The Magic of 2022 Rosso di Montalcino

BY ERIC GUIDO | SEPTEMBER 12, 2024

I have given Rosso di Montalcino plenty of high praise over the past few years. I remain enthusiastic. While the category offers a wide range of styles, from the long-lasting reds that verge on Brunello to easy, early-drinking wines, I have consistently been impressed by value in Rosso, despite rising prices over the last few years. During my July trip, I tasted the 2022 Rossos and the 2004 Brunellos for an upcoming retrospective. Unexpectedly, some producers also opened their 2004 Rossos, allowing me to put the 2022s into perspective.

The extreme southeast of Montalcino looking out toward Castelnuova dell'Abate.

It is important to acknowledge that the emphasis on the production of Rosso di Montalcino has changed. Many winemakers who feel stifled by the aging requirements of Brunello di Montalcino have decided to up their Rosso game to deliver a premium product without waiting for years post-vintage to release it. Producers like Pian dell'Orino, Poggio di Sotto and Canalicchio di Sopra have been making their “Baby Brunello” Rossos for over a decade. To this list, now we can add Il Marroneto’s Rosso di Montalcino Iacopo (a barrel selection of Brunello fruit) and Casanova di Neri’s Rosso di Montalcino Giovanni Neri (from 50-year-old vines). And many more. Readers will find most of them in the tasting notes.

It’s easy to write off 2022 as another warm and dry vintage, but then readers would miss out on some of the most seductive and pleasurable Rossos I’ve tasted in years. It’s a complicated season that deserves an explanation.

Throughout my tour of Tuscany in July 2022, the most common message I received from winemakers was, “We need rain.” The 2022 vintage was marked by a severe drought lasting from spring through July. Clay-rich soils in the northeast cracked open, leaving chasms that further exacerbated the issue by releasing humidity into the air. A vineyard planted on galestro soils looked like a Martian landscape, windswept and barren. Yet through it all, the vines at the time remained relatively healthy but thirsting for water. Even the region's foliage told the tail as succulents thrived and the typical Mediterranean herbs suffered under the beating sun. Minor precipitation occurrences were highly localized; only a small swath of land would receive a few millimeters of water.

Further complicated by persistently warm temperatures, the growing season resulted in smaller bunches and lower yields. Veraison (the changing of color in red grapes) began in the second week of July, especially early. Few wineries have access to irrigation, which is only permitted during a state of emergency in Montalcino. Most growers would opt for it now, yet only some have the resources and water to carry it out. This was the third year of excessive heat and arid conditions in the area, so will this be the future of Montalcino?

An early onset of veraison in Montalcino, July 2022.

Things looked grim in 2022, but the wines I’m tasting today possess balance and purity. That’s how vintages go; they can turn on the head of a dime. While the 2022s will never shake off the total effect of the heat, it’s remarkable what a single month during the growing cycle can accomplish. 

Like many other regions, the last two to three weeks of a season make or break the vintage. In Montalcino, rain blessed the area in early August after the nail-biting and harsh conditions through July 2022. Winemakers celebrated a full hour of rain, totaling 33 millimeters in some locations. Not enough to reverse all the damage. Luckily, it was just the first of many well-timed rain events that continued through the first half of the month, bringing balanced temperatures and, even more importantly, strong diurnal shifts between day and night. Surprisingly, harvest occurred under ideal conditions, and fruit was healthy. Smaller clusters and thick skins saved the vintage.

What About the Wines? 

Despite warm and dry conditions, will the 2022s be classic and structured with youthful austerity like 2019 and 2016? No. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t fill a much-needed niche. Early accessibility, vibrant fruit, heady aromatics, incredible balance and noticeable acidity that keeps the palate craving for more are just a few of their traits. In the grand scheme of Rosso di Montalcino, that’s precisely what most consumers want.

There are plenty of standouts. Pian dell'Orino, Fuligni, Voliero, Siro Pacenti, Tenuta San Giorgio, Casanova di Neri, Il Marroneto, Uccelliera and Salvioni all give me hope for the Brunellos of the vintage, as each of these wines combines concentration and power that is atypical of the season, while walking the fine line of balance. It will be an exciting vintage to follow. Readers should focus on the Rossos in this report while waiting for the Brunellos to finish refining in barrel. Only time will tell, yet I am excited to see what the future holds. 

The 2022 Rossos have a lot to offer and plenty of early appeal.

This report also includes wines from 2020 and 2021. Looking back at the 2020s, the Rossos exhibit a rich and boisterous style, often almost excessively so. Andrea Costanti of the Costanti winery explained that the 2020 season produced the highest alcohol level in wines he had ever bottled, and they contained more dry extract than he’d ever seen. This became apparent at the tasting. While the 2020s are balanced up front, getting through a second glass can be challenging. Moving on to the 2021s, of which a dozen are in this report, they are the closest to classic of the 2020-2022 period. They are charming, wildly aromatic, with drink-me-now personalities. They come across as energetic, with sweet tannins and remarkable balance. If I had to compare 2021 to another vintage, 2015 would be the first to come to mind. Placing 2021 next to 2022 shows the best attributes of each year. The 2021s are more Mediterranean and racier, while the 2022s display more elegance with an inviting character that keeps the glass emptying quickly. 

I tasted the wines in this article in Montalcino in July 2024 at both in-person visits and organized tastings.

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