NEW RELEASE:
2019 Brunello di Montalcino - £220 per 6 bottle case in bond
2019 Brunello di Montalcino Piero - £525 per 6 bottle case in bond
This fantastic, high-energy rendition of Talenti’s Brunello will thrive over ten to fifteen years of cellaring.
The Piero is already showing such flamboyancy and balance. It will be a thrilling Brunello to follow over the next two decades.
Eric Guido
This is not a confessional, but I have consumed my fair share of the 2015 Talenti Brunello di Montalcino. I loved this vintage when I first tasted it, and it has continued to offer an open, accessible take on Brunello di Montalcino. I like this wine for the fact that it hasn’t been overworked, nor is it hard work. That seems to be Talenti’s calling card; bright, pure, silky in style with a certain suppleness and yet good intensity of fruit. For a wine to drink well young, a fine balance needs to be struck. The team at Talenti struck that balance in 2015. The good news for us all is that they did it again in 2019!
As we have commented before, navigating your way through the range of Brunello can be a daunting task – there is significant stylistic variation, ranging from those with purity and poise, to the more overt, dense, and sometimes heady. Equally, prices vary greatly with the market now saturated with many single vineyard offerings which do not always represent particularly great value for money – a limited production leads to a loftier price.
When I wrote up the 2015 vintage, I commented that growers have adapted to the difficulties of hot vintages, planting or sourcing fruit from north-facing slopes, or indeed higher altitude sites. This is a really important development as Brunello, and moreover Sangiovese, is all about perfume and poise – the wines should have that lifted, scented red berry aroma as well as palates that are endowed with beautifully ripe fruit, but coolly ripe with bright acidity. These two key traits are difficult to achieve in hot vintages, but it is encouraging to see growers adapting to climatic trends and able to deliver such promising wines. 
Talenti is situated in the southern section of Montalcino and is an estate that embraces the best aspects of traditional production yet has also moved with the times. Riccardo Talenti, grandson of the founder is currently at the helm of this estate. It is great to see an estate with impressive vineyards back on form – Talenti’s vineyards are situated at altitudes stretching up to 400 metres above sea level. Up until 2015, they did not make a special bottling as many estates continue to do, but in homage to Riccardo’s grandfather, they released ‘Piero’ for the first time; the 2019 represents the fifth vintage that they have made.
In terms of style, Talenti ticks so many boxes; it has the bright, slightly minty, juicy fruit accent on both nose and palate. The juicy dark red berry fruit on the palate picks up notes of mocha and a fresh tobacco leafiness. A silky texture impresses greatly, with finely expressed tannins lending subtle direction rather than assertive structure. I like the balance of the 2019; the fruit is so well expressed but remains vibrant and poised. The extraction is by no means excessive, meaning that this wine can be broached early, even though there is a touch of youthful tension/ note of austerity on the finish. It is so, so easy to drink – there can be no greater accolade, can there? And I believe the 2019 will follow a similar evolution to the 2015 – it has the requisite structure and poise to age should you wish but affording it that chance is likely to be the principal challenge as it is so appealing in its youth. It is what we call in Atlas ‘an Agnello wine’; meaning a wine that drinks superbly straight away from release but could age if you wanted; a name which pays homage to our colleague Seb, who isn’t renowned for buying wines that require considerable patience before broaching!
Then we move onto the single parcel bottling, Piero, which comes from a 1.85-hectare vineyard on galestro soils with south-eastern exposure. You might expect more of a statement piece. I am pleased to say that is not the case as a deft hand has been applied to the winemaking, once more. The fruit is that touch darker but picks up similar complexity to the straight Brunello with mocha, tobacco and a mineral touch. It is the scale and length that diverge from the regular bottling; it is more mouthfilling, with perhaps a little more tannic grip and greater persistence, but nothing that would dissuade broaching a bottle or two on release. The family resemblance between the two wines is easy to recognise, it is just that the qualities are magnified a touch. Is it worth the gulf in price? It is a clear qualitative step up, so I believe in depends on your intentions as the early drinking charms of the regular bottling are hard to shake off.
Please see Eric Guido’s note from vinous.com below on both the straight Brunello and the Piero.
2019 Brunello di Montalcino, Talenti
£220 per 6 bottle case in bond
94 points, Eric Guido, vinous.com, November 2023
The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino opens slowly with a blend of savory herbs, worn leather, dried roses and cinnamon-dusted currants. This flows across the palate with textures of pure silk, racy yet refined, with a seamless wave of ripe red fruits that slowly saturate toward the close. It finishes long and staining yet harmonious. Crunchy tannins frame the experience without slowing its momentum as licorice and orange notes gradually fade. This fantastic, high-energy rendition of Talenti’s Brunello will thrive over ten to fifteen years of cellaring. Drink 2026-2037.
2019 Brunello di Montalcino Piero, Talenti
£525 per 6 bottle case in bond
96 points, Eric Guido, vinous.com, November 2023
The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Piero is impossible to ignore, slowly blossoming with an enticing blend of spice-dusted blackberries, violet pastille and orange zest. This impresses further with its vividly ripe wild berry fruits and juicy acidity. Tactile mineral tones add contrast, and rosy inner florals form toward the close. The 2019 lingers impossibly long, taking on a spicy edge, as the palate is left reverberating with zesty tension, even as fine-grained tannins grip the senses. The Piero is already showing such flamboyancy and balance. It will be a thrilling Brunello to follow over the next two decades. Drink 2026-2039.
