The editor-in-chief of WEINWISSER, Giuseppe Lauria, is not only an expert on Montalcino; in the 01-02/2024 issue, he takes an in-depth look at the current 2019 Brunello vintage:
"The highly praised vintage largely delivered what it promised. The 2019 Brunello wines have a wonderful ripeness with expressive fruit and a lot of charm, but at the same time enough depth and structure to be categorised as a great year. (...) Rarely before have I tasted so many excellent Brunello as from the 2019 vintage. Only 2016, which can probably be described as the vintage of the century, offered even greater homogeneity and scored with great, classic finesse and vibrant elegance. The best examples from 2019 are on a par, combining the maturity of the charming, charismatic 2015 vintage with the vibrant tension and finesse of 2016.
Expectations were very high, as the vintage offered almost ideal climatic conditions: Hot summers, cool nights and a relatively large amount of rain, which helped the vines on the gentle hills around Montalcino to grow relatively stress-free.
This was one of the reasons why the vintage was compared with the classic 2016. At the beginning of my tasting, the comparison with 2016 was also obvious in the glass, as many of the wines showed the precision, firmness and depth that we last saw here in 2016. Only after a few flights did a more differentiated picture emerge, as I increasingly tasted wines that were more reminiscent of the hotter and more generous 2015 vintage with their power and ripeness as well as their delicately porous tannin texture. Be that as it may, in the end it's the overall balance that counts. And that is very positive. 2019 clearly stands above the linear, fresh but also racy 2018 vintage and the powerhouses from the dry 2017 vintage." GIUSEPPE LAURIA | CHEFREDAKTEUR WEINWISSER
You can find the detailed and very readable report in the WEINWISSER issue 01-02/2024.
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