A very good set of releases greeted all the wine writers in attendance at the last Benvenuto Brunello: both the 2020 Brunello and the 2019 Brunello Riserva lineups boast exceptional wines. Clearly, this is especially true of the latter category, that most likely has given wine lovers its largest number of fantastic wines, ever. The best 2019 Brunello Riserva wines are for the ages, and any Sangiovese lover would do well to stock up: elegant, powerful and ageworthy, you really cannot ask for anything more. The best 2020 Brunellos are riper and fleshier, but marked by noteworthy freshness and are excellent wines that are far better than some people initially thought and are still saying: true, there are some exceptionally green and less than pleasant wines in the mix, but overall, the number of poor wines is quite limited. Wine lovers would do well to look over the following tasting notes and scores closely for they do offer a handy guide to help sift through the wealth of wines on offer. And as I noted in part 1 of this very long article, keep in mind that in 2020 many estates that normally lagged a bit behind the best names of the denomination have made very good to remarkably good wines, and are therefore very smart buys.
The wines in this report
All the wines in this report were tasted in Italy directly at the wineries (mostly in February, April and the summer) and November 2024 at Benvenuto Brunello.
