Wine Critic, Author and Speaker
Il 2017 è stato uno degli anni più caldi e secchi mai registrati, e questo si riflette chiaramente nella maggior parte dei Brunello di Montalcino appena usciti dall’annata torrida. La valutazione di Kerin O’Keefe You can find here the original article in English: Brunello di Montalcino 2017: Concentration, High Alcohol and Some Shining Stars. At …
Dopo l’incredibile successo del Barolo 2016 che ha debuttato lo scorso anno, la frenesia intorno ai Brunello 2016 appena usciti è stata quasi assordante. Ho assaggiato 199 delle nuove uscite di Brunello nel mio ufficio tra dicembre e gennaio: le degustazioni hanno rivelato una grandiosità dell’annata ma anche sfide che la denominazione deve affrontare. [You …
Continue reading “Brunello di Montalcino 2016: finezza, longevità e…l’elefante nella stanza”
Per fortuna, nonostante le sfide, un buon numero di produttori hanno azzeccato tutte le mosse ed hanno realizzato Brunelli 2015 eccezionali con frutta succosa, freschezza ed equilibrio. Mentre alcuni mostrano un buon potenziale di invecchiamento, la maggior parte dei migliori vini avrà bisogno solo di qualche anno per arrivare al momento ideale per essere goduti, ma dovrebbero mantenersi bene per ulteriori 8-10 anni.
La 2014 è stata una delle annate più fredde e piovose della memoria recente in Italia e Montalcino non ha fatto eccezione. Tuttavia, grazie alla competenza dei produttori più dedicati, ci sono alcuni deliziosi Brunelli di questa annata appena rilasciata, vibranti e carichi di finezza, con poche eccezioni si possono già godere ora e nei prossimi anni. Offriranno puro piacere e bevibilità mentre si aspetta che i 2013 si sviluppino pienamente.
Gianfranco Soldera, uno dei vignaioli simbolo di Montalcino – noto per la produzione di eccezionali vini di notevole finezza ed equilibrio – è deceduto ieri, 16 febbraio, a Montalcino dopo che la sua auto è uscita di strada a causa di un presumibile malore. Aveva 82 anni. Soldera ha fondato la sua tenuta Case Basse …
Continue reading “Gianfranco Soldera, grande produttore di Brunello, muore a 82 anni”
Gianfranco Soldera, Montalcino’s most controversial and outspoken producer – known for making stunning wines boasting remarkable finesse and balance – died yesterday, February 16, in Montalcino when his car careened off the road. First responders found him in cardiac arrest. He was 82. Soldera established his Case Basse estate in 1972, leaving behind a successful …
Continue reading “Cult Brunello Producer Gianfranco Soldera Dies at 82”
Se volete sperimentare l’energia, l’eleganza e la struttura che per secoli ha attratto appassionati e collezionisti al vino di Montalcino, il Brunello 2013 è la vostra annata. Si tratta di un’annata classica: i migliori 2013 hanno un notevole potenziale di invecchiamento, come non ho visto da anni. Ho assaggiato 181 dei Brunello appena usciti e …
If you want to experience the energy, elegance and age-worthy structure that first drew wine lovers and collectors to Brunello di Montalcino decades ago, then 2013 is your vintage. A classic vintage, the best 2013s boast remarkable aging potential, the likes of which I haven’t seen in years. I tasted 181 of the just-released Brunellos, …
Continue reading “2013: Radiant, cool climate Brunellos for the cellar”
If you love wines with elegance, fragrance and longevity, then you’ll love the just-released 2012 Brunellos. And even though I’m one of the biggest critics of the Consorzio’s Brunello vintage classifications (I find most vintages have been overrated), when it comes to 2012’s five-star rating, I completely I agree. Defying the intense heat of the …
Continue reading “2012 Brunello: a return to finesse and age-worthy structure”
Perhaps the biggest disadvantage facing the just-released 2011 Brunello vintage – awarded four out five stars by the Consorzio – is that it comes on the heels of the widely acclaimed 2010. And while the 2011s won’t be remembered as an historic vintage, overall they have an immediate, juicy allure that exceeded my expectations from …
Continue reading “Make it a Double in Montalcino: 2011 Brunello and 2010 Riserva”
After the wild success of the 2010 vintage in Barolo and Barbaresco, Bolgheri and Chianti Classico, all eyes are on Montalcino. Although the Brunello 2010s will officially debut at the annual press tastings in late February – along with the 2009 Riservas, I was fortunate to preview almost 200 of the new release in early …
Continue reading “Brunello 2010. Some fantastic wines alongside under performers”
My tasting of the 2009 vintage revealed that it was another challenging year in Montalcino, and the main problem was the weather. Scorching summer temperatures and a lack of rain dominated crucial phases of the growing season. As a result, most wines are prematurely evolved, and while this makes the best wines enjoyable now, many …
The latest releases from Montalcino’s cellars have had their first outing and they’re a mixed bag. The 2008 Brunellos and 2007 riservas shown at the annual Benvenuto Brunello tasting ranged from outstanding to unpleasant, and the two vintages could pose serious challenges for Brunello fans. Read the article: Brunello di Montalcino 2008 and Riserva 2007
A medieval Montalcino castle inspires a stargazer to make his own wine. When Giuseppe Sesti, a historian of astronomy, purchased an ancient ruined castle in Montalcino, he did not realize he had just sealed his own destiny as a boutique Brunello maker. Sesti, whose rich and powerful Brunellos are a cult favorite among fans of …
Continue reading “Giuseppe Sesti: Brunello Written in the Stars”
Vandals have destroyed thousands of litres of ageing Brunello in the cellars of cult producer Gianfranco Soldera. The cellars at Soldera’s Case Basse estate in Montalcino were broken into and the taps opened on all of his Brunello barrels, draining the every litre of vintages from 2007 to 2012 – more than 600 hectolitres (60,000 …
Continue reading “Montalcino rallies round as Soldera’s Brunellos are destroyed”
O’Keefe dishes all the secrets about who’s on the hillsides and who’s on the flats; and for those who would find it fascinating to know who makes wine from Montosoli (probably the second-most esteemed Brunello vineyard after Biondi-Santi’s Il Greppo estate) without bothering to mention it on the label, this is the source. And a …
Continue reading “Brunello’s true believer (by Keith Levenberg)”
Kerin O’Keefe’s Brunello di Montalcino: Understanding and Appreciating One of Italy’s Greatest Wines (University of California Press; $39.95) is a must-have book for lovers of Brunello and, in fact, for anyone at all serious about Italian wine. Brunello has burgeoned in my wine-drinking lifetime from a few more than half a dozen producers, mostly clustered …
Continue reading “The Best Brunello Book Yet (by Tom Maresca)”
In an era where there is so much misinformation about any number of wines and wine news, it’s refreshing to read the work of an author who not only knows her subject in great detail, but one who is opinionated and tells her story in an engaging fashion. Whether you are just discovering Brunello di …
Kerin O’Keefe’s Brunello di Montalcino is not simply an enjoyable wine book; it’s one of the rare wine books that is truly important. O’Keefe, an American writer with many years experience in Italy and, particularly, in Tuscany, sets out to explain what makes this wine so special. And in doing so, she takes a sledgehammer …
The tail-end of the vintage was a washout, leading some to write it off. Yet many smaller estates have made impressive Brunellos in 2005, says Kerin O’Keefe– perfect as we wait to open the magnificent riserva 04s… One of the biggest problems facing producers of the recently released Brunello 2005s is that the vintage is …
Brunello di Montalcino producers have voted by a landslide to leave the wine 100% Sangiovese. In yesterday’s highly publicised assembly to decide the fate of the beleaguered wine, 96% voted to leave Brunello as it is. ‘Only 4% of producers voted to change the production code,’ a triumphant Franco Biondi Santi told decanter.com. Biondi Santi …
Continue reading “Brunello: no change in the rules, producers vote”
“By law, Brunello di Montalcino can be made only with 100 percent Sangiovese cultivated in Montalcino. Otherwise, it’s not Brunello. It shouldn’t be difficult to grasp,” asserts Gianfranco Soldera of Case Basse regarding “Brunellogate,” the grape-blending scandal that broke wide open just days before Vinitaly, the country’s largest annual wine fair, rocking both the sleepy …
Continue reading “Brunello: Image or substance, truth or dare?”
An overhyped 2003 vintage, a fraud scandal, and the threat of a US ban has left Brunello in crisis. Could subregions be the answer, asks Kerin O’Keefe. No one will forget the scalding summer of 2003, among the hottest and driest ever recorded in Europe. Many consumers, however, will want to forget the wines from …
While the notion of terroir has been both celebrated and ridiculed in some of the world’s greatest wine-producing areas, one of Italy’s most illustrious denominations has instead chosen to ignore it—until now. Kerin O’Keefe discovers Montalcino’s unofficial subzones. Majestic. Elegant. Powerful. Long-lived. Expensive. Rare. All these adjectives have been applied to Brunello di Montalcino by …
Con il suo libro Kerin non ci propone solo una documentata, appassionata, ben raccontata biografia della dinastia Biondi Santi e di Franco, gentleman del Brunello, descritto a tutto tondo nella sua umanità e nel suo voler essere il degno testimone di un impegno, quello della qualità senza discussioni, che è sentito ancor più fortemente perché …
Below you will find a recap of the reviews of the month with the score given by Kerin to each wine
Below you will find a recap of the reviews of the month with the score given by Kerin to each wine
Below you will find a recap of the reviews of the month with the score given by Kerin to each wine
Kerin O’Keefe is a wine critic, author and lecturer. She is the author of: Barolo and Barbaresco: The King and Queen of Italian Wine (University of California Press, 2014) Brunello di Montalcino: Understanding and Appreciating One of Italy’s Greatest Wines (University of California Press, 2012) Franco Biondi Santi: The Gentleman of Brunello (Veronelli Editore, 2005) …
Below you will find a recap of the reviews of the month with the score given by Kerin to each wine