Brunello di Montalcino, Banfi 2019
Raffaele Vecchione 96; James Suckling 95; Orazio Campoli 94; Revista Adega 94; Wine Enthusiast 94; Wine Spectator 94; Decanter World Wine Awards 91
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Why this wine
Banfi's estate Brunello is the benchmark against which most people first learn the appellation: two years minimum in a mix of large French casks and barriques, from an estate that has done more clonal research on Sangiovese than anyone in Montalcino. The 2019 is a well-regarded vintage and this is a broadly reviewed wine, which makes it a safe and generous introduction to Brunello.
At a glance
- Grape
- Sangiovese
- Region
- Tuscany, Italy
- Alcohol
- 14.50%
- Body
- Full
- Acidity
- High
- Tannins
- Medium
- Sweetness
- Dry
- Drink
- Long (10-20 yrs)
- Pairs with
- Red Meat, Pasta, Cheese
How it tastes
Ruby red with garnet highlights, and an intense nose of blackberry and blackcurrant with floral hints of rose that bring freshness. The body is full and powerful, the tannins soft and smooth against a marked acidity, closing long and deep. Sangiovese 100%.
The producer
Banfi was founded in 1978 by the Italian-American brothers John and Harry Mariani, who worked with Ezio Rivella to turn land bought at Montalcino into a large-scale quality estate, later adding the historic Piedmontese winery Bruzzone; it holds Equalitas sustainability certification at both organisational and product level, and its Brunello di Montalcino Poggio all'Oro 2016 was the first Brunello to obtain it. Recently Banfi featured in the Top 100 of The World's Best Vineyard Awards 2025. The vineyards lie on the hilly part of the estate at a low to moderate incline, on soils ranging from the clay sands of the marine Pliocene, deep and full of calcareous stones, to grey-blue clays, moderately deep and mineral, that hold humidity; vines are spur cordon and Banfi Albarello trained at 2,400 to 5,500 per hectare, yielding 65 quintals per hectare. Fermentation runs at 25-30°C in Horizon hybrid French oak and stainless-steel tanks, followed by a minimum of two years' ageing, 80% in 60 to 90-hectolitre French oak casks and 20% in 350-litre French barriques. The 2019 growing season opened with an extraordinary cold snap in April and May that delayed development before a hot, dry spell brought the vines back, giving a harvest of high quality and marked territorial character.
Food and drinking
Serve at 16-18°C. Good with roast beef, venison, pappardelle with hare and aged Parmigiano. Drinking well now and worth keeping ten to twenty years; decant an hour or two ahead. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans.