Brunello di Montalcino 2018 vintage rating: 3.5/5
Cooler than average with rain throughout and showers close to harvest. Quality and style vary but wines are generally mid-weight with slender structure offering near to midterm ageing. The best are elegant, fresh and expressive.
‘Although location was certainly a factor, the vintage really came down to producer.’
What a difference a year makes! Entering Montalcino’s medieval Sant’Agostino Cloister for Brunello’s annual release, my sense of déjà vu quickly disappeared as I tasted through the 2018s. These wines are nothing like the brawny 2017s – Brunellino (‘little Brunello’) was the expression being bandied around by the Italians.
