2016 Brunello di Montalcino

The Altesino winery is located on the northern side of Montalcino, yet it farms vineyards throughout the north, south and eastern parts of the region, with elevations ranging from 180 meters in the east, up to 300 meters in the north on the hill of Montosoli. Consulting enologist, Paolo Caciorgna, believes that it’s within the diversity of their many different terroir that they are able to succeed in most vintages, a comment that is validated by the straight Brunello and Riserva of the house, both of which I’ve ranked highly amongst their peers in most vintages. This brings up another point about Altesino, one which I believe sets them apart: their regard for terroir over winemaking. A perfect example of this can be seen throughout their range of Brunello, all of which come from a different blending of vineyards, or just the one in the case of Montosoli; yet all share the same process of élevage in the winery. From the Brunello, through the Montosoli and also the Riserva, the wines are refined for a total of twenty-four months in large Slavonian oak casks. When it comes to the Riserva, this gave Altesino the upper hand with the 2015, a wine that maintains the vibrancy of the vintage and was scored accordingly.