Winemaker Notes
Fonterenza grows four contiguous hectares of hilly vineyards just southeast of the town of Montalcino. The crown jewel of their holdings is a 1.6-hectare parcel valled Vigna del Bosco, so named for the fact that the steep, south-facing, amphitheater-shaped vineyard is entirely surrounded by thick woods. The Padovanis planted this special sit in 1999. The soils are complex, limestone-rich and widely varied from top to bottom of the hill. The vineyard is farmed biodynamically and harvested by hand in multiple passes.
Like their vineyard work, Fonterenza's cellar work is mindful and meticulous. The bunches are destemmed by hand and fermented spontaneously in Slavonian oak vats with a maceration of up to a month. Total aging clocks in at six years, the first three in large Slavonian oak botti and the second three years in other vessels, cement tanks in the case of 2018. The Brunello is always bottled without filtration. Due to the lengthy aging, Fonterenza's current release is usually two vintages behind the rest of the Brunello market.
Professional Ratings
-
Vinous
The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino is wildly fresh and juicy, with floral and peppery notes throughout. It excels due to its pretty nature and zesty intensity, blending citrus and sour cherries with crunchy mineral tones. The wine leaves a reverberation of tension on the palate, saturating and long, as violet inner florals linger over a tinge of exotic spice. Unlike most 2018s, this demands further cellaring. This was from Lot 2024, as Fonterenza had to bottle the 2018 on two separate occasions.
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.