2017 Brunello di Montalcino

While looking at a map of Montalcino might place Le Chiuse di Sotto - Gianni Brunelli winery on the south hill of Montalcino, like many traditional producers, it’s a blend of their southern parcels in Podernovone and their north slope vineyards in Le Chiuse di Sotto that creates the house’s seductive style of darkly elegant yet classic Brunello. In the south, this organic producer works four hectares of vines that average around 500 meters of elevation with soils of calcareous marl and schist, while in the cooler and well-ventilated north, at around 250 meters, we find the original vineyard, planted by Gianni Brunelli in 1989. So while Podernovone brings the darker, rich fruits and body to the blend, Le Chiuse di Sotto adds the bright acidity and aromatics. The winery breaks down each of the vineyards within these locations and vinifies them separately in order to decide on the final blend for both the Brunello and Riserva from vintage to vintage.

Unfortunately, Laura Brunelli was unable to meet with me due to a farming accident, which happened the day I arrived; and so, it was instead her brother, and winemaker, Adriano, who conducted the tour and tasting. His outlook on the 2017 vintage was straightforward and honest, an excessively warm and dry year that left a heavy mark on the wines. Yet he was also quick to point out that rains which came in the middle of September (18th) helped to add balance, as their harvest took place between the 22nd and the 24th. For the data-minded readers, you might also recall that the north had a significant rain event on September 1st as well. Blatantly stated in a future email from Laura Brunelli, “We have lost something in tannic-anthocyanin extractability anticipating the harvest a little.” This is pretty much what many producers in the region had to struggle with. That said, through a softer vinification and shorter macerations, the winery found balance with their 2017 Brunello, which is at a 10-15% loss of total production, and with all juice that would have gone into the Riserva being added in. Speaking of the Riserva, the 2016 is off the charts, but it will be many years before it hits its perfect drinking window. Like the Brunello, the Riserva is a blend of vineyards, but with a higher percentage of the Olmo vineyard in the south that provides more structure, balanced with the Oliva vineyard, with its north-east exposition at Le Chiuse. It spends thirty-four months in a combination of ten to twenty-five-hectoliter barrels. This wine is a perfect example of how the radiant acidity and depth of fruit created from the 2016 vintage can marry perfectly with the extended wood aging of a Riserva. That said, it’s a very different expression than the estate Brunello from 2016, yet one that will enjoy a slightly longer life. My hat is off to the team at Le Chiuse di Sotto - Gianni Brunelli, a winery that continues to show that Brunello di Montalcino is truly World Class.