Brunello di Montalcino 2020: Le Ragnaie’s Single Vineyards shine amongst the highest scoring wines of the vintage.

Riccardo Campinoti frames his 2020s as offering an even mix of delicacy, elegance and ripe expression, drawing parallels with the best 2020s from Piedmont. A year that, even within the context of Le Ragnaie’s typically cooler-feeling, ageworthy style, offers a huge amount from the beginning. There is a class and diversity amongst these young wines that wholly endorses their commitment to single vineyard bottlings, marking them out as one of the few producers in Montalcino to pursue a truly terroir-driven philosophy.

Brunello di Montalcino – A well-rounded, elegant example of its type, blended primarily from mature vineyards in the subzones of Montalcino and Castelnuovo del Abate, with a dusting of Montosoli.

Passo del Lume Spento – The highest registered Brunello vineyard in the denomination, at 621m; it produces wines with a fresh herb, cool earth and forest fruited profile.

Le Ragnaie Vecchie Vigne – The oldest vines of the estate, located immediately around the cellar on the Le Ragnaie property, planted 1968 at around 600m elevation. It produces fragrant, bewitching Sangiovese with tight, small fruits and a saline profile.

Fornace – From the Castelnuovo del Abate subzone in the southeastern sector of Montalcino, conditions here are warmer with high levels of limestone, producing texturally driven, finessed wines of spice and silky rich red fruits. Planted at 380m elevation.

Casanovina Montosoli – One of Brunello’s most prestigious registered crus, located on the northern side of Montalcino, where the vineyards are steep and windy. The soils tend to have more limestone and hard clay, with complex fossilised influences. Le Ragnaie’s plots face east and the wine tends to display violet, dried herbs, dark cherry notes and salts, with a higher level of tannin for long ageing.

To assist you in your selections we have summarised the Wine Advocate scores for these wines – the notes are available to view in their entirety by following this link.

Scores are as follows: Brunello di Montalcino (95pts), Passo del Lume Spento (97pts), Ragnaie VV (97+pts), Fornace (96pts), Montosoli (97pts). As a collection they rank amongst the highest scoring wines of the vintage.

Our Tasting Notes

Brunello di Montalcino 2020 Delicate and expressive with lovely silky red fruits and a fine savoury complexity, the 2020 has a ripe, sculpted tannic line, finishing on gently spicy notes and fresh herbs. Aged for a full three years in large Slavonian oak cask.

Passo del Lume Spento Sultry blue fruits mingle with sage, bramble and forest fruits and spices, fresh, sweet tannins and a gentle, creamy mid-palate. A medium bodied attractive Brunello that can be enjoyed in youth. Passo del Lume Spento is a younger vine plot at 621m elevation above the winery, higher up the slope. It is officially the highest vineyard in the Brunello denomination. Aged for 36 months in Slavonian oak casks.

Le Ragnaie VV A bright, aromatic nose saturated with ruby fruits, delicate herbs, spices and stones, as always it is high toned and delicate on the nose, salty and athletic on the palate with lovely, tapered tannins and an overall moreish, relatively open feel for this typically more mineral driven site. The Vecchie Vigne Brunello comes from a single plot of vines around the winery, averaging 50 years of age. Aged for 36 months in Slavonian oak casks.

Fornace Back after a 4-year hiatus, Fornace offers deeper fruits with blood orange and grapefruit notes, buttressed by succulent warming cloak of cherries and strawberries. Sweet tannins with a bit of grip on the finish, Fornace is typically plusher and broader on the palate with a certain sandy elegance to the tannins. The 2020 is not heavy but textured and immediately seductive. Fornace is a single plot in the higher part of the Castelnuovo dell’Abate zone, at 400 metres above sea level. The soils here have more clay in them than the Vecchie Vigne, resulting in rounder more powerful style of wine. Aged for 36 months in large Slavonian oak casks.

Montosoli Luminous ruby cherry fruit with Tuscan dust, earth, violet and dried herb; complex, windswept with a certain inner richness and breadth. The clay soils here bring a richness, delivered with immense character. The Montosoli cru itself moves from north east to south facing, but Le Ragnaie’s plots are solely east facing, producing a happy marriage of richness and freshness. he historic cru of Brunello, the first to be bottled on its own in the 70s, Montosoli is also one of the outstanding vineyards of the region, situated on the north side of Montalcino, planted on limestone and clay soils. Made in the same way as the estate’s other single vineyard wines, aged in large 25hl Slavonian oak barrels for 36 months.