from lesser-known properties that were in many cases outstanding. The underperformance of several benchmark properties and the surprising number of terrific wines from less well-known estates is a major theme in 2004 Brunello. The second major theme in 2004 is the continuing emergence of the differences between Montalcino’s various terrains and microclimates. Overall 2004 is a much stronger vintage in the southern part of the zone – specifically Sant’Angelo in Colle and Castelnuovo dell’Abate – than it is in Montalcino itself. Simply put – despite a number of truly monumental Brunellos – 2004 is unfortunately not a profound vintage across the board, as it probably could have been and should have been.

The reasons why certain wines are disappointing is frankly perplexing. Some of it might be explained by the enormous differences by the diverse microclimates of the northern and southern slopes of Montalcino as noted above. Ripening can vary by as much as a few weeks and up to a month between the cooler, high altitude vineyards in the north and the more Mediterraean influenced microclimates in south. In the torrid 2003, it was the higher altitude parts of Montalcino near the center of town that were the most favored. In 2004, a vintage with much cooler and balanced weather, it was the southern part of the region where the fruit ripened most evenly.

Like many parts of Italy, 2004 was an abundant vintage in Montalcino, as plants unleashed the energy they had held in reserve from the previous year. Growers had to exercise quite a bit of discipline to lower yields through green harvesting, something not everyone was prepared to do after a disastrous, virtually non-existent 2002 and a 2003 where the extreme heat concentrated the juice, therefore naturally lowering production levels significantly. The vineyards in the south were perhaps more forgiving to plants carrying more generous loads of fruit. Where producers worked their vineyards with care, the wines are often very delicious, but I also found quite a few Brunellos that show elements of dilution.

Another explanation might be that some producers are holding back their best lots for 2004 Riservas that might command even higher prices than the normal bottlings when they are released next year. All of these seem quite plausible. A more cynical, oft-heard view is that producers, afraid of increased inspections, have scaled back and/or eliminated the use of international varieties they may have used in the past to give the wines a little more stuffing. Still, even with those caveats, the vintage offers a large number of truly beautiful wines that are highly recommended.

2007 Rosso di Montalcino