A war of words has broken out between winemakers in Montalcino following proposals by some producers to change the region's winemaking code.
The spat follows comments published by top Brunello producer Angelo Gaja and former Banfi winemaker Ezio Rivella.
Gaja said that, had Brunello estates been illegally blending other grapes to their wines, they should lobby to have the appellation rules changed. Brunello di Montalcino is nominally made from 100% Sangiovese, although some estates are suspected by the Italian authorities of having blended other grapes in with their wines.
Other producers in the region, 80km south of Florence, have reacted angrily to Gaja's suggestions.
'It's high time to stop these declarations that propose changing Brunello's production code to allow grapes other than Sangiovese,' said Francesco Marone Cinzano, proprietor of Col d'Orcia and former president of the local Consorzio.
Marone Cinzano added that the 'vast majority' of producers wanted to 'keep Brunello just as it is'.
There have been calls, however, for the strict regulations applied to Rosso di Montalcino, the region's second wine, to be relaxed.
Franco Biondi Santi, whose pioneering grandfather Ferruccio is credited with inventing Brunello in the 1880s, suggested that parts of the region were not ideal for Sangiovese.
'In some areas the vine excels, in others it simply does not,' he said. 'Rather than change Brunello, we should think about allowing other red grapes, grown within the denomination, to Rosso di Montalcino.'
According to local sources, Biondi Santi's suggestion has found favour among the majority of Montalcino's producers.
'I do agree with Biondi Santi's proposal of relaxing the rigid restrictions on Rosso di Montalcino. But Brunello must stay as it is,' said Marone Cinzano.
An assembly will shortly be called in an attempt to put an end to the speculation on Brunello's future.
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Finnally the old sage of Montalcino Franco Biondi Santi speaks out and brings a sensible proposal on the table. Liberating Rosso di Montalcino production code is a wonderful idea, and it is already in its name. It would give producers a chance to use Montalcino as a brand, while using other grapes. The opposite is true for Brunello: it was invented by the Biondi Santi family and it has always been 100% Sangiovese. If you don't obtain good results with 100% Sangiovese, as for many lower areas in Montalcino, switch to Rosso.
With respect to Gaja's proposal it is quite clearly a self-serving proposal as it is well known that he bought the wrong property and he has never been able to produce a good Brunello. If Gaja wants to solve his problem trying to cut Sangiovese with other grapes FBS has the per! fect solution for him: switch to Rosso and everybody will be happy.
Mark Cramer
There is already in Montalcino a DOC that can be used to produce wine with non regional grapes: Sant'Antimo (since 1996, and this was just its raison d'être). Why should Brunello, or for that matter, Rosso regulations be changed when a solution is already there? Ah, I see, Montalcino is better known, but then, this is mainly marketing...
Hervé Lalau
Good point, it is mainly about the marketing value of Montalcino name, but it is also important to keep in mind that Sant'Antimo is a generic DOC where you can make any kind of wine, white or red, while the revamped Rosso di Montalcino according to Biondi Santi's proposal would be Sangiovese plus 10-15% other red grapes allowed in the denomination. At that point there would be no more excuse to force a change to Brunello's production code!
Nancy
Do producers in Montalcino run the risk of Rosso di Montalcino becoming more popular than Brunello due to the addition of other varieties, like happened in Chianti?
Dave Duling, Ohio, USA
Perhaps another question should also be asked. To which clone of Sangiovese are they talking about restricting the production of Montalcino? After reading the following quote found on the Banfi website I have to wonder about the entire "war of words".
"Castello Banfi initially identified 160 presumed clones and, through cataloguing vineyards and microvinification, narrowed the selection down to a final 15 complementary clones that are planted in predetermined proportion to yield the most consistently outstanding Brunello. These results were shared with neighboring producers to help raise the bar for quality in Montalcino."
http://www.castellobanfi.com/pdf_files/AboutUs.pdf
It is difficult to be on the outside watching an argument about the "purity" of the product and keeping it "just as it is" when producers use different clones and possibly even different varietals already.
Ted Judd
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Finnally the old sage of Montalcino Franco Biondi Santi speaks out and brings a sensible proposal on the table. Liberating Rosso di Montalcino production code is a wonderful idea, and it is already in its name. It would give producers a chance to use Montalcino as a brand, while using other grapes. The opposite is true for Brunello: it was invented by the Biondi Santi family and it has always been 100% Sangiovese. If you don't obtain good results with 100% Sangiovese, as for many lower areas in Montalcino, switch to Rosso.
