“Beguiling” 2020 Brunello di Montalcino – Best of the Vintage
Alex Aldersley-Hey
12 February 2025
Alex, our Italian Buyer, reflects on the 2020 Tuscan vintage. Discover his top Brunello di Montalcino wines for all occasions.
The 2020 vintage for Brunello di Montalcino is not one to miss. The second in the glorious trifecta 19/20/21 that blessed Tuscany, these are fantastic wines, with a wonderful balance of juicy fruit and impressive freshness and elegance. Have a read through our picks below, these are wines that deserve a place in your cellar.
The 2020 vintage was a season where producers could spend a lot of time in their vineyards, with movement restricted by the global pandemic. After a dry winter, unseasonal snow fell in March and downpours in June refilled the water reserves and lowered temperatures – just before July and August brought some intense heat. This balance of high temperatures and cooling influences resulted in ripe, intense fruit with high acidity levels, that had enough time on the vine to develop wonderfully complex flavours.
As a vintage, it has been well received with key critics complimenting the style of the wines:
“The wines are approachable and fruity upfront, offering a good deal of finesse, and they provide a wide open drinking window for enjoyment.” Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com
“The elegance and freshness of the 2020s are truly beguiling.” Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
There are some true standouts, highlighted first, with scores rivalling the excellent 2019s. Quality was high across all attentive producers, which means there is some excellent value to be found as well, with cases under £300 offering excellent drinking. The developing section of single-vineyard Brunellos produced some excellent examples, and we have chosen a couple of our favourites.
Wines of the Vintage
GBP 340 per 6x75cl IB
98pts Kerin O’Keefe, kerinokeefe.com | “The 2020 Brunello from Costanti is an absolute stunner. All about fragrance, flavour and finesse, the elegant palate opens with captivating aromas of iris, violet, perfumed berry, dark spice, whiffs of forest floor and eucalyptus that on the palate transform into wild cherry, raspberry compote, liquorice, grilled rosemary and truffle. Tightly knit, velvety tannins provide seamless support while fresh acidity provides impeccable balance. A salty note lingers on the persistent finish.”
GBP 460 per 6x75cl IB
98pts Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com | “The first look at Giodo's 2020 Brunello Di Montalcino is a showstopper and one of the highlights of the vintage. It pours a jewelled ruby colour and is ripe and giving on the nose, with ripe, pure aromas of preserved raspberries, fresh herbs, sweet mossy earth, and a pristine floral profile. Medium-bodied, it fills and expands through the palate, with ripe tannins, broad shoulders, and a clean, mineral finish with a darker profile. It's going to improve as it leans into its more tertiary notes of black truffle and tea leaf and gets darker on the finish. This may be a wine that competes with 2019 for complexity and depth, and it will be worth cellaring to find out.”
GBP 840 per 6x75cl IB
97+pts Monica Larner, Wine Advocate | “Very much still a baby at the time of my tasting, the Poggio di Sotto 2020 Brunello di Montalcino shares many similarities with the epic 2016 vintage in terms of its pretty perfumes and polished length. However, this elegant wine does not have the same sheer inner power. This bottle ultimately offers a fresh and charming interpretation of Sangiovese. This is a delicate wine with floral aromas, wild rose, crushed stone and white cherry. Aged in large Slavonian oak casks, it requires more time to flesh out. Harvest started the last week of August and finished the first week of October, which represents a conscious decision to start picking earlier than most. The vineyards are planted on schistic galestro soils, and that territorial imprint comes through strongly in all of these wines. I love that refreshing hint of lemon rind or navel orange at the very end.”
Value Picks
GBP 220 per 6x75cl IB
96pts Kerin O’Keefe, kerinokeefe.com | “Ripe berry, blue flower, Mediterranean scrub and wild aromatic herb are just some of the aromas you’ll find on the fantastic 2020 Brunello from Argiano. It’s elegantly structured, full-bodied and delicious, delivering mature Marasca cherry, ripe plum, baking spice and licorice framed in firm, fine-grained tannins. Fresh acidity keeps it balanced.”
GBP 260 per 6x75cl IB
96pts Kerin O’Keefe, kerinokeefe.com | “You could lost just in the alluring aromas of plum, fragrant blue flower, freshly mown hay, forest floor and leather on the beautiful 2020 Brunello from Canalicchio di Sopra. It’s young, fresh, elegantly structured and delicious, delivering layers of Marasca cherry, raspberry, star anise and dried rosemary enveloped in velvety tannins. Fresh acidity keeps it balanced.”
GBP 260 per 6x75cl IB
94pts Eric Guido, Vinous | “You could lost just in the alluring aromas of plum, fragrant blue flower, freshly mown hay, forest floor and leather on the beautiful 2020 Brunello from Canalicchio di Sopra. It’s young, fresh, elegantly structured and delicious, delivering layers of Marasca cherry, raspberry, star anise and dried rosemary enveloped in velvety tannins. Fresh acidity keeps it balanced.”
GBP 275 per 6x75cl IB
95pts Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com | “Forest floor, wild rose, Mediterranean scrub, new leather and forest berry aromas take shape on the fragrant 2020 Brunello from Gianni Brunelli. Showing elegance and restraint, the savory palate delivers red cherry, woodland strawberry, truffle and orange zest before a star anise finish. Silky tannins and fresh acidity provide seamless support and balance.”
Single Vineyards
2020 Casanova di Neri Tenuta Nuova
GBP 520 per 6x75cl IB
97pts Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com | “A jeweled magenta/ruby color, the 2020 Brunello Di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova is perfumed with preserved flowers, kirsch, fresh herbs, sage, and mossy earth. Full and elegant, it offers a silky mouthfeel, ripe tannins, even acidity, and a lovely, pure, concentrated, fresh feel. It's long on the palate, with its mouthwatering salinity and prettier red strawberry-noted perfume lasting on the finish. It's both approachable now and impeccably structured to enjoy over the coming 15-20 years.”
GBP 385 per 6x75cl IB
96pts Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com | “From the steepest site of the estate, with a southern exposure, the magenta/ruby-colored 2020 Brunello Di Montalcino Piaggione is concentrated with gorgeous aromas of Amarena cherries, pure sweet herbs, smoky stones, and a polished feel. It's full-bodied on the palate but feels weightless, with refined, velvety tannins and a long finish. It's very finessed and quite impressive. The producers were leaning toward a more finessed approach in this vintage that comes through in the wine without sacrificing anything for the ripeness, texture, and feel of the wine. Bravo.”
*All prices correct at the time of publication, subject to change