94 RP
$55
2021 - 2033
The Camigliano 2015 Brunello di Montalcino sees fruit from a 50-hectare vineyard planted 300 to 350 meters above sea level. The soils show lots of variation with clay, sand, rock and marine fossils. The wine's bouquet reveals classic Brunello characteristics of wild berry, forest floor, pressed rose petal, crushed stone and spice. You also get those typical balsam and herbal tones that are so specific to Montalcino. In fact, I argue that they come across with even more intensity in a beautifully balanced and sunny vintage such as 2015. This wine ages in 60-hectoliter botti for 24 months, making for a firm yet surprisingly streamlined mouthfeel. With 160,000 bottles made, the wine was released in January 2020.
Camigliano's Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Gualto is another casualty of the difficult growing season and was not produced in 2014, the vintage that would be hitting the market now. Successive vintages were produced, and I'm told that the full range of wines will be made in 2019. Camigliano's beautiful property includes 75 hectares of Sangiovese and a wide variety of microclimates and soil types—from sandy loam to clay and Galestro rock. Each parcel has been carefully paired to different clones: some suited to old vines, some that make larger and less colorful berries and some that produce small, darkly concentrated clusters instead. The Ghezzi family tells me that the 2015 vintage is one of enormous potential, especially in terms of cellar aging. Out of the gate, the wines show full-bodied appeal and structure in 2015 with a good base of integrated acidity and alcohol. Out in the vineyards, 2015 was a banner year with fruit that appeared beautifully healthy on the vines. Winter months saw lots of rain followed by mild spring temperatures and a hot summer. It was a textbook growing season with cooler nighttime temperatures and some light rain showers shortly before the harvest.
