Montalcino, 2009 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 those given by the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino specifically for Brunello di Montalcino DOCG.

2009 **** (four)

2009 Growing season: Wet weather into July, useful because an unplanned-for heatwave arrived in August and into September. Difficult: little rainfall, hot wind and dearth of cool night air. Grapes lost water. Old vines had an advantage. Wet weather in late September, early October.

2009 Wine style: Very ripe Brunellos, low acidity levels, offer early accessibility and soft flavours but dubious cellaring potential,’ (Ian D’Agata 2016 Decanter Italy). In my report for the 2013 Decanter World Wine Awards (for which I was Tuscany Chair) I wrote that ‘2009 is a big but not necessarily beautiful vintage for Brunello if you are expecting the majority of the wines to age and improve for more than a decade. The very best might, but plenty won’t. Start drinking up.’ Few Riservas were made.

‘The 2009s [Brunello wines] are attractive for their fleshiness, but on average this appears to be a mid-weight vintage with limited potential for longevity… less consistent than either 2006 or 2010,’ (Antonio Galloni).

‘The 2009 [Rosso di Montalcino DOC wines] are attractive, fleshy wines with pliant fruit and open personalities. I tasted a number of good to excellent wines, but frankly found very few examples that can match the superb 2006s and 2007s,’ (Antonio Galloni).

The 2009 vintage report from San Polo says: Vintage 2009 was characterized by quite distinct phases. In the spring, during the early vegetative development of the vines, considerable rainfall allowed for an accumulation of water reserves to be used to relieve the rather hot and dry summer months. September was mild, with very satisfactory variations in daytime and night-time temperatures. Ripening progressed in a uniform fashion, producing prime quality grapes. Alcohol levels were rather high with optimal degrees of total acidity and extracts. The polyphenol content was substantial and qualitatively well balanced.’

2009 Production: The vineyard area comprised 1,918 hectares for Brunello and 476 hectares for Rosso di Montalcino producing 82,568hl of Brunello and 23,330hl of Rosso di Montalcino respectively.

Bibliography

Antonio Galloni, ‘2006 Brunello: The Emperor’s New Clothes or Historic Vintage?’. Vinous.com