How Banfi Became Stewards Of The Brunello Legacy In Tuscany

When the Banfi family decamped from New York to Montalcino to start a winery in the late 1970s, they were the newcomers in a region of Tuscany that was still developing its winemaking legacy. As the sole region in the world where Brunello—an Italian red wine made from 100% Sangiovese grapes—can be produced, the area is historically and geographically significant, but nevertheless had arguably fallen behind on the global wine scene.

Like the Champagne region in France, Italian wine laws dictate that Montalcino is the only place where Brunello can be made, but lengthy aging laws meant that though the wine was very popular in its native Italy, it wasn’t performing as well internationally. Part of the Banfi family’s goal when they settled in the area was to analyze the Sangiovese clones used to make Brunello for quality in an attempt to help improve the region’s flagship wine.

“ Montalcino is a very historic region, and that started with Brunello back in the 1800s ,” says Cristina-Mariani May, a second-generation member of the Banfi family who currently serves as the CEO and president of the brand. “ When our family got there in 1978, it had been one of the poorest hilltop towns in southern Tuscany. There were only a handful of producers, but what we saw was the diversity of the soil and the microclimate, and the potential for a greater expression of the beauty of Sangiovese for Brunello .”

With rich clay soils that are filled with calcium, stones and fossils—including a five-million-year-old prehistoric whale fossil uncovered on Banfi terroir by paleontologists in 2007—the surrounding area of Montalcino is also distinguished by a microclimate that makes it ideal for a finicky noble grape like Sangiovese. Just twenty miles off the coast, and surrounded by the Apennine mountains and the nearby high point of Monte Amiata, many of the vineyards are also planted on hills that are supremely steep. With a property of over 7,100 acres, there are varying elevations, soil types and roughly a hundred different microclimates, which made determining the plots best suited to Brunello something of a challenge.

To take full advantage of these conditions, Banfi began testing what was initially over 650 presumed Sangiovese clones to better understand which varietals would yield the best wine. Working with the University of Milan, over the course of 25 years they were able to narrow it down to just 15 clones that best represented the characteristics of Brunello. And instead of keeping the analysis to themselves as proprietary research, the family opted to share the results of their clonal research project with other local vintners to help improve the quality of winemaking in the area as a whole.

“ Because we had virgin soil that hadn’t been planted with vines yet, we took it upon ourselves to research which clones were actually best for Brunello ,” May says. “ And we were the first single producer in Italy to register that clonal work with the Italian government. Once we found what made better Brunello, we wanted to document that and share it with other producers so they could also start to make better Brunellos and raise the overall wine quality. We say all ships will rise with the incoming tide, so the territory itself can do better with more research .”

For the clones that do produce the most excellent expression of Brunello, the tasting notes will include dark berry and dark cherry notes, forest-y and chestnut flavors from the wood, plus other ancillary tastes like licorice, smokiness and earthiness. “ The key is length and finesse and elegance, with a long beautiful finish ,” May says. “ The best Brunellos have velvety tannins in the beginning, but they’re lively, there’s some acidity and energy to the wine. It’s not going to be a dull, heavy wine. It’s meant to be a food wine that has an acidity that invites you back. What we’re trying to achieve is that lasting sensation where the taste profile continues on long past for your first sip .”

Aside from improving the quality of the clones, there were other changes that Banfi advocated for to help Brunellos reach an international market and appeal to a global palate. Working with consulting winemaker, Ezio Ravella, they lobbied to change the aging regulations from three years in wood to a minimum of two.

“ Historically going back to the 1920–30s, Brunellos had too much wood in them, and they were too hard to drink because they had to be aged in wood for so long ,” May says. “ We were really pioneers for Brunello to create a renaissance, in order to change the regulations, work on the clones so that Brunellos could really be accepted around the world as a style of wine that could be enjoyed today and also aged for a long time. We’re also trying to produce wines where you want a second glass, or a third. These are wines that are meant to be quaffable .”

Though Banfi is also renowned for their historic hotel in a converted castle, Castello Banfi Wine Resort , which features a Michelin-starred restaurant, La Sala dei Grappoli , and for producing a number of other wines like Rosso di Montalcino and Chianti, the Brunello remains what May calls their “pride and joy” and notes that it will always remain the core of their portfolio. “ Brunello is our most globally recognized wine and it’s our flagship ,” May says. “ It’s our workhorse, and the one that we work most on getting into all markets around the world, so people will be introduced to Montalcino and the territory in the right way .”

Learn more about Banfi wines here . Learn more about Castello Banfi Wine Resort here .