Last year I was contacted by Riccardo Gabriele and Elisa Bosca of Rg Pr Vino, a PR company representing a number of Italian wines to speak about their wines at luncheon and meeting of wine journalists. They have an interesting portfolio so I agreed. One of the wines I presented was the Brunello di Montalcino from Il Marroneto owned by Alessandro Mori. For me, it was the wine of the tasting and one of the best Brunellos I have ever had. Riccardo asked me if I wanted to take one of the wines home and this was my choice.
Alessandro Mori
A few months later, Montcalm Imports was doing a tasting and one of the producers was IL Marroneto. I was introduced to the owner, Alessandro and his son, and for the first time tasted their Brunello di Montalcino “Madonna della Grazie.” It was wonderful.
Fast forward a few months and Alessandro was in New York giving a seminar about his wines featuring Brunello going back to 2006. Alessandro said that wine really makes itself and he only does what is necessary. He has a traditional and minimalist philosophy both in the vineyard and in the cellar.
IL Marroneto is one of the 10 historical wineries of Montalcino and was purchased in 1974 by Giuseppe Mori, Alessandro’s father.
The towers of the city of Siena are the backdrops of the estate’s vineyards located high on the north slope of the hill of Montalcino. The vineyards are between 305 and 400 meters and extend to the walls of the town. This is an area where grapes have been cultivated since the times of the Etruscans.
Alessandro said that they grow only Sangiovese grapes and follow a biodynamic approach to cultivation (although not certified), always abiding by the strict Montalcino regulations. No herbicides are used on the plants.
The vines were first planted in 1975 near the church of Madonna della Grazie, (which the estates top Brunello comes from). The original building dates back to 1247. The rest of the estates vineyards were planted in 1979 and 1984. The soil is coarse sandy soil rich in minerals There is natural grass planted between the rows of vines with longer time for pollination and pruning takes place in March. The vineyards are planted for low yields and low density. The training system is spurred cordon. Grapes are harvested only when the stalks start to turn to burnt colors, indicating that the seeds have reached optimum maturity.
The estate’s name derives from a central tower that was once used to dry chestnuts (castagne or marroni in Italian), long a source of flour in Italy. The wines are aged in the base of the tower in large Allier and Slovenian oak barrels.
These are very traditional made wines with plenty of pumping over. Alessandro added there are no barriques on the estate!
We tasted 6 Brunellos the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 Brunello along with the 2010 Madonna della Grazie.
Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 100% Sangiovese. Fermentation lasts for 11/12 days. The wine is aged in 2,500 liter oak barrels for 39 months and 10 months in the bottle before release. All of the wines will last for 20 years or more. These are complex and elegant wines and have a certain easy feel in the mouth that is very pleasing but hard to describe. They have hints of black and red fruit, spice, and licorice with a touch of tobacco and leather. They will age for a long time.
Brunello di Montalcino “Madonna della Grazie” 2010 DOCG 100% Sangiovese. This wine is made from a selection of grapes from the historical vineyard. The name of the wine comes from the little 12th century Madonna della Grazie church very near the vineyard. Fermentation is in Allier oak vats where it remains untouched for 2 days and the fermentation lasts for 20/22 days. The wine is aged in 2,500 liter oak barrels for 41 months and 10 months in bottle before release. It a complex and elegant wine with aromas and flavors of citrus, cherry, licorice, mineral notes, and that certain something wonderful on the palate that just keeps on lingering. It has an extremely pleasing aftertaste and a long finish. they are excellent food wines and will age for a long time. Wine writer Monica Larner called this wine “The purest and most profound expression of Sangiovese on the market today and gave it 100 points, the Wine Enthusiast gave it 99 points and Vinous (Antonio Galloni) gave it 97points.
I have never done this before, giving other people’s “point scores” but for once I have to agree with all of them and the wine lives up to their praise.
Charles Scicolone on Wine 