2016 Brunello di Montalcino: Radiance Personified

BY ERIC GUIDO | NOVEMBER 24, 2020

Let’s consider how long we’ve all been looking forward to Montalcino’s next great vintage. I’m thinking back to the release of the 2010s, walking the aisles of Benvenuto Brunello and tasting from table to table. Aromatically, the wines made your eyes roll back in your head, followed by an assault on the palate of intense and complex primary fruit, which was quickly clenched and held firm by aggressive tannins. When the reviews finally hit, it was like nothing I had ever seen before. Suddenly, every retailer in the country was pumping out email after email to feed the unquenchable thirst that consumers had for Montalcino’s next great vintage. 

However, after the dust settled, and 2011 arrived, people seemed to be satisfied. The 2011s were ripe and juicy, and consumers were happy to allow them to fill restaurant wine lists instead of their cellars. Next was 2012, just as warm as 2011, yet prettier and more balanced; but it still didn’t move the needle. Two thousand thirteen had some potential and quickened our pulses for a time, yet it wasn’t the next 2010. At this point, we all started to feel the hunger - when would Montalcino have its next great vintage? However, it was just around this time that the 2016 Rosso di Montalcinos began to arrive, giving us a peek into what producers were calling a perfect vintage. The wines were dark and effusive in how they excited the senses, full of energy yet also dense in their fruit profiles, and with structure that was unexpected from the Rosso category. Suddenly, there came a glimmer of hope; and since that time, we have all been waiting for 2016 Brunello di Montalcino.

But now the big question is: Do the 2016s live up to our expectations? Oh, yes; they certainly do.

North to south and east to west, Montalcino shines bright in 2016.

It’s Montalcino’s Time to Shine 

If I had to think of one way to universally describe the majority of wines from the 2016 vintage, I would offer that they are like a well-muscled black stallion in its prime. They are dark yet radiant, expressive, nearly explosive at times, yet pure, poised and structured. These are wines that capture your imagination; and no matter how youthfully tense they are today, you simply can’t help but revisit a glass over and over again; because in many cases, the aromatics alone are intoxicating. I frankly cannot remember the last time I tasted young wines from Montalcino that possessed such symmetry from start to finish. The best part is that this success was widely spread throughout the region; and while there was a mix of the bad, the good and the otherworldly, finding a solidly performing bottle of 2016 Brunello di Montalcino won’t be difficult for any consumer. 

I also can’t think of a better vintage to discover many of the new cru bottlings that have been released by producers throughout the region because one of the best attributes of the 2016s is their transparency. Unfortunately, this same attribute works against the producer whose style is overbearing or leaning more on winemaking wizardry than farming and purity of fruit. There is no greater shame when tasting through such a range of Brunello than encountering a wine that has the pedigree to deliver greatness, yet instead serves up a healthy dose of toasty oak.