2019 Brunello di Montalcino

PierFilippo Abbruzzese of Valdicava couldn’t be happier with 2019, describing it as “a dream for any farmer: perfect weather, perfect rains, perfect temperatures, incredibly wonderful wines… an October harvest where we could take the freedom of waiting for another couple of days for perfect maturation.” As a result, the family has once again bottled their Montosoli as a single vineyard wine, this time in 750ml bottles and magnums. As fantastic as it is, the house Brunello is just as exciting for me. It’s a perfect mix of house style and vintage character, promising many years of positive maturation and pleasurable drinking. We can also look forward to a Madonna del Piano that will be released as a Riserva in 2025. Of note, Valdicava did not produce any Brunello from the 2018 vintage, only Rosso, as they wanted to give the vineyard a chance to recover from frost damage in 2017 that affected about 80% of their vines. This was an excellent decision considering the quality of these 2019s.