2006 Brunello di Montalcino

Driving down and away from Montosoli and up toward the town of Montalcino, we find the winery and vineyards of Le Chiuse. The vineyard exists as one solid block, set apart for its steep hilly exposition, averaging around 330 meters, along with a unique blend of soils that mix schist, rocks and fossils over a water-retaining layer of clay, only two meters below. I had the pleasure of touring the vines with Nicoló Magnelli, father of the current manager and winemaker, Lorenzo Magnelli. As we looked out across the rows toward Montalcino, it was clear how this unique location came to be. The hill sloped up directly toward the town, where ancient seas once caused giant landslides of deteriorating rock to come sliding down and mix with the alluvial and marine sediments. It’s no wonder that this northern location once fed the Biondi-Santi Riservas; and to this day, it remains planted with the same genetic materials picked by Tancredi Biondi-Santi. Today, the Magnelli family farms these vineyards organically, and the style here is wholly traditional, even down to the stonewalled cellars that happen to host maturing bottles of Le Chiuse right alongside those of Biondi-Santi. It’s from here that Nicoló Magnelli pulled a bottle of the 2006 Brunello to taste along with the new releases as we ascended to the tasting room, which resembled more of a lodge or cozy yet spacious winter cabin than a winery. Frankly, I think it’s the best surroundings to taste these old-school, soulful and wonderfully pure wines.

My exploration of the wines of Le Chiuse has been a true pleasure, as I believe they represent the transformation of taste that drives Montalcino and Brunello. Fifteen years ago, many of these traditional, north hill producers were not “in style”, and while some may argue that global warming has helped in this cooler location, I find that going back to a vintage like 2001 (recently reviewed in our retrospective) shows that the magic was always there. On this visit, Nicoló Magnelli introduced me to their new 2012 library release, the Riserva Dieci Anni, which is a perfect example of the classicism that’s obtainable from warmer vintages in this location. Speaking of which, there was also the 2017 Brunello on the table. Even with their water-retaining clay and cooler exposition, Le Chiuse suffered through this torridly hot and dry vintage, which created thick-skinned berries with very little juice. The rains on September 1st and the drop in temperatures that followed certainly helped; yet still, harvest was quite early, taking place between the 8th and 10th. Macerations were also cut by nearly a week, and time in wood was reduced by four to six months. So what about the wine? To be honest, when I tasted it in Montalcino that July, I was a bit worried--nothing wrong but nothing special. However, as any winemaker will tell you, these wines need time in bottle to find their focus, and the 2017 Brunello di Montalcino from Le Chiuse has certainly done that. Tasting it again in our offices in the fall of 2021 revealed a majestic beauty, which may not color in the lines of a usual classic, but is its own unique and completely stunning expression of Sangiovese and Montalcino. At a 10% reduction in quantity, and all the juice that would usually be used for a Riserva added in, this wine is a flat-out success.