2001 Brunello : an amazing retrospective
If you are interested in Brunello, its history and aging capacity, I must send you straight to Eric Guido’s wonderful retrospective of the 2001 vintage here. Do not delay! The article offers fascinating insights regarding changes and evolution over the last twenty years in Montalcino, be it the emergence over time of the northern estates or some suprising interpretations of the word “traditional.” It touches on a blip in some winemaking goals in the late 1990s that led to the implementation of many practises we see perfected nowadays, the concept of varietal purity and the scarcity of older vintages and opportunities to taste them (Long Live Brunello anyone?).
2001 received four out of five stars by the Consorzio but has since been revalued by producers and collectors alike. Guido feels that twenty years is the perfect moment to judge the potential of a Brunello vintage and Vinous members can access detailed reviews of nearly forty wines.
At ten years, a classically structured vintage is still in its adolescent stages (think 2010). At thirty years, only the best wines will still be drinking well (think 1990). However, at twenty years, you can assess from a broad range of producers if the vintage is ready to drink now, drink soon, or continue to stash away in your cellar.
The article contains a comprehensive weather report. I have to admit that, twenty years on, the overriding umprompted memory is of the terrible Spring frost. The date of 14th April 2001 is still imprinted on my mind. Temperatures dropped to -4°C ( 25F). It was my sixth year in Montalcino and at the time I was working at Poggio Antico. I have a vivid recollection of the singed vegetable gardens in S.Angelo in Colle and have never seen anything like it before or since.
We were spared the frost and were amongst the last producers in Montalcino to harvest. We made 4.170 bottles of vintage 2001, bottled in December 2005. We no longer bottle our Brunellos in the colder months and the proportion of vintage to Riserva has changed entirely in the interim. We produced just 5.300 bottles of 2001 Riserva and 98 Magnums, bottled on 10th July 2006 after 41 months in Slavonian oak barrels. Both the 2001 and the 2001 Riserva received 3 Bicchieri from Gambero Rosso. On site in our estate library I have just 15 bottles of 2001 Riserva and 29 of vintage 2001.
Eric Guido gave the 2001 Riserva, tasted in March 2021, 92 points and writes:
…a rare opportunity to explore the early attempts and passion which originally inspired Richard Parsons to purchase the estate… in 2000… the raw potential was there and is on full display…
The 2001 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva boasts a classic display of dried cherries, stawberries, dusty autumnal spice, leather and smoke. Its textures are soft and pliant, contrasting citrus tinged red fruits and rich brown spices with slow-mounting tannins that add tensions towards the finale. This balances savory and sweet with salty minerals. It is still youthfully structured with only a hint of dark earthy mineral tones to show its age. The 2001 Riserva is quite charming, sitting just short of its perfect drinking window, and it’s geared to win a lot of hearts.
The commemorative tile for 2001 vintage, commissioned from Prada and embedded on the town hall wall. NB. to my eyes this is not Sangiovese.