Tenuta Luce Brunello di Montalcino 2009
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
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James Suckling
A wine with a beautiful core of ripe fruit. Full body with velvety tannins and a juicy, fruity aftertaste. Layers of delicious fruit. Always an outstanding Brunello. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Quick to spot in a blind tasting, the 2009 Brunello di Montalcino Luce is easily the boldest and richest wine of the year. It’s a miracle that this high level of extraction was achieved, given the delicate state of Sangiovese’s fatigued skins at the end of the difficult 2009 growing season. Hats off to winemaker Niccolo D’Afflitto and his team. Brunello Luce opens to a brooding black color and massive aromas of cherry liqueur, dark chocolate, baking spice and chewing tobacco. That said, this edition of the wine doesn’t show the irresistible softness and decadence of 2004 or 2007. The tannin delivers a distant touch of astringency or rawness (a consequence of high extract in 2009) and the mouthfeel is leaner and less nuanced overall. I look forward to returning to this bottle in a few years to check on its evolution.
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The history of tenuta Luce starts in the early Nieneties when Vittorio Frescobaldi and Robert mondavi chose Montalcino, a land known for its vocation for viticulture, and decided to join their experiences and start a visionary project: to make a wine that would go beyond the borders of tradition, but without denying it. Right from the start, they were supported by their respective sons, Lamberto and Tim, both young oenologists.
The experience acquired since the Seventies with the vineyards of Merlot planted in these plots, and the knowledge of their expressive uniqueness proved to be essential. Luce, the wine from which it all began, was concieved as the harmonious meeting point between the elegance and the structure of Sangiovese, the local native varietal, and the roundness of Merlot.
Luce’s first harversts, in 1993 and 1994, were presented together in 1997, immediately stimulating curiosity and interest.
The project continued to grow, developing over the years: two acquisitions between 2001 and 2016, new vineyards, new challenges. In 2005, when the join venture with Mondavi ended, Lamberto Frescobaldi took the helm, directing the production.Other wines, over the years, joined Luce: in 1998 Lucente was presented, the second wine of Tenuta Luce. In 2003 Luce Brunello was born. Finally, with the 2015 harvest, Lux Vitis came to life.
At the core of Tenuta Luce's philosophy is the idea that wine should be the most natural expression of the lands where it is produced and the grapes from which it is obtained: the result of a perfect balance between grape variety and territory. Each human intervention takes place in a minimal and non-invasive form, with the main objective of protecting this harmony.
Among Italy's elite red grape varieties, Sangiovese has the perfect intersection of bright red fruit and savory earthiness and is responsible for the best red wines of Tuscany. While it is best known as the chief component of Chianti, it is also the main grape in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and reaches the height of its power and intensity in the complex, long-lived Brunello di Montalcino. Somm Secret—Sangiovese doubles under the alias, Nielluccio, on the French island of Corsica where it produces distinctly floral and refreshing reds and rosés.
Famous for its bold, layered and long-lived red, Brunello di Montalcino, the town of Montalcino is about 70 miles south of Florence, and has a warmer and drier climate than that of its neighbor, Chianti. The Sangiovese grape is king here, as it is in Chianti, but Montalcino has its own clone called Brunello.
The Brunello vineyards of Montalcino blanket the rolling hills surrounding the village and fan out at various elevations, creating the potential for Brunello wines expressing different styles. From the valleys, where deeper deposits of clay are found, come wines typically bolder, more concentrated and rich in opulent black fruit. The hillside vineyards produce wines more concentrated in red fruits and floral aromas; these sites reach up to over 1,600 feet and have shallow soils of rocks and shale.
Brunello di Montalcino by law must be aged a minimum of four years, including two years in barrel before realease and once released, typically needs more time in bottle for its drinking potential to be fully reached. The good news is that Montalcino makes a “baby brother” version. The wines called Rosso di Montalcino are often made from younger vines, aged for about a year before release, offer extraordinary values and are ready to drink young.