New Releases from Montalcino

By Antonio Galloni

At a recent lunch I was reminded of Montalcino’s potential for greatness when a top producer’s Brunello from an excellent but not profound vintage outshone some of the most brilliant Burgundies ever produced, including those of what is arguably that region’s most storied domaine.

Montalcino is one of the most picturesque small towns in Italy. The weather was absolutely frigid when I last visited, in January of this year, but even still, the light was beautiful and the vistas breathtaking. Yet beneath all of its considerable natural beauty and potential, something is rotten in Montalcino. The ‘Brunello-gate’ scandal of two years ago caused long-simmering tensions among producers to boil to the surface. The sheer jealousy and cattiness Montalcino’s growers display towards each other is something I have seldom, if ever, seen in another region. Ask a producer in Piedmont, Veneto or Friuli about other growers in their region and you will get a response that is if not flattering, at least polite and that emphasizes the uniqueness of their respective regions. Even in neighboring Chianti Classico winemakers understand the importance of putting their territorio ahead of any philosophical differences that might exist. Not so in Montalcino, where so many producers are only too happy to tell visitors theirs is the only ‘true’ Brunello or how their wine was the best at such and such a tasting. Please. The Ilcinesi should be thrilled. At a time when so many wine-producing regions and countries are struggling to establish themselves with consumers and the trade, Tuscany and Montalcino boast a spectacular landscape, a rich fabric of history and wines that at their best offer a level of regional and varietal typicity matched by only a handful of other places in the world. When will Montalcino’s producers realize that their petty behavior is self-destructive and does incredible harm to the region as a whole?

Perhaps not surprisingly, the market for Brunello has literally fallen through the floor. The 2003s are slowly moving through the pipeline, but only with massive discounts, something consumers don’t really see, as so many wines have ended up as by-the-glass pours at restaurants. With the 2004s, a number of producers attempted to raise prices during the most several financial crisis the world has seen in 70-plus years. A number of people I spoke with told me that a full 50% of the highly-regarded (but uneven, in my view) 2004 Brunellos remain unsold, while others were of the opinion that the true number is quite a bit higher. The prospects for the 2005s, from a much weaker year on paper, appear rather bleak, especially as consumers and the trade are likely to wait for the 2006s, which are shaping up to be spectacular. As I wrote last year, demand for Brunello is highly vintage-sensitive. Producers should be alarmed when demand for generally well-received vintages is weak, but I am not sure many understand the gravity of the situation. Those who mistake signs of stabilization in the US economy for a recovery back to the levels of consumer spending last seen a few years ago are in for a very rude shock.