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Brunello di Montalcino Wine (25 Years Old, Is It Still Good?)



Brunello di Montalcino: it’s one of Tuscany’s top red wines, but what makes it so special and why is it so expensive? The secret is in its age-worthiness. Let’s get to the bottom of the barrel on Brunello di Montalcino.

Check out our amazing sponsor San Polo
→ https://www.sanpolomontalcino.it/en
They opened up their library of wines to make this video a reality.

00:28 Why is Brunello di Montalcino Special?
01:18 Thank You San Polo
01:51 Background of the Montalcino Region and Wines
02:49 6 years aged Brunello di Montalcino
03:58 14 years aged Brunello di Montalcino
04:47 25 years aged Brunello di Montalcino
05:54 How to Choose Brunello di Montalcino Wine

Curious to know what wines were featured in this video?

2018 San Polo Brunello di Montalcino DOCG – https://this.wine/v/VT-CMLOKZISP/
2021 San Polo Rosso di Montalcino – https://this.wine/v/VT-CTPXQNWAO/

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These three wines look different from one another but they’re more alike than they seem they’re all branell deont Chino supposedly one of Italy’s Finest red wines whether or not that’s true is up to you but this is one of those wines you definitely must try at least once in your

Life today we’re going to explore why Brello deont monino is so special The Grapes used the Montalcino Wine region and the fastidious wine making but the most important reason why Brello de montal Chino is so special is because it’s one of the few wines out there that

Gets better with age so much better it’s going to inspire you to start your own wine seller lucky for us I happen to have a vertical of branell deont Chino dating back 25 years so we can see firsthand how this wine evolves over time it’s important to note Brello de

Monino is not cheap but there is actually a secret to finding great value in montal Chino so stay tuned hey it’s Maline pette from Wine Folly this video wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of San Paulo in Brello deont Chino as a sponsor they’ve sourced

Some rare Library wines for us to try and that’s so awesome since I’m not a Critic I’m not here to review or rate these wines instead we’ll talk about what’s going on technically so that we can understand montelo wines as a whole let’s do this this is Italy in southern tesy we

Find Montel Chino the Hillside Village dates back to pre-roman times and served as a stronghold to the Republic of Sienna until it was conquered by Florence in 1555 surrounding the Mountaintop Village sit The Vineyards of montal Chino the region is about 100 square miles but there are only about 9,000 Vineyard

Acres here it makes montal Chino’s production about five times smaller than Napa Valley Brello de montal Chino is one wine made here and it’s made with a special clone of SES called SES Gro or simply Brunello the Brunello clone is known to produce more concentrated grapes which in turn make more concentrated

Wines then after the fermentation wines are aged for a minimum of 2 years in barrels and for a total of 5 years before they’re released so this wine we have right here is already 6 years old but that’s a current vintage from San poo let’s find out what a current

Vintage of Brunello deont is like and the first thing we’ll do is to take a look at the color my my my this is a medium Ruby Garnet color the garnet tinged Rim tells us a couple of things one the wine has some age and two the

Fact that s Gro has naturally low PH a low PH in wine tints the Hue of red wine to a more reddish Hue let’s give it a sniff whoa I get cherries dried cranberry wild strawberry Blackberry a little Violet poery and a touch of licorice that’s complex Tannon face this wine exudes

Earthy notes of espresso and ciss along with pretty intense tannin the high EST stringency in this wine helps give it a runway for longer term aging so what happens if we wait an additional 8 years let’s find out taking a look at the color this has even more Garnet in the

Hue and a little bit more fading that fading and change of color comes from slow oxidation that also changes some things in the flavors and Aromas in this wine on the nose I get dried fig Candi Cherry a little licorice hazelnut in this sunbaked leather note wow the oxidation caused polymerization

Of the tannins making it taste more velvety and smooth across my palette because there’s less astringency this wine even has a hint of a sweeter taste now for something really special this Brunello deont Chino has aged for 25 years you can see how the labels have

Changed over the years but this this is the same wine hey what’s your favorite label let me know taking a look at the color wo this must be where the name Brunell comes from it’s much more of a pale Tony color on the nose I get dried candied brown sugar dried porcini

Mushroom that old leather a touch of Licorice and cremin notice there’s less fruit the flavors are now mostly from aging and these are called tertiary Aromas the process of long-term aging has completely changed this wine wow for most wines 20 to 5 to 30 years means we’re at our most mature

Moment what surprises me about this wine is how delicious it is to drink it’s fruity even though the arm Aromas aren’t as fruity impressive now that we’ve seen the potential of Montel Chino’s wines let’s dig into how to find what you like the first thing to know is that montal

Chino has a dynamic landscape with different elevations and soil types this means we can expect to find a range in the styles of wine here so here’s what you need to know wines coming from more clay heavy soils tend to produce riper styles with more black fruit flavors our

Wine today came from clay Limestone soils contrasting that though wines from more Rocky soils tend to be more aromatic with red fruit Aromas and elegant tannins here’s another clue and this might sound crazy but you can look at the vineyard elevation lower elevations tend to have softer acidity and riper fruit flavors

And as you move up in elevation we get more structured Cannon and elegant fruit flavors this is typically better for long-term Aging for comparison sake our wines today came from4 75 ft up and that’s pretty high for Montalcino finally there’s brunell’s classifications and this is where we can

Find the secret to finding great value branell deont Chino has two aging classifications Brello deont Chino and brelo deont Chino Reserva technically Reserva has longer aging requirements and many producers label why Reserva that come from their best Vineyards and vintages and then there’s the secret Roso dealino this wine doesn’t have the

Same rigorous aging requirements as Brunello but it does use the same grape and it comes from the same place Roso in my opinion is a great way to taste Montel Chino on a budget because it costs a lot less and you can find a great one if you look up the vintages

So there you have it we’ve just done a deep dive into Brunello and we’ve also learned a little bit about how red wines age along the way I hope this helps you feel more confident to find a delicious wine from Montel Chino on your own now it’s my question to you do you

Think Brello is the top wine of Italy and what wine region should we cover next I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas so be sure to leave a comment below thanks so much for joining in and if you enjoyed this video we’ll be doing more videos like it so be sure to

Subscribe if you’d like to learn more about wine until next time happy tasting peace out

23 Comments

  1. I love the way you explain everything I really would like to learn a lot about wines specially Italian wines
    Could any one recommend me a school to educate and get the knowledge and certificate 🙏

  2. Awesome video! Thank you.
    I have been collecting Brunello vintage 2015 and 2016 after visiting this area in 2019. I would love your take on Duoro Valley wines if the mood strikes you! : )

  3. Great video, clear, engaging and informative as always.
    Brunello is a serious wine that needs aging. I don’t have the facilities, the time or the budget to store wine for 20 years. So it’s a once a year wine for me for special occasions. I’d suggest spending the money on a trip to Tuscany rather than trying to store fine wines and hoping you can age them safely. Will you still be able to enjoy it in 20+ years?
    A well made Rosso di Montalcino is so much fresher and approachable, and another favourite of mine is Nobile di Montepulciano which can be special too.

    That said Brunello is amazing. For several months after I first tried a good Brunello in Montalcino I was unfairly comparing other reds to it. Often feeling disappointed that my tipple didn’t match the memory of the Brunello.

    Montalcino is a beautiful place to visit and to stay, and where better to taste a few glasses?

  4. Love your work and I’m taking the Tuscany course before our three week trip to that region. Next: Nobile, Barolo, Amarone, Chianti Classico!

  5. Madeline, you are the best! I have always loved your graphics and approach to teaching about wine. For me, I love Sangiovese. It’s my second favorite grape from Italy. But my go to is Nebbiolo. From a Langhe to Barbaresco to Alto Piemonte. Perhaps an exploration of Nebbiolo away from Barolo?

  6. A few nights ago I watched this really cool movie called; Somm into the bottle and voila` one of my favorite youtubers talking wine like a boss!

  7. There are too many great wines coming from Italy to say which is the King. From up north, Veneto, to the island of Sicily the wines are so varied. I would like to see Wine Folly dive into Montelpulciano and Piemonte with a trip down to Puglia and then over to Sicily. Keep up the great work.

  8. If I had to pick just one region to drink wines from for the rest of my life, it would be Montalcino.

    I'd love to see something similar highlighting the Rhone…CdP, Crozes-Hermitage, or one of the Southern Rhone village appellations.
    Great video, as usual.

  9. Love the rest of the Tuscany region
    Try a super Tuscan blend ..like from
    Avignonesi Winery Fattoria Le Capezzine….just wow for their super Tuscans and Sang in general from here

  10. I'm not sure if you guys have already covered Barbaresco, but I'd love to see a video about the region, perhaps more specifically about 'Produttori del Barbaresco'?

    A man can dream…

  11. While I love Barolo, I do believe Brunello is Italy's finest. Its appeal is more broad to wine enthusiasts and regular people.

  12. Interesting video, but it's a shame that only one vinary is presented. Try Casa Nova di Neri, one of the best Brunello you'll find on the market. And, please,learn how to pronounce Brunello di Montalcino properly.

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