Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2021

Gianni Brunelli Le Chiuse di Sotto | Tuscany
Gianni Brunelli | Le Chiuse di Sotto | Loc. Podernovone 157 | IT 53024 Montalcino

29622121 · 0,75 l · 98,67 €/l · Price (DE) incl. VAT, excl. Shippingavailable immediately

Montalcino in November 2008. Gianni Brunelli's thread broke – as Laura herself put it (he passed away). Anyone familiar with the elegance with which the winery has been run since then will understand that this was not the beginning of an end, but rather a different kind of continuity: quieter, more focussed, perhaps even more resolute. Laura Brunelli, biologist, Sardinian, soul of two institutions for decades – osteria Le Logge in Siena and the wineries on the slopes of Montalcino – has not replaced Gianni. She has carried on. And that's a difference you can feel in the glass.

Le Chiuse di Sotto lies north-east of Montalcino, 250 metres above sea level, clay-rich soils, vines, some of which date back to Dino Brunelli – gianni's father, who planted here in the late 1940s. On the opposite side, Podernovone: 500 metres, south-eastern slope, completely different character. These two worlds give rise to a Brunello that creates tension because north and south only come together in the cellar. 2021 was not an easy vintage. Late frost, dry summer, saving rain in August, cool September nights. The result: wines with concentration and freshness in rare balance. At Brunelli: hand-picked, vinification by parcel, long maturation in Slavonian wooden barrels of up to 30 hectolitres. Organically farmed, not certified – laura doesn't need the paper to live it.

Deep ruby red in the glass with violet reflections. The nose: red cherries, dried violets, undergrowth, and underneath this ferrous minerality reminiscent of wet earth after a summer thunderstorm. On the palate, structure meets elegance, fine-grained tannins, lively integrated acidity, long finish with tobacco, liquorice and a hint of orange peel. A Brunello that shows what it is now and will show what it can become in ten or fifteen years. Laura's thread holds. SUPERIORE.DE