2016 Tenimenti Angelini - Val di Suga Brunello di Montalcino Vigna del Lago

Tenimenti Angelini is a large, Tuscany-based wine producer with estates in several northern Italian appellations. Val di Suga is the company’s Montalcino estate, and it has 135 acres of Sangiovese vineyards at the estate. Tenementi Angelini also owns the Tre Rose estate in Montepulciano with 200 acres of vineyards; San Leonino in Castellina, Chianti, with 90 acres of vineyards; the Collepaglia estate in the Marche region; and wine enterprises in the Veneto. Val di Suga produces 250,000 bottles annually. Gambero Rosso has written that the Val di Suga Brunellos are a “successful bridging of classic and modern style.”

Brunello di Montalcino is regarded as one of Italy’s best appellations. Located in south central Tuscany below Chianti, the wines of Brunello di Montalcino DOCG are made of a Sangiovese clone called “brunello,” which means “little dark one,” a reference to the brown tones in the skin of the grape. Unlike some Tuscan appellations that allow other grapes to be blended with Sangiovese, Brunello di Montalcino is entirely Sangiovese. Montalcino itself is a picturesque, hill-top town not especially well known for wine production until the mid-19th century, when a local vineyard owner isolated the brunello clone and planted it. Other growers followed suit. Nevertheless it wasn’t until 1970s that wine enthusiasts started paying attention to Brunello di Montalcino, which by then was becoming an outstanding wine. Today there are 120 estates in the DOCG, up from about 25 estates in 1975. Brunellos in general are bigger, darker, more tannic and more powerful wines than Chiantis or most other Sangioveses. By law they must be aged for four years, and two of those years must be in wooden barrels.