Panel Tasting: Brunello di Montalcino 2012

See which of the 123 wines came out on top after this blind tasting by our three-strong expert panel, with an introduction to the Brunello 2012 vintage by Richard Baudains and a report on the post-tasting discussion by John Stimpfig.

In the second half of the 19th century, Ferruccio Biondi Santi selected a biotype of Sangiovese and used it to make an innovative barrel-aged, monovarietal wine. To all intents and purposes he invented Brunello.

Others took it forward (notably the producers’ consorzio in the 1960s), but without the Biondi Santi family there would probably be no Brunello di Montalcino.

Scroll down to see the top wines from the panel tasting

Brunello di Montalcino is Sangiovese in its most intense, full-bodied manifestation, but in terms of specific textures and aromas there is variation on the basic theme.

Individual winemaking styles play a part. Estates that age in barrique or tonneaux (a minority, to be honest) make more immediate wines with a big initial fruit impact and smoother tannins. Long maceration and ageing in large Slavonian oak barrels create drier, initially more reticent wines.

More significant is the influence of soils and climate: to generalise, the further south you go, the fuller, softer and rounder the wines become. On the ridge to the east of Montalcino and in the area to the north, the wines have a more linear, savoury character and generally evolve more slowly.

Identifying specific crus is fertile ground for much discussion. From experience, most would agree that there are certain terroirs which give wines a very particular character, but pinning them down by name is difficult.Montosoli is one that is widely recognised, Sesta could be another, and the smaller sub-zone of Canalicchio another still.

Alcohol levels are also an issue of some debate. A string of scorching, dry summers combined with low yields and strict fruit selection have seen sugar contents soar. Many producers are starting to rethink their vineyard management to obtain more balanced alcohol, but once again it is terroir that makes the difference. Higher, cooler slopes have a great advantage in the ever more frequently torrid summers.

All in the timing

This was the case with 2012. The summer was long, hot and dry with temperatures that remained unusually high at night, increasing the risk of drought stress on south-facing slopes. Although September rain brought some relief, producers who picked early to keep acidity often made wines with under-ripe tannins. Fresher areas made wines that have the power and concentration of the vintage, but also good acidity and fresher fruit.

Brunello built its original reputation around the aura of old vintages and its legendary longevity, but the drinking window of modern wines starts much closer to the date of release than its reputation suggests. Six to eight years is a good rule of thumb for an average vintage, say 10 for a great vintage from a top producer.

The 2011s are drinking now, while the excellent 2010s would benefit from another couple of years.

Brunello: know your vintages

• 2016 (release 2021) Small vintage of 5-star quality. Powerful but balanced; good acidity.
• 2015 (release 2020) Hot summer saved by September rain. Five-star vintage, perhaps a little less balanced than 2016.
• 2014 (release 2019) Cool, wet, problematic. Wait and see, but it would be unrealistic to have high expectations.
• 2013 (release 2018) Good overall, although possibly mixed due to harvest time rain.
• 2012 (current) Hot, dry summer, record high temperatures mitigated to an extent by September rain. Powerful, tannic wines. Officially 5-star vintage, but inconsistent.
• 2011 Very hot in the run-up to harvest; led to concentrated wines with low acidity and a raisiny character in some cases. Probably not for long ageing.
• 2010 Great vintage for long ageing. Top quality wines combining power and elegance.
  

The scores

123 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 7

Highly Recommended 73

Recommended 42

Commended 0

Fair 1

Poor 0

Faulty 0

The results

A very good if hot vintage showed its qualities with plenty of high scores, good consistency and some new names to be discovered, as John Stimpfig reports below.

View all 123 Brunello di Montalcino 2012 tasting notes from the Panel Tasting

Going into this tasting, Michael Garner had high expectations. ‘2012 is quite a hyped vintage and, thus far, there haven’t been many words of caution around it. But even so, to come away with seven Outstanding wines and so many 90-plus rated wines clearly endorses that estimation. Without question, this is a really good vintage for Brunello.’

His fellow tasters were equally enthusisatic. Overall, said Susan Hulme MW, this was a positive showing: ‘Critically, there were lots of very good wines and very few low points.’ Bruno Besa noted: ‘Twenty years ago, you would never have had such a consistent result as this. Today’s Montalcino producers deserve credit for making such progress in a relatively short time.’

The 2012 growing conditions were certainly benign, if not entirely perfect. According to Garner, the season was hot, dry and occasionally torrid. As a result there were some big, high-alcohol wines, nudging 15% and more, which was clearly a concern for all three tasters.Yet despite that caveat, there was universal agreement that this is a quality vintage that consumers can buy with confidence – pretty much across the board.

But just how good is 2012 compared to the even more hyped 2010 vintage? For Garner, the main difference was that there weren’t the same number of

really top-flight wines: ‘Unfortunately, these 2012s didn’t make the earth move for me in quite the same way as the best 2010s. So I’d put it a notch or two below.’

While Hulme agreed that 2010 showed more exceptional quality and high points, she also felt 2012 was a more evenly balanced and accessible vintage: ‘That’s important, because not everyone is looking to store wine for 20 years.’

Two distinct styles or interpretations of the vintage also emerged. On the one hand, the fresher, nervier, ‘pure’ Sangiovese style; on the other, a more concentrated, richer, riper ‘show-stopping’ style. Consumers need to decide which stylistic approach they prefer, noted Hulme.

When should drinkers begin to broach the wines? ‘The best wines have medium levels of acidity, which is why 2012 probably won’t have the greatest future ahead of it,’ said Garner. Besa recommended three to five years for the bigger-style wines: ‘The more elegant, long-lived versions will last another 10-12 years at most.’ Hulme took a different tack on when to pull corks: ‘I would drink quite a few of them now, because they’re currently so approachable with food. There is sufficient freshness, and the best of these wines have refined tannins. In many instances, I’d open them sooner rather than later.’

Winemaking and fruit expression also drew positive comments from our panel. ‘You can easily ruin fruit in the winery, but very few people have done that,’ noted Garner. ‘Overall, the standard here is very high.’ As is often the case in these discussions, the topic of oak was touched upon, particularly in relation to fruit expression. In some cases, the wines were dominated by sweet oak spice, which Garner sometimes attributed to smaller French oak. ‘Personally I always feel that the charm of Brunello is best expressed through larger, older Slavonian casks rather than barriques.’

Another positive from the tasting is that it threw up some genuine surprises, underlining the excitement, diversity and dynamism in Montalcino. Not only did the relatively unknown and affordable Poggio Landi come top in this tasting, there are several other new names for wine lovers to discover and become acquainted with.

Brunello: the facts

Production zone: Entire area of the commune of Montalcino in the province of Siena

Area under vine: 2,100ha

Climate: Mediterranean

Soils: Sandy clay, marl, galestro, limestone in various combinations

Grape: 100% Sangiovese

Ageing: Four years, of which a minimum two years in oak

Top 20 Brunello di Montalcino 2012 from the Panel Tasting: