Brunello has survived “Brunellogate,” said Bill Daley in the Chicago Tribune. Last spring a micro-scandal erupted in Italy after reports emerged that some winemakers of Brunello di Montalcino—required by law to be made with 100 percent Sangiovese grapes—were diluting it with 5 percent of Merlot or other varieties.
Although some winemakers still feel that adding a little Merlot to the Brunello formula will make the wine softer and fruitier, the Italian consortium of Brunello producers rejected a proposal to allow other grape varieties in their wine. They were right. This great wine—“one of the best red wines of Italy”—should not be tinkered with. Brunellos that have been aged for five years—half of that time in wooden barrels—are officially designated riservas. The latest riservas have now been released, and are close to their peak and ready to be drunk. In a recent blind tasting by our panel, these emerged as the four best:
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