I recently attended an Italian wine tasting at my favorite local wine shop, Tower Wines, and was blown away by the elegant Brunello wines that we tasted. The event was led by the incredibly charismatic Luciano Castiello of Castello Banfi and even if I had just listened to him and not tried a single wine, I would have fallen in love with the wines of Montalcino.
Castello Banfi wines from Montalcino
The story of Castello Banfi is reminiscent of the American dream, which is ironic since this is an Italian winery. The family that owns Castello Banfi, the Marianis, are American and made a fortune in the importing business before relocating to Tuscany to start a winery. They are pioneers in their adopted region, and have been very generous when it comes to sharing ideas and techniques with their neighbors about how to grow the best Sangiovese in Montalcino. As a result, the family is very respected and admired in their community. It is always nice to hear stories about businesses where the owners continue to treat their neighbors and competitors kindly even after reaching a certain level of success.
Luciano Castiello of Castello Banfi
Castello Banfi owns properties across Italy, but the wines at this event were primarily those grown in the Montalcino region of Tuscany. The portfolio of Sangiovese based wines produced by this winery is broad, and includes several outstanding wines. My favorites included:
1. The 04 “Poggio Alle Mura” Brunello di Montalcino ($80). This wine was elegant, earthy and rich with a variety of aromas from cherries to blackberries to chocolate. This is one of those wines that you savor over the course of dinner and marvel at how it evolves in the glass.
2. The 06 version of the wine listed above ($90). Even with two years less of age, this wonderfully earthy wine evoked mushrooms, chestnuts and tobacco. This wine will likely continue to improve with time but it is pretty darn tasty now. This was a great vintage in Montalcino so good things are likely to happen with this wine.
3. The 04 “Poggio All’Oro” Brunello di Riserva ($135). This is the creme de la creme and while it is very pricey, it is also very apparent that this truly is the reserve wine of the portfolio. It is like butter; it is velvety smooth and elegant. This wine is only made in outstanding vintages and it aged a minimum of five years before release. If you get a change to try this wine, do not pass up the chance.
Tower had an incredible spread as usual, and this time opted for more dinner-type fare. It was delicious, and while I love a cheese and charcuterie plate as much as the next girl, it was a much healthier set of options. It was like we tasted the wines over dinner.
The tasting was informative and fun, and we got to try some really amazing wines. I highly recommend the wine events at Tower. I have been to three of them now and have had a memorable time at each event.
Great post. Your descriptions of the wines had my mouth watering.
I haven’t had a Banfi in some time, but this makes me want to revisit them. Cheers!
I did learn at the tasting that Banfi and Castello Banfi are different companies. There are many Banfi wines around, but the Castello Banfi wines are from Montalcino and are mostly Brunello (they have a Rosso di Montalcino as well). Defintely give them a try if you can find the Brunellos.
In my opinion Banfi prices their wines too high. You can buy good Brunelli for 30-50€ (35-60USD). Some wineries even sell their Riserva for 60-70€ so 135 USD seems overpriced in my opinion.
Still a nice review
I agree that their reserve Brunello is quite expensive, however, it was insanely delicious! It is one of those wines to savor on a very special occasion. Thanks for the comment!
Brunello was the wine that got me into the wine biz! I remain enamored by the great ones to this day!
I seriously need to get to Tuscany to try some Brunellos in their birthplace.
yes, you must!
I’ve actually visited Montalcino while studying abroad in college. I brought back some amazing wines (that are long gone now)!
I’ve also been to Montalcino and Montepulciano (the home of vino nobile). I love that area of Tuscany. You really have to go. That said, I am also quite impressed by Banfi’s quality. My fondest memory is that when a rather low-level quality mass supermarket in Germany was offering their standard brunello for 20 euros (instead of the usual 30-33). I went and bought 5 bottles. The lady at the cash register did not believe that 5 wines could cost that much….I enjoyed the wines a lot.
oh wow! What a deal on those Banfi Brunellos. I will make it to Tuscany or die trying.