2008 Brunello di Montalcino: A Consumer’s Vintage

By Antonio Galloni

2008 Brunello di Montalcino

Readers will find a set of mostly approachable, easygoing Brunellos in 2008. The vintage presented growers with many challenges, the severity of which varied from zone to zone. Depending on the estate, producers reported variable conditions ranging from irregular flowering, significant disease pressure in the spring, and devastating hail in August. The saving grace was a marked improvement in the weather in late September and early October. I have chosen to describe the conditions growers reported within the respective producer profiles, as this is a vintage in which generalizations are of little value. With a few notable exceptions, 2008 produced a crop of mid-weight wines that are best suited for near and medium-term drinking. Given that the market for Brunello di Montalcino is highly vintage sensitive, I imagine most of these wines will be very reasonably priced. Readers will be best served by focusing on the top estates and choosing bottles that can be enjoyed today while the 2006s and 2007 rest comfortably in cellars.