It is almost impossible to describe the 2020 Brunello vintage in a few words. The consortium tries anyway and, after a complete reinvention of its vintage assessment practice, comes up with "captivating, brilliant and juicy".

Admittedly, this is a little too euphoric for us. Of the 84 samples that have been presented to us so far, we have found perhaps a handful of wines to which all three attributes apply equally. Nevertheless, around 50 other wines with excellent scores show that the 2020 vintage may not be a great one, but it is still a very good one.

The year began with a mild winter and sufficient rainfall as well as a dry spring. June brought a lot of rain, but this was followed by a weeks-long dry phase. Although the temperature peaks during the two heatwaves were not quite as extreme as in other years, the persistent drought and very high average temperatures meant that dried grapes were hanging from some vines at the end of August. This was initially followed by moderate rainfall, which gave the vines some respite, and then a month of cooler temperatures and significant fluctuations between day and night.

By mid-September, the grapes showed considerable differences in ripeness depending on the orientation and altitude of the vineyards. However, this was not the only reason why the time of harvest was a decisive factor for the quality and character of the wines. Towards the end of the third week of September, rain set in once again, allowing the grapes, which were often still dry, to rehydrate. This resulted in the seemingly paradoxical situation that the wines harvested later often have more freshness, coolness and finesse than those whose grapes were harvested earlier. These are usually warmer and more powerful, but less refined and balanced.

Nevertheless, the best Brunello of the vintage can be found in both categories. Those who were able to avoid cooked flavours and brittle tannins also produced impressive, multi-layered wines on the powerful side, which are supple yet structured at their best. The best examples of the cooler faction are brilliantly pure, precise, fresh and differentiated.

The tasting of the 2019 Riserve was not entirely without disappointment. The vintage enjoys a gigantic reputation and is considered one of the strongest of the decade alongside 2015 and 2016. The impression is often given that you can buy the 2019s blind and that the Riserve will crown an already impressive vintage.

Based on our experience, we would refuse to sign such statements so far. Although the average quality of the wines presented to us is high, many of them lacked a little precision, freshness and juiciness. Some were concentrated but lacked differentiation, others were powerful but rather joyless, others were even brittle. But regardless of whether its style is rather tense or supple, powerful or rather elegant, racy or voluminous: a first-class Brunello always possesses complexity, depth, precision and, above all, a beguiling element that makes the wine from Montalcino unique. We found the latter too rarely, especially in the 2019 Riserve – considering the jubilation that has been attached to the vintage. As we try all the wines several times and give them time and air until we come to a final assessment, we can only accept the argument of a lack of bottle maturity to a limited extent. This is why we have to choose just as carefully as with the 2020 Annate.

We have currently tasted around 200 Brunello di Montalcino. We present the best ones here. The majority are from the 2020 vintages (Annata, but also single-vineyard and prestige wines) and 2019 (predominantly, but not exclusively Riserva). Just under 40 samples come from older vintages. Some of them are from our archive and from times when no bottle pictures were taken. There is at least one older tasting note for each of these wines. The rating may differ from the previous one.