Finally, the world gets to taste the Brunello di Montalcino 2008 and the Brunello Riserva 2007. My friends in Montalcino have been keeping me apprised of all the Benvenuto Brunello news from afar. The weather has been rainy, snowy, and damp for the weekend but perhaps perfect weather to taste so many magical bottles of vino?
Firstly, what exactly is Benvenuto Brunello (‘Welcome Brunello’)? This international event takes place every year in February and is hosted by the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino. Brunello is only made in my beloved Montalcino and is made from the Sangiovese grape. The event unveils the annual releases of Brunello di Montalcino (ages for 5 years), the Brunello Riserva (6 years) and Rosso di Montalcino (1 year). The event also awards stars for the previous year’s harvest which for this weekend’s event is 2012 with the wine to be released onto the market as the coveted Brunello in 2017. The Leccio d’Oro prize is also awarded to the restaurants and wineries with the best selection of Brunello on their wine lists. (I was pleased to see Osteria Mozza – the Nancy Silverton, Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich venture -receive the award for the restaurant category as I have had the pleasure of having lunch there while visiting my brother in LA. Go Mario!)
And drumroll….the 2012 harvest was another banner year and awarded 5 stars, *****, 5 stelle!
A Consorzio blog post states ‘….the exceptional 2012 harvest scored maximum points. The optimism of the experts suggests that 2012 will be a dream year. You just have to wait for years….’ Wait indeed – make that ‘5 years’ until our palate’s taste the 2017 Brunello however that gives me lots of time to drink all the other banner years waiting in my cellar. (And that actually is my cellar – no fancy ‘wine cellars’ at my casa unfortunately.)
The event finishes with a commemorative 2012 vintage tile being hung on the village wall with this year’s tile being created by Cruciani, famous for its macrame bracelets.
You can read more about this year’s event, Brunello and the harvests from this Consorzio press release .
And should you be in Montalcino, please stop by my favorite spot to buy Brunello in Montalcino, Enoteca Pierangioli, located just off the main piazza. Difficult name to pronounce for sure but fantastic selection of wine and they ship worldwide. (Say hello to Alessandro and Stefania for me if you go!)
And as night falls on Montalcino, congratulations on yet another banner harvest…well played, Mother Nature, well played.
