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Cristina Mariani-May is family proprietor and co-CEO of Banfi Vintners, America’s leading wine importer, and the award winning Castello Banfi Vineyard Estate in Montalcino, Tuscany.
Read more of Cristina wine picks
Everthing Goes Better with Wine
The First Brunello of Spring
by Cristina Mariani-May co-CEO of Banfi Vintners
Even if there is still a distinct chill in the air, with all the snow finally washed away there are definite signs of spring. Soon the stodgy winter diet will turn to fresh produce, and our selection of wine will turn from the big and bold to the light and fruity, right? Well, not necessarily so. One of the great rites of spring is the debut of the newest vintage of hot Tuscany’s hottest wine, Brunello di Montalcino and its “younger brother,” Rosso di Montalcino.
Over the past month or so, wine professionals and journalists were given a sneak preview of the 2006 Brunello and the 2009 Rosso. Now it is our turn, as these debutantes finally hit the shelves of our finest wine shops and the wine lists of our favorite restaurants.
Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino are known to be age-worthy wines, the stuff of collectors and cellars, so why the fuss over their youngest renditions? Well, first of all, the smart collectors snap these wines up while they are young and release them again after they’ve reached elegant maturity with cellaring of 10, 15 or over 20 years. But before heading into their cellar slumber, these wines show magnificent character and flex some hunky wine muscles that could make a wine-loving tomato swoon.
It’s sort of like having a wondrous, somewhat naughty fling with a younger man and then meeting him years later to fall into a deep romance with the now suave and sophisticated gent. You are connecting on a deeper plane now, but oh the glorious memories of that youthful lust…
Pause. Breathe. Open a bottle of 2006 Brunello di Montalcino (ideally, of course, from my family’s Castello Banfi estate!), and feel the power of its muscular youth. Bold but not brash, its tannins are soft and caressing, all ivy league charm. Dine gregariously with the young Brunello, enjoying grilled baby lamb chops, seared pork tenderloin, roasted squab. Seize the Mrs. Robinson moment, get lost in the revelry, for like all bold young men – oh, I mean wine – he will sooner or later seem to slip away from you, sowing his own wild oats for a while, retreating to what wine aficionados call a “dumb phase,” snoozing in the cellar until one day he awakens as a refined gentleman.
Now fast forward a few years, or make it fast forward yourself (who has the time to wait for these guys anyway?) by turning to the cellar for an older Brunello, say a 2001, a 1999 or a 1997. Hey, I remember you, that same chiseled jawline, that endearing smile, but wait, something’s changed. We’re meeting over some artisan cheese, lingering over after dinner conversation. You’re holding yourself a little differently now, more poised, smoother, more charming, deep, sophisticated. Memories come flooding back but do not take from the moment; they only enhance it.
Pause again. Breathe again.
If that’s all a bit too much for the system right now, just enjoy the platonic company of a cute teenager, and open a bottle of Rosso di Montalcino 2009 (again, guess whose?). What a great kid, very forward, nicely polished, in his prep school charm you can see his older brother’s genes, and he too will make a fine man someday. But for now just enjoy his company with a bowl of pasta, some roasted chicken, veal Milanese. He’ll give you some hints of what the vintage will bring when you meet it again as Brunello in three years. And the fun will really start, because you knew him “when.”
Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino – Incredible elegance and harmony. Intense with lots of fruit and wood. Round, complete, well-balanced with hints of chocolate and berries. In 2006, the gradual ripening of the grapes favored an excellent evolution of the tannins, which resulted in a smooth, harmonious wine, yet one with great power and intense varietal expression. Average national retail $55
Castello Banfi Rosso di Montalcino - Brunello's "younger brother," produced from select Sangiovese grapes and aged in barrique for 10 to 12 months. Deep ruby-red, elegant, vibrant, well-balanced and stylish with a dry velvety finish. The 2009 season was characterized by mild temperatures overall, with copious water reserves in the soil which endowed exceptional elegance highlighted by the complexity of its tannins. This wine’s structure is full-bodied, soft and powerful; excellent finish, particularly persistent. Average national retail around $23
