For Italy’s “Killer B’s”—Barolo and Brunello—the 2015 vintage was a phenomenal success. One thing I’ve noticed in both sets of ’15s has been their relative accessibility in their youth: These are not usually wines that are so seductive when they are first released.
At the same time, the generosity of fruit and extract is not so extreme that it throws the wines out of balance or jeopardizes their long-term aging potential. Long story short? Brunello di Montalcino from 2015 gets the strongest possible “buy” recommendation, especially when it’s a more classically styled wine like today’s ’15 from Pietroso. Much as I like to think I’ve got some Italian wine street cred, I hadn’t heard of Pietroso before tasting their 2013 a few years ago, but since then, this minuscule farmstead has rocketed to the top of my ‘must-visit’ list whenever travel restrictions are lifted (I hope soon). Despite the fact that Montalcino is small and all the wines are made from 100% Sangiovese, there is so much stylistic variation in these wines; the reason I’ve jumped on the Pietroso train so enthusiastically is because theirs is the kind of woodsy, angular, perfumed style of Sangiovese I strongly prefer. I don’t want a dark, chunky Bordeaux wannabe—I want a lithe, smoky Brunello that’s powerful, sure, but full of tension as well. Pietroso delivers that, and in 2015 they’ve tacked on some seductive texture and luscious black cherry fruit. What a knockout it is—and what a value! We’ve got enough to offer up to six bottles per customer today, another impressively shrewd investment for your cellar, whatever its size!
Pietroso is a true jewel box property, with just 13 acres of vineyards across three parcels, on the western slopes of the Montalcino hill. Located just minutes outside the town of Montalcino proper, the original Pietroso vineyard covered just one hectare and was farmed by Domenico Berni, who originally made wines for home consumption but began releasing commercially in the mid-1970s. Today, Berni’s grand-nephew, Gianni Pignattai, runs the property (expanded slightly, to just over five hectares), with his wife and family. Their vineyards are planted exclusively to Sangiovese, at altitudes ranging from 350 to 450 meters’ above sea level, with the vineyards used for Brunello averaging 30 years of age.
As is clear once the wine is poured, this is unmistakably old-school Brunello—it has the medium garnet hue one should expect from the Sangiovese grape, not the inkier cast some modern Brunellos display (usually from aging in smaller, newer oak barrels). That said, it is not “old-school” in the sense of being funky or flawed; this is squeaky clean and beautifully perfumed, with a delicate kiss of oak spice complementing the ripe fruit. Today’s 2015 first spent eight months in used, French oak tonneaux before being transferred to larger, 32-hectolier Slavonian oak botti for an additional 30 months. This was followed, of course, by a required period of aging in bottle before release.
The 2015 is a deep, luminous garnet red in the glass, with perfumed aromas of red and black cherry, currants, blackberry, black plum, anise, rose petals, underbrush, aromatic herbs, and sandalwood spice. It is fuller-bodied than the previous releases we’ve showcased, with a little more heft on the mid-palate balanced by plenty of freshness and wonderfully fine-grained tannins. With 30-60 minutes in a decanter, this wine is offering lots of thrills and chills right now, but you’ll notice that it is also an impeccably balanced wine—a good sign for aging. Serve it in Bordeaux stems at 60-65 degrees with a beautiful ribeye steak, some duck confit, or, on the vegetarian side, pasta with wild mushrooms or risotto with white (or black) truffles. The season will be fast upon us when this wine will really shine. Cheers!
