Brunello di Montalcino is stronger than Covid-19, thanks to its two great vintages, 2015 and 2016

The equation, government denomination seals acquired to bottles sold, is not exactly perfect, but it does tell us about the market trend. And at the end of the day, after all the challenges that the pandemic has brought to wine territories, even to the most prestigious ones, in 2020 the Brunello di Montalcino Consortium delivered around 9 million DOCG government seals for as many bottles of one of the most famous Italian red wines, ready for sale. This figure that Valoritalia registered is higher (+ 12.2%) than the bottles placed on the market in 2019 and than the average over the last 5 years (+ 4.3%).

The 2015 vintage was the star. International critics judged it extraordinary and there was a boom in orders from all over the world, even before its debut on the shelves. During the first selling season (the Reserve is on sale this year), the 2015 vintage, as the Consortium emphasized, has already done better than the previous two vintages, by + 53% and +32%, respectively. There is excellent news from another stellar year - the 2016 vintage - for which, 2.7 million DOCG marks were requested between November and December 2020, for as many bottles, ready to be distributed all over the world.

“Considering the current situation”, said Fabrizio Bindocci, president of the Consorzio del Brunello di Montalcino, “the overall result is totally positive, even if growth would have been at least double under normal conditions. We have been lucky enough to face the most challenging period with the 2 best consecutive vintages in history as allies. 2015 has allowed us to defend ourselves in the best way possible, and 2016 has all the credentials to consolidate the Brunello brand as one of the greatest wines in the world”.

The health emergency, the Consortium observed, has certainly limited growth, but has not stopped it. Growth would have been even larger without the drop in requests in May and December 2020. Deliveries of government seals for Rosso di Montalcino were stable in 2020 (-1%, and more than 4.1 million bottles).