Making Brunello di Montalcino wine is a lengthy and capital-intensive process. The goal is a wine for the ages, which, as SommSelect’s David Lynch notes, Fonterenza delivered in the 2012 vintage.
Back in the early aughts, when I was Wine Director of New York’s Babbo, we were blessed with a deep cellar full of Italy’s most iconic wines. One of the sommeliers on my staff delighted in bringing me ‘blind’ tastings, no doubt relishing the opportunity to stump me (which he often did). You’d think that the two greatest Italian red wine grapes—Sangiovese and Nebbiolo—would be readily identifiable and never confused for the other, but, looking back, Sangiovese/Nebbiolo conflation was probably my biggest Achilles’ heel (hey, even Master Sommeliers wrestle with it: don’t judge). Classic examples of Barolo (Nebbiolo) and Brunello di Montalcino (Sangiovese), particularly ones with age (which lessens Nebbiolo’s on-paper advantage in the tannin department), often have strong similarities: they share a forest-floor woodsiness; red-fruitedness; and leathery, smoky savor that occasionally trips up even expert tasters. I thought of all this while tasting today’s powerful 2012 Brunello di Montalcino from Fonterenza. This is a small, newish estate on Montalcino’s south slope, run with passion by twin sisters who favor a staunchly traditional, tautly muscular style of Brunello. As I’ve noted before, lots of producers in Montalcino have gone the other way—crafting juicier, ‘drink now’ styles in a nod to fashion (and sometimes, as you may recall from a few years back, getting in trouble when that quest for early drinkability included grapes other than Sangiovese). The Fonterenza Brunello might have tripped me up if I had tasted it blind: but regardless, its power and clear pedigree are unmistakable. It’s the most cellar-worthy Brunello I’ve encountered in recent memory—you’d be wise to find room for some!
Francesca and Margarita Padovani are the twin proprietors/farmers/winemakers at Fonterenza, whose small collection of vineyards covers a little under 5 hectares near Sant’Angelo in Colle, a village on Montalcino’s south slope. The property’s vineyards date to the 1400s, but were long defunct before being revived by the Padovani family, who purchased the property in 1975 and mostly used it as a country retreat until Francesca and Margarita came of age and wanted to pursue winemaking in earnest. They planted their first vineyards in 1999, adhering to organic principles and enjoying a warm relationship with neighbor, mentor, and Brunello icon Gianfranco Soldera. Famously opinionated and cantankerous, Soldera has shared lots of wisdom during their ongoing friendship and the similarities in the two estates’ wines are unmistakable (until you get to the prices). Following years of grueling manual labor and apprenticeships, the twins bottled their first vintage in 2002. Seemingly overnight, they became darlings of the wine press and Italian sommelier community.
In tasting their 2012 Brunello, I find some similarities to the Soldera wines, but ultimately, Fonterenza’s is a brawnier, more brooding style. The Padovani sisters, now farming biodynamically, subject their Sangiovese to a rather long (by today’s standards) maceration on their skins during fermentation—usually upwards of a month. The wine is fermented on native yeasts in Slavonian oak vats and aged in an assortment of mostly used, larger-sized barrels for 42 months. It was bottled unfiltered and aged further in bottle (per Montalcino DOCG law) before release. Just over 400 cases were produced in total, so to call this wine rare would be an understatement!
In the glass, the ’12 displays a dark crimson-ruby core moving to garnet and a hint of burnt orange at the rim. The aromas are both richly fruity and deeply mineral, with heady notes of red and black cherry, black plum, red currant, blood orange, leather, tobacco, bitter chocolate, and underbrush. Full-bodied and firmly structured on the palate, its profound minerality will remind some of great single-vineyard Barolo, but ultimately, I think I’d get this one: it is powerful, for sure, but most young Barolo skews more resolutely savory. The tannins here are more fine-grained than one typically encounters in a Nebbiolo, and the fruit component a touch sappier. It needs 60-90 minutes in a decanter before really revealing anything, and while it will offer tremendous enjoyment next to a well-charred ribeye, the real sweet spot for this wine is about 5-7 years down the line. Serve it at 60 degrees in large Bordeaux stems and take it slow: there are many layers to unravel. These talented sisters are rising stars in Montalcino; I’m happy to be along for the ride!
— David Lynch
