2021 Fanti, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Tusacny, Italy.
Fanti’s 2021 Brunello, dark garnet in the glass and full boded on the palate is pure modern Brunello di Montalcino at its finest with loads of depth, layers of blackberry, plum, cherry and reduced strawberry fruits, along with toasty sandalwood, anise, sweet pipe tobacco, laurel leave and a bit of smoky vanilla. There’s a velvety grip of integrated tannin and Sangiovese acidity, proving structure and lift, but the opulence is quite seductive here in the 2021 and while I tend to shy away from so much new wood, there’s still lots of charm and complexity here, especially after the wine opens up and it will age decades easily. The Sangiovese Grosso at Fanti is grown with all sustainable methods on the classic, almost chalky, Galestro and schist soils, adding to the terroir character here, and the wine saw a careful hand picked and sorted selection for this Brunello. The grapes came in to the cellar cool, gently de-stemmed, and were quickly put in temperature controlled stainless steel vats for maceration and fermentation, after which the wine was aged in 50% new barrels. For the Fanti Brunello, the wine is matured for 24 months in oak then another 18 months in bottle before its legal release. This vintage feels ripe, but precise in style, not over the top and again I see this being a wonderfully rewarding cellar choice, where I think it will shine even more with another 5 to 7 years on it.
It’s a bit odd, I have been enjoying Fanti Brunello for what seems like my whole wine career, but I can’t find any notes on my database! So I’ll begin again from scratch with a little background, the Fanti Family has been producing wine, most notably their Brunello post WWII, and-extra virgin olive oil in Tuscany for the better part of 200 years. I learned that In the 1970s, current owner Filippo first took over Fanti, which is a major turning point in its history, leading to much greater quality and fame within the region of Montalcino. After redesigning and replanting across its 300 hectare, an innovation-meets-tradition winemaking technique was adopted here and this resulted in better grape growing, all while avoiding any non-organic fertilizers and promoting sustainable viticulture. Eighty percent of the plantings in the vineyards at Fanti, not surprisingly are Sangiovese or Sangiovese Grosso (Brunello clone), a focus that reinforces, what the family says, is a commitment to the top quality wine of the region, reflected in their highly rated Brunelli offering, like this one. Filippo’s daughter Elisa, who I’ve met in recent years, joined the team in 2007 and has since been instrumental promoting Fanti to the world, through extensive travel to the best markets, including San Francisco, where I last caught up with Fanti and tasted this wine. The 2021 Fanti Brunello di Montalcino, still tight and youthful, is already showing its potential and was one of my favorites in the Fanti lineup, just edging out the 2019 version, and I highly recommend it to Tuscan fans, especially for the price.
($49 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive