Montalcino, 2016 vintage

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

2016 Growing season: 2016 was another hot year, with vineyards on clay soils on the eastern side of Montalcino faring best by getting more rain than other areas and being able, due to the clay, to retain it. In other areas the rain was more problematic, but the the dry ‘tramontana’ winds arrived in time for veraison, reducing the risk of rot, and aiding ripening. September was good, with usefully cool nights ( brighter aromas). 

Giacomo Neri describes 2016 vintage as a ‘leopard’, a vintage characterised by uneven ripening, producing wines which he called ‘nervoso’, meaning nervous or taut due to high acidities (Interview at his Casanova di Neri winery on Friday 03rd November 2017).

The 2016 vintage report from San Polo says ‘the winter was not particularly cold, and spring arrived slightly earlier than usual, with temperatures slightly above average, giving the vines’ shoots the opportunity to uniformly develop. The following weeks saw frequent rainfall, which allowed the land to build water reserves, alternating with periods of dry weather, enabling the vines to continue growing without any problems. The damp conditions during flowering led to the formation of bunches that were slightly more sparse than usual and with rather small berries, ideal preconditions for reaching harvest time with perfectly ripe and healthy grapes. However, the feature that will make vintage 2016 particularly memorable is the excellent temperature range that characterized the months of July, August and September, with sunny days and cool, breezy nights. We therefore reached the beginning of October with grapes that exhibited a superb combination of maturity, acidity and aromatic potential, perfect conditions for the production of wines with a distinct personality, concentration, elegance and longevity.

2016 Wine style: Paolo Ciacci of Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona told me at the winery in 2018 he was very happy with 2016, saying the vintage gave clean fruit with good flavours, and a lighter, velvety mouthfeel but with nice intensity. Bernardino Sani of Argiano (Visit 2020) told me he felt this was a great vintage. 

2016 Production: The vineyard area comprised 1,979 hectares for Brunello and 501 hectares for Rosso producing 84,376hl of Brunello and 28,646hl of Rosso respectively.