Even though it’s from the 2011 vintage, today’s wine is a “young” wine by Brunello di Montalcino standards. By law, these wines don’t enter the market until January 1st of the year five years from the vintage year (meaning we’re only now seeing some 2013s enter our market).
Such is the life of a Brunello lover: It’s a long but rewarding wait, which, as a child of the ’70s who watched too much TV, reminds me of the classic Heinz ketchup ads set to Carly Simon’s “Anticipation.” Today’s 2011 from Villa le Prata is certainly capable of aging, but it’s also a Brunello for the impatient among us, as many of the wines from this vintage have proved to be. That said, this isn’t a sappy, overripe wine but instead a fresh, fragrant, balanced beauty that’s a joy to drink—an important distinction to make in a category filled with quite-massive wines. This one, I think properly captures the spirit of Sangiovese grown in this place: there’s depth, sure, but there’s also lots of lively energy. It’s delicious now, but I don’t see its powers of seduction declining anytime soon.
In short, this is my kind of “collectible”—one I can feel okay about dipping into every so often without feeling like I’m committing infanticide. Especially after a good hour in a decanter, the wine shows great aromatic complexity and a silky texture, and when you factor in the price, there’s no other way to put it: This is a “win” all around.
The “villa” in Villa le Prata was first a hunting lodge, built in 1860; it was later a country home for the Bishop of Montalcino, situated at about 500 meters’ altitude in the Tavarnelle subzone west of Montalcino village. The estate was acquired in 1980 by Massimo Losappio, a local surgeon, and his philosophy professor wife, Marialuce, who started out with a one-hectare vineyard just below the villa and have since added several other small vineyard parcels to their collection. Two of these, “Vigna Ramoni” and “Vigna Velona,” are situated along the southeast edge of the appellation, near the hamlet of Castelnuovo dell’Abate. The sites share similar geologic compositions, with sandy marls dominating the soil mix at the Villa and more clayey marls at the lower elevations.
The Le Prata Brunello is vinified in stainless steel for about 20 days (many producers opt for much longer maceration times), then aged in a mix of French oak
tonneaux (5-7 hectoliter capacity) and larger Slavonian oak casks for three-and-a-half years. Although it spent six months resting in bottle before release, it has since undergone further bottle aging, allowing it to knit together and temper the oak influence. In the glass, it’s a deep, reflective ruby red moving to garnet at the rim, with fruit and florals getting equal billing with underbrush, earth, and oak on the nose: black cherry, raspberry, and red currant aromas mingle with those of wet rose petals, wild herbs, forest floor, baking spices, and a touch of vanilla. It is medium-plus in body and relatively soft in terms of its tannins (especially after about an hour in a decanter), but there’s a level of freshness that keeps the wine taut and quite elegant. Some Brunello weighs you down; this one picks you up, especially if you keep the temperature at 60-65. Drink it from big Bordeaux stems alongside whatever take on
porchetta you’ve got the time and inclination to swing. That would be summer barbecue at the very highest level. Cheers!
