(this blog post was written November 28th, but had to be embargoed until the new year to protect our hosts from violating Consorzio rules.)
After aging patiently in the barrel and bottle for five years, the 2021 vintage of our very favorite wine, Brunello di Montalcino, is almost ready to go to market.
The Consorzio di Brunello’s rules prohibit its members from releasing the latest vintage until the January five years after the grapes are harvested.
However, in late November the Consorzio di Brunello hosts:
This marketing event…open to distributors and credentialed wine press…is timed to meet deadlines for the world’s wine magazines (e.g. Wine Spectator or Wine Enthusiast), so articles about the latest Brunello vintage will come out just as the wine is first available for sale.
It’s four days of wine tasting….
… presentations about how weather shaped the 2021 vintage….
…or master classes on convincing restaurants to carry more Brunello on their wine lists
(Thanks to SienaNews for these convention photos)
However, the real marketing is done at private dinners, where wineries fete journalists to elegant meals in an attempt to get them to write positive reviews.
Carol and Roger would have drooled at the opportunity to attend. But there was no way.
Imagine our delight, then, when our friends at Azienda Agricola Innocenti invited us to drop by a few days after Benvenuto Brunello for a chance to preview their 2021 vintage.
Patrizia Gallorini did the honors.
First, the 2020 Brunello…for comparison purposes.
Then the new vintage…2021.
Note, the bottle has no label. Brunello vintners can’t label their wines before the approved sell date.
So, how does the 2020 vintage rate?
Our expert’s face tells it all.
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