A very grand vintage has emerged from the Montalcino region of Tuscany Italy.
With the releases of their 2010 Brunello wines, the critical ratings have been much higher than imaginable. More than 100 wines were rated 95 Points by James Suckling alone, not to mention the high scores awarded by other notable reviewers. This is a tough nut to crack, even though we are still talking wine here!
Suckling says: ‘Never have the wines been so profound in quality, character, and quantity from the best hillside vineyards of Montalcino. These 2010 Tuscans represent a new paradigm for Tuscany’s unique Sangiovese-based red. Vintages like this don’t come along very often.’
What makes for a great vintage in any region in the world, is well, location, location, location. This was partially true for these 2010 Brunello di Montalcino wines.
Here’s what it takes to produce grapes worthy of grand results: From bud-break through harvest, grapes on the vine need enough sunlight to create the alcohol levels in the grapes; enough coolness for the grapes to develop their acidity levels and enough rain or water to keep them supple. BINGO, the 2010 Brunello grapes got it all!!
The other interesting thing about these 2010 Brunello wines is that while in most vintages, Brunello wine are not really approachable (drinkable) at young ages, the 2010 Brunellos are very drinkable, yet have the potential for long ageing. Quite amazing!
Start buying these beautiful wines, enjoy them now and cellar your favorites. The prices have never been better.