The colour is medium garnet. On the nose plums, blueberries, black cherries, chocolate. In the mouth gripping tannins and bright acidity. The aftertaste is bitter and rather short.
The all-Sangiovese Brunello di Montalcino style we know today did not emerge until the 1870s, just after the creation of the unified Italian state. Its evolution was due in no small part to the efforts of Ferruccio Biondi-Santi, whose name lives on in one of Montalcino’s finest estates.
A soldier in Garibaldi’s army, Biondi-Santi returned home from the Garibaldi campaigns to manage the Fattoria del Greppo estate for his grandfather. It was here that he developed some novel winemaking techniques which would revolutionize wine styles, not only in Montalcino but in much of Tuscany.
Biondi-Santi’s approach to winemaking was unique within the region, as he vinified his Sangiovese grapes separately from the other varieties. In Tuscany, at that time it was common practice to ferment all the grapes together: different clones, varieties, and even colours.
Fattoria dei Barbi is one of Montalcino’s oldest producers of Brunello and a mayor players in the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG. It is owned by the Colombini family, one of Siena’s noble families, active in the Sienese government since the beginning of the 1000.
I received this bottle as a present. In Italy it sells at around 50 CHF.
Country: Italy
Region: Tuscany
Grapes: Sangiovese
Type: Red
Vintage: 2012
Producer: Fattoria dei Barbi
Price range: Extra (50-100 US$)
Pascal’s Enjoyment Index: 2/5