We are delighted to announce the New Vintage Release of Brunello 2014 – a year with wonderful energy and finesse that gives already great pleasure. Watch this short video to learn more about the vintage and meet Cecilia Leoneschi, the Estate’s winemaker.
Cecilia Leoneschi, winemaker at Castiglion del Bosco, comments on the vintage:
“Brunello 2014 proved to be an interesting vintage technically, which, given the challenging weather conditions, underlined the potential of our land, the expression of well-exposed vineyards on rocky soils with good drainage at high altitudes (250-460m) synonymous of truly distinctive Sangiovese. The soils at the highest parts are characterised by an abundance of rock; a compact, gravelly mass that combined with scarce groundwater reserves, forces the vine to push its roots deep into the ground. The winter rainfall was filtered away through the Galestro soil and didn’t have a detrimental effect on the vines but encouraged great flowering and ripening of the bunches.The constant winds assisted greatly in drying the grapes on the bunches and avoiding higher levels of humidity that could trigger a bacteria or fungal attack. Our vineyard team paid close attention to all individual vines and adjusted the foliage accordingly to enhance the impact of the wind. The rain stopped in the last week of September and we started harvesting by hand the best quality fruit in October. The first grape selection took place during picking and the second on the sorting table.
The southwest facing rows are idealy exposed to the constant breeze, the most unique characteristic of this vineyard, and are subject to wide day-night temperature swings. As one descends the slope, the character of the rock changes, with the central swath composed largely of galestro, while rock-studded clay schists predominate still further down.
Our team has been spending a lot of time mapping and analysing the organically grown vineyards and therefore we expected that the balance the vines have achieved over the years would equip them with significant resistance to stress, parasites and durabilty under testing conditions.
Castiglion del Bosco Brunello di Montalcino 2014 is a vintage of silky elegance and expressive aromas. In order to make such a distinctive wine in that year, we had to sacrifice the production of the single vineyard Campo del Drago Brunello that is made from the finest plot in Capanna and our Millecento Riserva 1100; using grapes from these outstanding plots was the key to create a Brunello of that aromatic intensity and balance. We also went to extreme measures to protect our quality hence we decided to half our Brunello production by choosing only fruit of outstanding quality.
2014 required great precision and passion in the vineyard and in nature you always get back what you have given. The aromas are forthcoming and well-defined with notes of red berries and liquorice backed by an underlying freshness. Our well-drained soils, the high altitude and the characteristic ventilation of the Capanna vineyard helped us to make a gratifying wine with a persisting finish and an appetising hint of refreshing herbs.”
Click here Brunello_2014 to download the Technical Sheet.
Should you wish to receive further information on Castiglion del Bosco Brunello di Montalcino 2014, please speak to your Account Manager or contact the Brand Manager, Effi Tsournava