Banfi Brunello di Montalcino - $76.99

Wine Details

Price: $76.99
Producer: Castello Banfi
Region: Brunello di Montalcino
Varietal: Sangiovese
Container Size: 750 ML
Flavors: blueberry
  • Red Wine
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Product Description

  • Aged for a total of up to four years, including a minimum of two years in oak barrels, Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino is a wine of robust character. It possesses a rich garnet color, and a depth, complexity and opulence that is softened by an elegant, lingering aftertaste. Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino's regal qualities are best exhibited with game, red meats, roasts, hearty stews and rich powerful cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano. "Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino 1997 ranked #3 on Wine Spectator's "Top 100 Wines of the Year" in the December 31, 2002 - January 15, 2003 issue:"
  • Castello Banfi is a family-owned vineyard estate and winery in the Brunello region of Tuscany. Together with its sister estates in Piedmont, Vigne Regali and Principessa Gavi, it has become recognized the world over for its dedication to excellence and sparking a renaissance in the art of Italian winemaking. Banfi receives much praise from its neighboring vintners who acknowledge Banfi’s role in pioneering a new era in Brunello and bringing the wine world’s attention to Montalcino. Banfi has pioneered clonal research on the Sangiovese vine to produce a more consistently excellent Brunello di Montalcino, and reduced sulfites and histamines through more organic winemaking. Technological advances, including customized cooperage for more balanced wines, nitrogen bottling to eliminate the addition of sulfites, electro-dialysis to allow flavors to emerge, and development of fermenters that combine both stainless steel and wood, are balanced with a profound respect for tradition and deep expression of the local terroir and microclimate. In the end, at Castello Banfi, winemaker and nature partner to allow the wine’s natural pedigree to emerge in artful expression. Banfi’s vineyards lay on the gentle western slopes facing the Mediterranean of our 2900 hectare estate (7100 acres), one-third is cultivated in noble vines, and the balance in olive groves, wheat, truffles and plums, and forests filled with deer, wild boar and pheasants.Forty million years ago, the terra lay beneath the sea. Fossilized shells nourish our vines. The soil is poor; vines grow deep. Grapes grown in the maritime soils produce wines of elegant and subtle character, unique to southern Tuscany. Banfi’s terra, rich in clay and calcium, regulates growth and adds complexity. Stones, rounded by the Orcia and Ombrone Rivers impart distinctive minerals to its white wines. Decades of clonal and enological research, especially focused on our red grape varieties, have been registered with the European Community and shared with all. These endeavors gave rise to the renaissance of Brunello and the creation of “Super Tuscan” wines.

Expert Ratings

Ratings   Vintage Source Flavors
WineSpectator - 90 Details: Shows clean blueberry pie and floral aromas and flavors on a full-bodied palate, with fine tannins and a tight finish. Clean and carefully constructed. Balanced and long. Best after 2010. 55,000 cases made. –JS 2003 WineSpectator blueberry
Tanzer - 87 Details: ($75) Bright ruby-red. Plum, licorice and dusty oak on the nose, along with some slightly green tobacco leaf and sage tones. Then round, ripe and fairly soft in the mouth, made in an oaky and rather international style. Ultimately lacks definition and comes across as a bit innocuous. The oak turns slightly bitter on the finish. 2003 Tanzer licorice, oak, plum, sage, tobacco leaf
WineSpectator - 88 Details: Very impressive for the vintage. Rich and colored, with good fruit. Full, velvety and round. Best after 2008. 27,000 cases made. –JS 2002 WineSpectator
WineSpectator - 93 Details: Loads of blackberry, currant and toasted oak. Full-bodied, chewy and rich. Long finish. This is big and rich. Best after 2009. 50,000 cases made. –JS 2001 WineSpectator blackberry, currant, toasted oak
Tanzer - 91 Details: ($68) Deep red-ruby. Plum, cherry, cola, sassafras and menthol on the nose. Supple, spicy, dense and classically dry, with insidious concentration; this is stuffed with material. Very suave Brunello, finishing with fine, sweet tannins and very good length. 2001 Tanzer cherry, cola, menthol, plum, sassafras, spicy
WineSpectator - 89 Details: Extremely perfumed, with raspberry, blackberry and toasty oak character. Full-bodied, with round, velvety tannins and a lovely finish. Slightly hollow midpalate. Nice. Best after 2005. 55,000 cases made. –JS 2000 WineSpectator black cherry, oak, ripe fruit, sage
WineEnthusiast - 90 Details: At 50,000 cases plus, this is as mass-market a wine as Brunello goes. But it’s a darn good one, with tobacco, citrus and herbs on the nose. Runs a bit simple and grapy on the palate, but it’s overwhelmingly ripe, healthy and full-force. Nothing tricky here, just clean cherry, plum and chocolate flavors sitting comfortably on a medium-to-full frame. 2000 WineEnthusiast cherry, chocolate, citrus, grapy, herbs, plum, tobacco
WineNews - 93 Details: Fresh cherry, tea and cedar aromas. Delicate flavors of cherry, tea and nutmeg laced with fine tannins. Lingering sweetness in the close with cedar, citrus peel and black pepper accents. $68 2000 WineNews black pepper, cedar, cherry, citrus, nutmeg, tea
WineSpectator - 94 Details: This wine shows an incredible concentration of fruit, with loads of berries and spices on the nose. Full-bodied, with soft and silky tannins and lots of smoky character. Goes for a long time on the finish. Always a benchmark for the region. Best after 2005. 55,000 cases made. –JS 1999 WineSpectator berries, smoky, spices
Tanzer - 90(+?) Details: ($66) Impressive saturated ruby, extremely dark for Brunello. Brooding aromas of dark berry syrup and licorice; distinct hints of surmaturite Then big, broad and extremely unevolved; highly concentrated but currently monolithic, and not really displaying its fruit. Finishes with big, chewy but ultimately rather fine tannins. Impressive in a modern style, but is this too solid for its own good? 1999 Tanzer berry, licorice
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Food Pairings

Category Pairing
Cheese Parmesan
Red Meat Curried Beef, Grilled Flank Steak, Grilled Beef, Barbeque Pulled-Pork or Ribs, Curried Pork, Curried Lamb, Lamb Stew, Rabbit, Salami or Sausage, Sausage
Pasta & Grains Lasagna, Pasta with Creamy Mushroom Sauces, Risotto, Mushroom Risotto
Poultry & Eggs Duck, Game Birds
Vegetables Beans, White, Eggplant, Mushrooms, Mushroom Risotto, Peppers, Spinach Ricotta
Pasta & Grains (Grilled) Tofu
Vegetables Tomato Bread Soup, Vegetable Gratin or Stew
Sauces Red Wine Sauce, Stock Reductions

Wine Terms

Name Value
Italy Makes nearly as much wine as France, but lags behind in their classification system. As a result, Italian wine isn’t taken as seriously as French wine. Most Italian wine is made from native grape varieties that don’t grow well elsewhere, such as Nebbiolo and Sangiovese. The most important regions are Piedmont, where Barolo and Barbaresco dominate, Tuscany, home to Chianti, Montepulciano, and the Super-Tuscans (a collection of relatively new reds), and the Northeastern region, where you’ll find Soave, Valpolicella, and Bardolino. Italy’s soils and climates are varied and ideally suited for viticulture, from the Alpine foothills in the north to the Mediterranean coast in the South. Its hilly landscape provides sun and cooler temperatures, even in the warmest regions. Italy has two categories of fine wines. DOCG, which means regulated and guaranteed place name, refers to a small group of elite wines. DOB wines are those with regulated (but not guaranteed) place names. A lower tier of table wines are grouped into IGT wines, which indicate the location on the label, and ordinary table wines, which carry no geographical indication except, “Italy.”
Sangiovese The best wines from this noble grape come from Tuscany, particularly in the Brunello di Montalcino and Chianti districts, although it is gaining in popularity in California. Sangiovese grapes make wine that is medium to high in acidity and firm in tannin; the wines can be light to full-bodied depending on where the grapes are grown. The aromas and flavors are fruity, often of a cherry-like quality. Hints of violets or a nutty character can also be present.
Brunello di Montalcino Montalcino is located about 70 miles southwest of Florence and takes its name from a variety of oak tree that once covered the terrain. During medieval times the city was famous for its tanneries and the resulting shoes and high quality leather. Montalcino has one of the warmest climates in Tuscany with very unique growing conditions on the northern slopes and the southern slopes. The southern slopes get more sun accounting for more powerful wine. The northern slopes are a cooler climate with less sun causing for wine dryer aromatic wines.

Tasting Notes

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