Brunello di Montalcino 2020: Vintage report and 20 top picks

Brunello di Montalcino 2020 vintage rating: 4/5

A hot and dry summer, with nights cooling in September and rain towards the end of the month. Graciously structured, seductive and immediately harmonious wines promise immense pleasure now and over the mid-term.

The global pandemic seems like a ghost of the distant past, yet as I tasted through the newly released 2020 Brunello di Montalcinos, inevitable references to that strange period kept cropping up. Producers welcomed the time it allowed them in the vineyard, regardless of what Mother Nature doled out.

The weather was not extreme, but it was just erratic enough to provoke minor, localised and ongoing challenges which affected some more than others. ‘It wasn’t a simple vintage’, acknowledges Giacomo Neri (Casanova di Neri). Riccardo Campinoti (Le Ragnaie), however, recalls that ‘there weren’t big problems’.

After another dry and mild winter, late March brought some rain and snow. Despite early budding, frost damage was minimal and restricted to lower lying vineyards. The first half of June brought significant downpours, simultaneously replenishing water reserves and lowering temperatures. Conditions were ripe for powdery mildew just as fruit set and berries started to develop. While fairly easy to manage in most spots, it was particularly persistent in the southeastern hamlet of San Polo.

‘Harnessing the leaf canopy to shade the grapes and protect them from sunburn was top priority, and is a practice Montalcino growers are now well-versed in.’