Brunello di Montalcino that is bright, light and transparent - recommendations?

[Keith_Levenberg]

What Otto said. Light, bright, and fresh is not a description of a successful Brunello, but many nice Chiantis would fit the bill.

[Vince_T]

Have you considered Rosso di Montalcino? It’s similar to its bigger brother(Brunello), but shorter cooperage requirement and imo brighter & lighter.

Good point. I think that’s a better place to look than Chianti for a lighter/redder/clearer version of Brunello.

+1. Had a terrific 2017 Fuligni Rosso last week. Pure red fruit, elegant and transparent. I enjoyed it more than most of the Brunellos I’ve had recently, especially the young ones.

[John_Milliken]

Have you considered Rosso di Montalcino? It’s similar to its bigger brother(Brunello), but shorter cooperage requirement and imo brighter & lighter.

Good point. I think that’s a better place to look than Chianti for a lighter/redder/clearer version of Brunello.

+1. Had a terrific 2017 Fuligni Rosso last week. Pure red fruit, elegant and transparent. I enjoyed it more than most of the Brunellos I’ve had recently, especially the young ones.

+2. Just finished a 2019 Il Poggione Rosso that also fits that description.

[Jeremy_Holmes]

Le Ragnaie

[Johan_R]

Looking for that style, going for Rosso di Montalcino might be worth considering. I would advocate Baricci, Le Ragnaie and Conti Costanti in that mould. I’m very new to Montalcino wines myself, but especially the Baricci and Costanti RdM 2018 were both spectacular.

[Chris_V]

Closest thing I can think of in Brunello is (as others have mentioned) Fuligni’s normale (generally no funk) or Mastrojanni (sometimes some funk, in my experience).

But if you really want something super light and elegant, I would very much agree that Rosso di Montalcino is what you should buy. Chianti is an option but is really variable, sometimes darnk and heavy, sometime light and elegant. In my experience Rosso di Montalcino has a high proportion of light and elegant wines.

[Brian_Pinci]

Mastrojanni tends to be on the elegant end.

+1 on Mastrojanni. Just the regular Brunello not the special vignas.

[Marshall_Manning]

I wouldn’t say it’s light, but Livio Sassetti is very pure, bright, earthy, and structured. If you want light, I agree with the others to look for Rosso, Chianti, or Vino Nobile.

[DougS]

I’m not really following you. Poggio di Sotto and Soldera are dank, dark, and concentrated in my experience. Maybe some newer vintages of Poggio di Sotto might be closer to what you’re talking about, but I’m still not fully understanding your post.

I haven’t had these in many years so my memory might be failing me, but I remember especially Poggio Di Sotto BdM Riserva as being very bright fruited with cranberry and tart cherry dominating on the fruit side and being bright red in color (drunk pretty young).

Nonetheless that is the style that I’m looking for.

I’ve had several vintages from 1999 forward, and all have been relatively elegant for Brunello.

[DougS]

I think Fuligni is an excellent producer that tends towards that side of the spectrum.

^agreed! I think if one focuses on the more traditional producers in the northern zones of Montalcino that they’ll have a lot of success finding red-fruited brunellos. I know I’m making a slight bit of a sweeping statement, but it’s kinda born out that way for me

This is good advice.

[Adam_For]

Lots of good picks on this thread thank you for sharing!

[TomasJ]

Great, thanks for all the input! I’ll give these producers a try as well as some more Rosso di Montalcino!

[M_Porter]

I would look at more traditional-style producers if this is what you are after. Biondi Santi fits your description perfectly IMO. A bit pricey, but you mentioned Soldera so…

Agree with the comments on rosso. Great option. The 2018 Biondi Santi Rosso is very good and is ready to drink (although you can buy good brunello for the same price).

[Jeff_Vaughan]

Le Ragnaie

[Troy_Stark]

I would look at more traditional-style producers if this is what you are after. Biondi Santi fits your description perfectly IMO. A bit pricey, but you mentioned Soldera so…

Agree with the comments on rosso. Great option. The 2018 Biondi Santi Rosso is very good and is ready to drink (although you can buy good brunello for the same price).

This is why I suggested La Gerla. Used to be owned by the Biondi Santi family and sticks to it’s roots as a very elegant (and more affordable!) rendition of Brunello.

[B_Davies]

Have you looked into specific sangiovese clones you prefer? There are some that naturally make a more robust style.

All the Brunello’s I’ve had recently are made with the Grosso clone I’m not sure if I’ve had the piccolo clone.

[Keith_A_k_e_r_s]

Have you looked into specific sangiovese clones you prefer? There are some that naturally make a more robust style.

All the Brunello’s I’ve had recently are made with the Grosso clone I’m not sure if I’ve had the piccolo clone.

I think this is overblown a bit in all honesty. Montalcino is drier than Chianti by a good 200mm of rain per year. That in of itself will lead to more intense Sangiovese. Montalcino has varying shades of brown when you travel in it and Chianti is more lush. I pretty much don’t put much stock into the Grasso vs Piccolo tales and look more at the climate and a lot more at the poor soils that exist in Montalcino that lead to the style vs Chianti

[Nathan_Smyth]

Back in the day, Sesti made an exceptionally elegant Brunello.

But it’s been forever since I’ve seen Sesti for sale in our market.

Judging from Wine-Searcher, Sesti is being imported to California, and to the UK, and there’s a teeny tiny smattering of it on the East Coast [NY & FL].

And of course I have no idea what it tastes like these days.

More recently, Agostina Pieri made a very very elegant Brunello in 2013, although I was told that 2015 was a much more difficult vintage for her style of winemaking.

[Tom_Reddick]

There are two makers of Brunello that I love above all the rest- Soldera and Val di Suga.

Val di Suga is not as available in the US as I would like- you often have to go to the direct importers on the coasts to get it- but it is wonderful wine. A mix of modern and traditional- fruit driven, transparent, lovely at release and gently ages into something a little more subtle with time. There are, I believe, 3 single vineyard bottlings in the $100ish range (Poggio al Granchio, Vigna Spuntali and Vigna del Lago) and then the regular bottling is $50-60.

It is one of those wines I always keep on hand in some quantity because it is perfect for just about any occasion or group of people where I want something really enjoyable that I can rely on to perform well.

[DougS]

Have you looked into specific sangiovese clones you prefer? There are some that naturally make a more robust style.

All the Brunello’s I’ve had recently are made with the Grosso clone I’m not sure if I’ve had the piccolo clone.

I think this is overblown a bit in all honesty. Montalcino is drier than Chianti by a good 200mm of rain per year. That in of itself will lead to more intense Sangiovese. Montalcino has varying shades of brown when you travel in it and Chianti is more lush. I pretty much don’t put much stock into the Grasso vs Piccolo tales and look more at the climate and a lot more at the poor soils that exist in Montalcino that lead to the style vs Chianti

Agreed, plus Banfi has shown with their clonal research that the idea above is an absurd oversimplification, yet many producers still use it. Banfi found 650 different clones on their property alone.