Brunello di Montalcino (2020)

About this wine

This Brunello di Montalcino is made from 100 percent Sangiovese grown within the municipality of Montalcino, as required by the DOCG. In the glass it shows deep ruby with early garnet tones at the rim. Aromas lean toward sour cherry and dark berries, then open into sweet spice, tobacco, and a clear touch of vanilla from oak. On the palate it is full and warm, with lively acidity and energetic but well shaped tannins that give a long, savory finish with licorice and spice. Banfi ages this wine in a mix of French oak barrels and larger Slavonian casks, and Brunello rules require a minimum of two years in oak before release. A distinctive house detail is Banfi’s long running clonal selection work on Sangiovese, developed over decades to fine tune quality and consistency in its Montalcino vineyards.

About the grape

Sangiovese is a native red grape of central Italy, first recorded in writing in 1590, and it later gained fame in Montalcino when Ferruccio Biondi Santi isolated the deep colored Brunello selection in the late 1800s. Brunello di Montalcino is defined by using Sangiovese alone, locally called Brunello, which is why this 2020 Castello Banfi bottling is a single variety wine. Banfi grows its Sangiovese in Montalcino using spurred cordon and the Banfi alberello training system, choices aimed at balancing vigor and keeping clusters well exposed as the grapes ripen. In the cellar, Banfi ferments Sangiovese at controlled temperatures in its Horizon steel and French oak tanks, then matures it in a mix of large French oak casks and smaller barrels, a long established way of handling Brunello’s naturally firm, slow evolving grape.

Quick facts

• 🕰️ This “Castello Banfi” Brunello is the estate’s original flagship bottling, its first vintage was 1978, so the 2020 sits in a lineage that goes back to Banfi’s very beginning in Montalcino.
• 🛠️ The 2020 is fermented in Banfi’s Horizon tanks, a showpiece hybrid design that combines stainless steel and French oak and was developed in house as part of the winery’s Horizon project.
• 🌱 Banfi trains part of the Sangiovese for this wine with a proprietary vine style called “alberello Banfi,” a house signature you will actually see referenced on the official tech notes.
• 🧬 Banfi began a dedicated Sangiovese clonal selection program in 1982, meaning the grape material behind this Brunello is tied to decades of research aimed at matching Sangiovese to Montalcino’s conditions.
• 🏛️ Visiting the castle where this Brunello is born can include a Bottle and Glass Museum with ancient Roman glass, plus a “Balsameria” where Banfi makes an Etruscan inspired balsamic condiment that is aged for about 12 years.

Palate profile

Producer

Castello Banfi, located in Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy, was founded in 1978 by Italian-American brothers John and Harry Mariani. They transformed the historic Poggio alle Mura castle into a state-of-the-art winery, pioneering research on Sangiovese clones to enhance Brunello di Montalcino production. The estate spans approximately 2,830 hectares, with about one-third dedicated to vineyards, and the remainder comprising olive groves, fruit trees, and forests. Notably, in 2007, the fossilized remains of a Pliocene-era whale, estimated to be around 4 million years old, were discovered on the property, highlighting the region's rich geological history.