There are tastings that help us observe and define how an entire idea of wine changes over time. This is exactly what happened in Milan on May 6, during a vertical tasting dedicated to Brunello di Montalcino CastelGiocondo by Marchesi Frescobaldi. Led by president Lamberto Frescobaldi himself, the journey back through time compared four symbolic vintages – 2021, 2016, 2006 and 1995 – one for each decade since the family acquired the estate. A tasting designed not only to measure the evolution of Brunello CastelGiocondo, but also to tell the story of how Montalcino, Tuscan viticulture and stylistic research in the wine world have changed over the past forty years.
CastelGiocondo: Brunello according to Frescobaldi
Dominated by its ancient medieval tower and surrounded by woods and vineyards in the southwestern part of Montalcino, CastelGiocondo is one of the historic properties of Brunello. The estate covers around 815 hectares, including 235 under vine, framed by nearly 700 hectares of woodland, in a climatic balance shaped by Tyrrhenian breezes and the influence of Mount Amiata.
“CastelGiocondo is a unique place in Montalcino, where the great variety of exposures and soils – galestro, clay and Pliocene sands – gives this Brunello endless nuances,” explained Lamberto Frescobaldi as he introduced the vertical tasting.
The family acquired the estate in 1988, though their connection with Montalcino had begun earlier. “In 1973, when my father Vittorio first started visiting, Montalcino had only 180 hectares of vineyards. It was a scarcely developed area,” Frescobaldi recalled during the Milan tasting.
Today the denomination exceeds 4,000 hectares under vine, with more than 2,000 dedicated to Brunello. A growth that Frescobaldi described as “organic,” able over time to maintain a balance between production expansion and market absorption.
The promise of Brunello CastelGiocondo 2021 and Montalcino’s new climate challenge
The tasting opened with Brunello di Montalcino CastelGiocondo 2021, the current release, introduced by Frescobaldi as a “beautiful vintage.”
Climatically, 2021 was marked by a dynamic season: a mild, rainy winter, early budbreak followed by a sharp drop in temperatures in April, and then a long, warm summer supported by significant diurnal shifts.
In the glass, the wine shows an initially austere, almost bitter edge, dominated by dark black fruit and ripe plum. Freshness drives the palate, while the structure still seems to hold back, opening slowly in the glass. More than a full immediate expression, it appears today as a promise of future layering and depth.
It is also the vintage that inevitably brings up the topic of climate change. “Today in Montalcino, climate change is driven above all by early springs followed by cold returning, with the resulting risk of frost,” Frescobaldi noted.
2016: the vibrancy of one of the great modern vintages
Jumping to 2016 brought a completely different Brunello to the glass. A vintage that Frescobaldi elevates to “one of the best ever,” the result of a long, complex yet extremely balanced season.
After a mild winter and a cool, rainy spring, the warm but moderate summer, together with August rains and strong diurnal shifts in September, allowed for perfectly ripe and healthy grapes.
In the glass, the 2016 is vibrant and lifted. The tasting highlights its exuberant fruit and taut tannin, supported by freshness that lengthens the palate and leaves a persistent memory of black fruit.
It is a Brunello that today seems to sit in a moment of extraordinary balance: already enjoyable, yet still difficult to fully decode in terms of long-term potential. “Tomorrow is a curious question mark,” the taster noted during the event.
2006: when Montalcino still sought power and concentration
With 2006, the tasting stepped into another stylistic era of Brunello di Montalcino.
“2006, together with 2007, marked a turning point in a viticulture that sought very structured wines,” Frescobaldi explained.
The vintage benefited from a regular climatic pattern, with a warm summer but a cooler August and moderate rainfall that allowed for even ripening and wines built for longevity.
In the glass, CastelGiocondo 2006 still shows marked fruit and significant structure, along with a bitter note reminiscent of the 2021. Austere, concentrated, less relaxed than the 2016 in terms of drinkability, but far more focused on power and density.
“Love it or not,” might be the best summary for a Brunello born in a moment when extraction still played a central role.
1995: the longevity of Brunello CastelGiocondo and the charm of evolution
The grand finale of the vertical featured Brunello di Montalcino CastelGiocondo 1995, a vintage that technical notes even describe as the “vintage of the century.”
The season began with very low spring temperatures and delayed vegetative growth, followed by a cool but rainy and humid summer, before a slow, progressive ripening that led to perfectly healthy grapes.
In the glass, the wine inevitably shows the evolution of time, yet without losing vibrancy. The tannin still interacts with marked acidity, while the fruit shifts toward ripe plum, maintaining surprising vitality.
For personal taste, the taster would not choose this wine, despite its undeniable liveliness. It is a Brunello that demonstrates how CastelGiocondo can – even after more than thirty years – carry the weight of time without fading.
How Brunello has changed according to Frescobaldi
The tasting closed with a reflection that ideally connects all four vintages.
“Between 1995 and 2021, the approach to extraction has changed, and today it is lower. The use of saignée has also changed, with less concentration than in the past. We now seek wines with less structural richness and less focus on power,” Frescobaldi explained.
An analysis that perfectly summarizes the evolution not only of CastelGiocondo, but of an entire contemporary idea of Brunello di Montalcino: less muscular construction, more tension, territorial clarity and dynamic energy. And perhaps this is the deepest meaning of the Milan vertical: not only showing how a wine ages, but how the very way of thinking about Sangiovese in Montalcino has changed over time.
