Send in the Clones
How distinct are Brunello di Montalcino and Chianti? The leader of a tasting group I've joined posed that question with a blind tasting of four wines, two from each appellation. Both regions sit in Tuscany, and both make wine largely from Sangiovese.
There are environmental differences—Brunello di Montalcino is arid—and soil differences—Brunello has more limestone and sand—but Brunello's reputation rests on the Sangiovese Grosso, a "superior" clone that Ferruccio Biondi-Santi isolated in 1888.
You clone propagate a grapevine clone by grafting its budwood onto another root system. Grape growers look for the vines that perform best, either in the vineyard or the cellar. Maybe one vine thrives while neighbors sicken. Maybe one produces a better cluster. Maybe one creates distinct flavor in a wine. Keep selecting, and over time you have a plant with a DNA fingerprint that stands well apart from its kin.
Guess who's researching an article about clones?
Does Sangiovese Grosso deserve its status? Within our small tasting, we found nothing more than subtle distinctions. The two Chianti Classicos, from 1996 and 1997, had a less balanced acidity but a similar earthiness to the 1996 and 1995 Brunellos. I thought both Brunellos were complex; only one of the Chianti Classicos got my nod. They differed only at a debatable level. One member of the group, who has more experience with Italian reds than I, noted that these were still young, even with a decade or more of life behind them. Maybe we should try the tasting again in another five years.
My favorite wine was the 1995 Casisano-Colombaio Brunello di Montalcino. It had the old-wine earthiness that I love, with enough acidity to liven up the palate without sending a shiver coursing down the spine. The cocoa powder finish was a bit short: That's my only complaint.
For now, at least, my tongue can't tell Brunello and Chianti Classico apart. But sign me up for any rematch.
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