Enter the FORMA project, led by Italian MWs Gabriele Gorelli and Andrea Lonardi for the Brunello Consorzio, which was unveiled late last year. A revamped, holistic system of vintage assessment, it contrasts with the previous process in several key ways: first, it uses a wealth of environmental, chemical and organoleptic data (including a tasting by an international panel of MWs, which I will join for the first time this October) rather than relying predominantly on weather data plus an internal tasting. Second, it only assesses the wines when almost ready for release, rather than at the beginning of their maturation process. Third, rather than assign a five-star rating, it describes the overall style of the vintage with a few evocative adjectives. For 2020, those were ‘Captivating, Bright and Succulent’, at least two of which I fully agree with (although 2020 is respectably ‘bright’, to me it felt markedly less so after 2019 – once again, context).

In the spirit of using data rather than intuition, I did a quick content analysis of the notes from my 2025 report – 117 Brunello Annata 2020 and 61 Riserva 2019 – and compared them to their peers from the 2024 report. The dominant note by far in both 2020 and 2019 Brunello Annata was cherry, unsurprising given virtually all Sangiovese (and in fact most noble Italian native reds) taste like some kind of cherry. The nuance comes in the specific type of cherry, quite possibly a topic unfamiliar to some readers but if so, I hope the following explanation will be of use.

My 2020 notes leaned toward Marasca – a cherry characterised by a darker flavour profile and bitterness – and Amarena, dark but sweet-tart. 2019s instead leaned towards Morello (dark and predominantly sour) or Amarelle (scarlet-toned and sour), speaking to the vintage’s radiant acidity. The 2019 notes had more mentions of strawberry, the quintessential sweet, scarlet-toned fruit, while the 2020s had more mulberry, also sweet but more crimson or purple-toned. 2019 had more floral notes as well as tertiary aromatics like leather and tobacco. Both vintages were frequently ‘medicinal’ or ‘balsamic’ but only 2020 was regularly ‘herbal’. For lovers of brighter, redder-toned wines (myself included) 2019 largely edges out 2020. However, for those more drawn to a slightly richer, darker-toned style, 2020 will feel like a homecoming, with great depth, density and layering.

My analysis also allowed me to compare the prevalence of some less appealing traits – reduction, herbaceousness and Brettanomyces – all unfortunately more common in 2020. The first can perhaps be best explained by the continued shift towards large oak vessels (a lower-oxygen environment than tonneaux and barriques) without compensatory changes elsewhere in the winemaking process, but the wines will likely shed this with time. The latter two issues may have vintage-specific causes. In many locations, herbaceousness may be the result of harvesting earlier to avoid inclement weather. Brett may be attributable to relatively high wine pH – common in warm years with early season rains – causing vulnerability to undesired microbes. Some drinkers will enjoy a green edge on their Brunello and Brett can add appealing complexity in the short term but it really cuts into longevity and I’ve penalised it accordingly, even in wines I found enjoyable.

Then there were the 2019 Riserva wines. They were plentiful (unlike 2018, when few producers made Riserva) and generally excellent, as befits the vintage, though a few had unexpectedly soft acidity and others showed green tones (tomato leaf, hops), which is unusual in such an even growing season. There was also more stylistic diversity than among the 2019 Annata last year, though they were less light and lacy overall. Some, like Lisini’s, have substantially more heft than the same estate’s 2019 Annata, reflecting the choice to save grapes with greater structure for Riserva. Others, like Pietroso’s or San Guglielmo’s, were intended to highlight a specific place and don’t show the burly structure typically associated with Riserva.

Beyond the blind tastings, this report also incorporates insights from producer visits during my travels in the region, during which I often taste library vintages for context. Tasting 2016s at San Polo drove home the degree to which gentler extraction and less enthusiastic oak use has re-shaped the dominant style in Brunello di Montalcino. There is lots of innovation in both these areas, as noted on my visits to Altesino, where they have started using a special botte co-developed with Garbellotto and Val di Suga, where the extraction and ageing regimen is carefully tailored to each of their sites. Beyond oak, there is some experimentation with alternative vessels like amphorae (e.g. at San Polo) and a loose return to concrete fermenters (fully embraced at Lisini).

Meanwhile, the quiet acceptance of intraregional differences continues. In addition to its vintage assessment, the FORMA project also generates several maps that show Brunello di Montalcino’s temperature and rainfall variability. The data showed, for instance, that in 2020, vineyards at altitude were cooler overall, as expected, but falling cold air masses gave lower lying sites cooler nights and thus greater diurnal variation. For me, this context helped explain the piercing acidity and highwire tension of some 2020s from lower altitudes and the relative harmony of those from higher altitudes. The headline news may be its three-adjective slogans, but FORMA also offers a wealth of data to those who hope to understand this region at its most granular level and find stellar wines in every vintage, an aim shared by the tasting notes that follow.

Tasting notes and scores from Club Oenologique’s Brunello di Montalcino Report 2025 (featuring only those wines scoring 90 points and above) are available to all registered users of The Collection, the online home of our premium wine and spirits content. To register, click here.