Piancornello Brunello di Montalcino 2012
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Darkly saturated and rich in personality, the 2012 Brunello di Montalcino offers an immediate and approachable expression of the grape. Your palate yearns for succulent bistecca alla fiorentina with roasted potatoes on the side—all of it drenched in olive oil. That's because the wine is so upfront and soft even at this young stage in its evolution. This Brunello is soft in texture and mouthfeel, yet it offers loads of chewy fruit and enough bright acidity to pair with whatever you have on the menu tonight.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of sun-baked soil, stalky underbrush, crushed herb and toast lead the nose while the ripe full-bodied palate offers fleshy black-skinned berry, coffee and oak-driven spice. Rounded tannins support the juicy fruit.
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The Pieri family bought the Piancornello estate in 1950 and initially grew fruit to sell locally, until 1991, when they began vinifying and selling their own estate wines. Piancornello is now owned and operated by Claudio Monaci and Silvia Batazzi, with plans to eventually pass the property along to their two daughters. An 18th-century farmhouse anchors this organically-cultivated estate in the pristine nature of Montalcino, rubbing shoulders with centuries-old olive groves and Brunello vineyards. On their 10 hectares of vineyards, Piancornello cultivates predominantly Sangiovese vines with some Ciliegiolo. Their Sangiovese clones were chosen carefully to achieve low yields and looser bunches.
Piancornello takes its name from the hamlet just South of Montalcino where the winery is located. Its warmer and drier climate, as compared to the neighboring Chianti region, and proximity to the Mediterranean sea (45 km away) make this a prized site for winemaking. The Orcia Valley carries the sea breeze all the way to the vineyard, creating a microclimate that allows for an early harvest before the autumn rain. Piancornello’s vineyards grow on moderately sloped hills in rocky, volcanic soils with southern exposures, creating full-bodied, mineral wines.
Among Italy's elite red grape varieties, Sangiovese has the perfect intersection of bright red fruit and savory earthiness and is responsible for the best red wines of Tuscany. While it is best known as the chief component of Chianti, it is also the main grape in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and reaches the height of its power and intensity in the complex, long-lived Brunello di Montalcino. Somm Secret—Sangiovese doubles under the alias, Nielluccio, on the French island of Corsica where it produces distinctly floral and refreshing reds and rosés.
Famous for its bold, layered and long-lived red, Brunello di Montalcino, the town of Montalcino is about 70 miles south of Florence, and has a warmer and drier climate than that of its neighbor, Chianti. The Sangiovese grape is king here, as it is in Chianti, but Montalcino has its own clone called Brunello.
The Brunello vineyards of Montalcino blanket the rolling hills surrounding the village and fan out at various elevations, creating the potential for Brunello wines expressing different styles. From the valleys, where deeper deposits of clay are found, come wines typically bolder, more concentrated and rich in opulent black fruit. The hillside vineyards produce wines more concentrated in red fruits and floral aromas; these sites reach up to over 1,600 feet and have shallow soils of rocks and shale.
Brunello di Montalcino by law must be aged a minimum of four years, including two years in barrel before realease and once released, typically needs more time in bottle for its drinking potential to be fully reached. The good news is that Montalcino makes a “baby brother” version. The wines called Rosso di Montalcino are often made from younger vines, aged for about a year before release, offer extraordinary values and are ready to drink young.