Brunello di Montalcino: why patience is part of the wine

Montalcino is a hilltop town in southern Tuscany, and its most famous wine is unusual in one respect. You cannot buy it young. The rules will not let you.

One grape, one name

Brunello di Montalcino is made from Sangiovese. Brunello is the local historic name for the grape, which is why the wine and the variety can sound like two different things when they are not.

There is no blending partner to soften it and no international variety hiding in the background. What you taste is Sangiovese grown in a warm, dry corner of Tuscany.

Why release takes so long

That timetable is the reason a Brunello arrives already partly resolved. The firm tannin has had time to settle and the fruit has begun to turn savoury.

• A minimum of two years in oak.
• A minimum of four months in bottle, rising to six months for Riserva.
• No release before 1 January of the fifth year after harvest, with Riserva following a year later.

What to expect in the glass

Expect a wine with real structure: high acidity, serious tannin, and flavours that run from dried cherry and plum into leather, tobacco leaf, dried herbs and earth.

Good examples keep going for a long time in bottle. Younger ones benefit from a decant and a plate of something rich and savoury.

Brunello or Rosso di Montalcino

Rosso di Montalcino is made from the same Sangiovese, in the same place, but it is intended for earlier drinking. It is not a lesser wine so much as a different intention: fresher, more direct, and ready now.

If you want Montalcino character on a Tuesday, buy the Rosso. If you want the long, slow version, buy the Brunello and give it room.