An Evening with: Banfi

Our sold-out meeting for tonight’s presenter had been a buzz among San Diego Wine Guild members for several meetings now. Lars Leicht from Banfi would be presenting their Brunello di Montalcino wines. A small change, they would be pouring the first 4 wines while we were up getting dinner tonight.

The meeting started as normal after that, with these 4 gorgeous wines sitting in front of us while the normal announcements, news & other items of club news were addressed. Several reminders to please refrain from drinking the wines poured until the presentation were given. They addressed the upcoming vote for officers & holiday party hotel reservation cut-off. Then it was time for Lars to talk. I had hoped that meant I would get to try the first wine I kept eyeing.

I was wrong, but that’s okay. Lars began with a quick background on himself & the company. In his 31 years, he has served the Banfi family concerns in various roles of sales, marketing and communications roles in the US, European, Caribbean, Asian & Canadian Markets. The company is best known for their role in importing Riunite Lambrusco.

When Castello Banfi was founded, the Mariani family planted Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc in its unique microclimate of Montalcino, in southern Tuscany, many new to the area. After lots of trials & research, 3 distinct clones were selected of Sangiovese to make their Brunello too.

They then selected sites on their property that provided the terroir expression they were after. They found areas of Sandy clay, Limestone, and a mixture of large rocks in gravel. Each produced a wine that was unique unto itself.

They didn’t stop there, they went in pursuit of the perfect French Oak barrels. This was not a quick process, with research starting in 1982 and culminating in 2007 with a project to use this research to guide the farming of their property & winemaking facilities. The research was all donated to a local university as well to help in hopes that students who learn these techniques will go out into the community and raise the quality of wine in the region.

Okay, now it was okay to drink our wines. These first 4 wines are in the process of becoming Brunello. They are only 3 years young and will eventually be blended to make the wines we purchase at the store. We are evaluating there to see the expressions of the individual vineyard sites. All the wines were harvested in the same manner, crushed & fermented with the same process & aged in the same type of barrels.

First up was a Biadaioli Single Vineyard Sangiovese for Brunello. This vineyard has sandy soil with stones. The wine was deep in color with a nose of vanilla, red fruit and tobacco leaf. The palate was very acidic, notable tannins, plum & cherry notes, and a medium finish.

Next came the Sorrena Single Vineyard Sangiovese for Brunello. The soil of this vineyard is loose sandy soil with a stony sublayer. The wine was again acidic, but the tannins were very smooth, and the alcohol was very noticeable in the body as well as the nose. Less pronounced fruit, but a well-balanced wine you could drink with a hearty steak today. If they bottled this Single Vineyard, I think it would be incredible to drink in 10 years.

Our third comparison this evening was the Mandrielle Single Vineyard Sangiovese for Brunello. The soil in this vineyard is well developed with mixed sandy & pebble soil with large rocks. All this sitting on deep sand & pebble layers. The wine was more acidic than the last 2, and the tannins were very rough still, but the alcohol was very integrated into the of the wine. The fruit was there, but in a jammy sort of way.

The final wine we got to try from the estate was the Poggioni Single Vineyard Sangiovese for Brunello. This vineyard has a very mixed soil makeup, with patches of clay, pebbles and sand. The texture of this wine was elegant in the mouth, but completely muted in the nose. The wine was well balanced, if a little light of body compared to the other 3.

"Wine by itself is a ghost. Food by itself is a skeleton. Together they become body and soul." ~ Old Italian Saying (as told by Lars Leicht)

Then it was onto the wines on current release. The first of these was the Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino Classico 2012 (link). This beauty I could sip all day sitting on a porch or eating food. This was a delightful glass of wine and made me even more excited for the next 2.

Up next was the 2011 Poggio alle Mura Brunello di Montalcino (link). Dark fruit on the nose & palate, this wine also has evidence of oak aging showing. Then fast forward to the Poggio alle Mura Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2008 (link), and holy cow. Gone are the oak notes and hello jammy fruit and coffee, with integrated alcohol, tannins and fruit on the palate. What a few years in barrels & inside a bottle will do to round out the harsh edges of a wine. Young being relative here, as we are already 9 years from harvest.

What a delight, as soon as the presentation was over, I went to refill my glass with another taste of the last wine. While on my way back I overheard Lars going over Large Format bottle options for ordering and several people murmuring about placing orders for them. I hope they do (and share them later) as everything that Banfi presented was fabulous.