Tracy Byrnes
July 2016

The 2010 Brunellos are hitting the shelves of your favorite wine shop as you read this.

And while times are tight and many people don’t agree with spending a little extra money on a bottle of wine, for those of you who enjoy drinking it and are looking to make a sound investment decision in the wine world

What is a Brunello di Montalcino?

It’s a red wine made from 100 percent Sangiovese grapes that are strictly grown in Montalcino.

Now Sangiovese is the grape of Tuscany, but like all things, location matters. Montalcino is a Tuscan city on a big hill so the land is very different than, say, in Siena, also in Tuscany, but 20 miles south and flatter.

So that makes the grapes very different. The Sangiovese grapes from Montalcino are browner, hence the name Brunello, which sort of translates to “little brown one.”

And they also have thicker skins, which means they have more tannins,

Tannins are the stuff in wine that makes the middle of your tongue and the front part of your mouth feel dry, but you need them because they give the wine structure and help it age. The tannins will soften and that dry feeling will go away after the wine has been in the bottle for a few years. Hence the need for patience in the wine world.

Now to be a Brunello, the Italians have all these funky rules. The wine must be aged for at least four years (five for it to be a Riserva). Two of those years must be spent in oak, and the wine must be bottled at least four months prior to commercial release.