Whereas Chianti has a long and storied history of making wine, its neighbour in Tuscany Montalcino is a more recent newcomer, at least at any scale. The soil around Montalcino is generally poor so few crops were grown and the land mainly given over to woodland and sheep pasture. While some grapes were planted and vinified for local consumption, it was Ferruccio Biondi-Santi who created the first “modern” Brunello and founded the house that still carries his name.
Despite the renown of his Brunello wines the area remained under-utilised. A lawyer from Rome, Gabriele Mastrojanni, bought the San Pio and Loreto estates in 1975 and turned them into vineyards. Mastrojanni followed Biondi-Santi’s lead and planted Sangiovese Grosso grapes, aka Brunello. He planted them in such a way that tractors could be used in the vineyards when desired, but still at a high enough planting density that competition between vines forced them to send down deep roots and not produce too much foliage.
Mastrojanni currently make eight wines:
- the Brunello is made most years apart from poor harvests such as 1992 and 2002
- a Rosso is made with similar care but with shorter ageing for earlier drinking
- a well-established single cru Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Schiena d’Asino, a single hectare vineyard
- a new single cru Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Loreto, also made only in exceptional years
- a new wine made with the rare variety Ciliegiolo
- another new bottling Costa Colonne from the new DOC Sant’Antimo
- a Super-Tuscan Cabernet Sauvignon-Sangiovese blend, San Pio
- a botrytised dessert wine
Mastrojanni Brunello di Montalcino 2015
2015 was a renowned vintage in much of Italy, so I had high hopes for this wine. On pouring – from a half bottle – it was just above medium intensity, with a ruby, somewhat watery rim. Dense black fruits dominate the nose, with black cherry and blackberry to the fore, with notes of exotic spice at the periphery. The palate is powerful and viscous, almost thick in the mouth. Voluptuous black fruits are joined with more savoury notes of black olive, leather and black liquorice. The tannins are ripe so it’s down to the acidity to provide structure and keep everything fresh.
This is a succulent, tasty wine. I hear the 2016 is even more highly regarded, so that would be a special treat to enjoy this winter.
- ABV: 14.5%
- RRP: €37.95 (375 ml) / €69.50 (750 ml)
- Source: sample
- Stockists (2016 750 ml): Baggot St Wines; Blackrock Cellar; The Corkscrew; Clontarf Wines; Deveneys, Dundrum; D-SIX Off Licence; Grapevine, Dalkey; Lotts and Co, Terenure; Martins Off Licence, Fairview; Michael’s Sutton; Nectar Wines; Redmonds of Ranelagh; Pembroke wines @ Roly’s Bistro; Saltwater Grocery; Sweeney’s D3; The Winehouse – Trim
I have been a regular visitor since and I’m pretty sure I leave another little piece of my heart there every time. This is where my love affair with fine wine really began, and probably where the seed for Away With Wine was first planted.
