Montalcino, 2001 vintage: Comments apply to all wines coming from the town of Montalcino, not just Brunello. However the star ratings from one to five given below are given by the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino specifically for Brunello di Montalcino DOCG.

2001 **** (four)

2001 Growing season: Hard frost on 16th April. Heat wave from the last week in July and the first week in August made for an earlier than usual harvest.

2001 Wine style: ‘Deserved 5 stars. Well balanced, cellar-worthy across the denomination,’ (Kerin O’Keefe, 2012, p276). ‘One of the greatest all time vintages. Balanced, powerful, precise, ageworthy,’'(Ian D’Agata 2016 Decanter Italy). ‘The 2001 Brunello’s are potentially very high quality,’ Einar Fjoran told me in Feb 2021.

2001 Production: The vineyard area comprised 1,492 hectares for Brunello and 159 hectares for Rosso producing 61,664hl of Brunello and 6,751hl of Rosso respectively.

Bibliography

Ian D’Agata, 2016, Decanter Italy Supplement 2016, p98, ‘Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti Rufina & Chianti Classico’.

Kerin O’Keefe, 2012, Brunello di Montalcino (University of California Press, 2012).