Gianni Brunelli Brunello di Montalcino 2020

Gianni Brunelli farms Sangiovese around Montalcino in southern Tuscany, where warm dry summers and free draining hillside soils give the grape full ripeness while retaining acidity. Brunello di Montalcino is a pure Sangiovese wine held to long ageing under DOCG rules, and this 2020 spends its time in thirty barrels of Slavonian oak. The slow oxygen exchange through large format wood softens the grape's naturally firm tannins and adds structure without heavy vanilla, while extended maceration on the skins draws out the colour and the tannic backbone that lets Brunello age for decades. The wine is an intense, bright ruby red. The nose carries ripe cherry, plum and orange peel over leather, tobacco and dried herbs, with earth underneath. On the palate it is full bodied and structured, the fruit framed by grippy tannins and fresh acidity that carry a long savoury finish. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees and decant an hour ahead to open the aromatics. It suits roast and braised red meats, game and mature hard cheeses.