Recently, I stated seeing scores and reviews for the 2016 release of Brunello di Montalcino.  Expectations are off the charts.  Better than the “best of the decade” 2015 vintage, they say.   Many 2016’s have already been awarded 100 points.  Reminds me exactly of the hype surrounding the 2015 vintage this time last year.  Well, how did the 2015 Brunello di Montalcino vintage turn out?  My answer, after a year of tastings, is 2015 was an excellent vintage (5 /5 stars from

the Brunello Consorzio), but it did not live up to the pre-release hype.  Maybe the enthusiasm was a result of the fatigue from the less than stellar 2014 vintage and wanting to create some real excitement for 2015.  Some professional publications and some wine raters appeared to have a moment of “grade inflation”.  One well-known critic awarded 11 perfect scores for the vintage and many more scores at 95-99.   I’ve never seen that before.

You have to be careful with 2015’s, as it was a hot and dry vintage.  Not hot and dry  like 2017 (which will be released in January 2022), but still hot and dry enough to yield some unbalanced wines – high on alcohol and low on fruit and acidity.  Overall, wines from the north fared better. Those from the south needed serious vineyard management to counter the intense heat.  Some producers did, some didn’t. Picking at the optimum time was also essential;  a couple days late would have resulted in over-ripe grapes, a little early and the grapes would be noticeably unripe and green.

Is 2015 the best vintage ever ?  No, in my opinion not even the best of the 2000’s.  I definitely put 2010 above 2015.  Now, I am really looking forward to the 2016’s.  The hype around this vintage might be justified as the weather was much more consistent providing excellent growing conditions.  After 2015 and 2016,  2017 and 2018  might be a bit of a letdown. Hot and dry in 2017,  heavy spring and summer rains in 2018.  But wait until 2019.  The hype is already building for that vintage!