Can’t travel to Tuscany? Open a Brunello instead

Psst, here’s a secret: Italy is open to visitors, with some restrictions. Pass it on. That’s good news, but for those choosing to “sit this one out,” Italian fine wine awaits you. Let your noses and taste buds do the walking.

For the last three months of 2021, the Italian Food, Wine and Travel (#Italian FWT) bloggers are tasting the three big Bs of Italy: Brunello, Barbaresco and Barolo. We’re starting with Brunello di Montalcino, the Sangiovese star of Tuscany.

Just a whiff of this earthy delight is enough to conjure up the vineyards and sunny hillsides of central Italy. If you can, please consider grabbing a bottle and joining us Saturday 10/2 at 8 am PT/11 am ET for our Twitter chat about Brunello. Simply follow the #ItalianFWT hashtag.

Map courtesy of Wandering Italy.

Brunello in a nutshell

Brunello di Montalcino ranks alongside Chianti Classico as one of Italy’s most famous and prestigious wines. (Source: wine-searcher)

Brunello is made exclusively from Sangiovese Grosso, the large-berried form of Sangiovese that grows on the slopes around Montalcino, a hilltop village 20 miles south of Siena. The climate in Montalcino is one of the warmest and driest in Tuscany. Brunello must be aged at least four years to qualify for Brunello di Montalcino Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) status. Almost 200 winemakers produce this wine today. Most of them are small farms and family estates.

The 2015 vintage is regarded by some as one for the history books. Wine critic James Suckling calls 2015 “a historical year for Brunello di Montalcino that nobody should miss. The wines show impressive precision of vivid fruit, fine tannins and freshness in acidity despite their ripeness and richness which makes them some of the most exciting in years.”

Others claim the vintage gets too much hype, largely because it followed a cool and wet 2014. Writing for Wine Enthusiast, Kerin O’Keefe says, “the number of unbalanced wines with blistering alcohol and cooked fruit shows how Sangiovese suffers in hot, dry vintages, which has become the new normal.”

As they say, “you be the judge.”

The winery and the wine:
2015 Bonacchi Molino del Piano Brunello di Montalcino DOCG

Located in the Montalbano hills between Florence and Pistoia, Cantine Bonacchi has been producing wine for three generations. Andrea Bonacchi is in charge of the family estate started by his great-grandfather. The estate now consists of three farms and 212 acres of vineyards, including over 27 acres in Brunello.

The 2015 Bonacchi Molino de Piano Brunello was crafted by the producer’s young winemaker, Ivan Misuri, who recently won the Giulio Gambelli award named for Italy’s greatest master of Sangiovese. The wine is fermented in temperature-controlled, stainless steel tanks and aged in oak barriques.

My tasting notes: Translucent ruby in color with garnet highlights. An earthy, cherry and sour cherry nose gives way to sour cherry and dried tea leaves on a medium+ palate. Minerality and smoky cooking spice linger at the end of a medium+ finish. Structured, light-bodied and elegant. Alcohol: 13.5%. Average price: $36.

Suggested pairing: This Bonacchi Brunello is light bodied enough for Porchini mushroom and truffle ravioli in a spaghetti sauce with mushrooms, ala Trader Joe’s. Tomato sauce pairs well with the vivid acidity of this wine, and mushrooms match the wine’s earthiness. As a nod to bean-loving Tuscans, I made an easy white bean salad and topped it with grated Pecorino Romano cheese. Sharp Pecorino is a huge hit with this Brunello. Chalking up this meal as another win in my ongoing quest to pair meatless meals and red wines!

Check out what all the #ItalianFWT bloggers are doing this month:

5 thoughts on “Can’t travel to Tuscany? Open a Brunello instead”

  1. You’ll definitely have me thinking the next time I open a bottle of 2015 Brunello. The whole meal of pairings look delightful — I’m not wanting both a bean salad (haven’t had one in ages) and ravioli !

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