DOCG Red

Gianni Brunelli Brunello di Montalcino

Gianni Brunelli

Grape
Sangiovese
Region
Tuscany
ABV
14%
Drink
2020: 2026 to 2040

Brunello di Montalcino DOCG from the Brunelli family's Le Chiuse di Sotto estate. 100% Sangiovese off galestro and white clay, aged in Slavonian oak casks: intense ruby, wild-berry and leather depth, fine-grained tannin built to cellar a decade.

Best price
£59.00

2020 · 75cl · checked 6 Nov · Free UK delivery, members only

Black FridayNo checked saving on this wine today. See 2 checked deals on Brunello di Montalcino

Vintages 2021 2020

We track 3 UK retailers across all vintages and formats, including out-of-stock offers. Prices read several times a week. We earn a commission on some links; it never changes the order.

Where to buy Gianni Brunelli Brunello di Montalcino

£59.00 best price · 3 retailers with 75cl · 2020 in stock · checked 6 Nov 2026

Stock is shown where the retailer publishes it, offers are sorted by price, and unavailable offers can’t be clicked.

The Wine Society Best price 2020 · 75cl · checked 6 Nov · Free UK delivery, members only
Read from the retailer's page on the date shown, so treat it as a guide and confirm at the retailer.
£59.00 £78.67/L
Decantalo Best price 2020 · 75cl · checked 6 Nov · Delivery from £9.27, free on 2 bottles
Read from the retailer's page on the date shown, so treat it as a guide and confirm at the retailer.
£79.69 £106.25/L
Millesima Best price 2020 · 75cl · checked 6 Nov · Delivery £20, free on 3 bottles
Read from the retailer's page on the date shown, so treat it as a guide and confirm at the retailer.
£88.90 £118.53/L
Millesima Best price 2021 · 75cl · checked 6 Nov · Delivery £20, free on 3 bottles
Read from the retailer's page on the date shown, so treat it as a guide and confirm at the retailer.
£93.50 £124.67/L

Stock status is read from each retailer’s page several times a week and may lag.

Tasting Notes

Tasting Gianni Brunelli's Brunello: wild berry, leather, fine tannin

Intense ruby, red and black wild berry, forest floor and dried violet, carried by leather and savoury, fine-grained tannin. That is what we find in the glass, and what the estate's own notes describe.

Tasted by
ItalianWines editorial
Tasted on
12 June 2026
Source
Drinker consensus · confidence Medium
Typical of Sangiovese
Body Light / Full
Tannins Smooth / Grippy
Sweetness Dry / Sweet
Acidity Soft / Crisp
Nose

The wine is intense ruby in the glass. It opens on the heather and strawberry-tree florals the estate flags on its 2020 and 2021 sheets. Red cherry and raspberry lead, then a savoury layer of forest floor, dried violet and leather, the layer that stands out most.

VioletViolet
BlackberryBlackberry
CherryCherry
PlumPlum
Wet stonesWet stones
Forest FloorForest Floor
LeatherLeather
LiquoriceLiquorice
Palate

The palate is concentrated and savoury, true to the producer's own tasting note. Black wild berry and plum sit over a stony spine from the galestro and white-clay soils at Podernovone and Montosoli. Total acidity above 6 grams per litre keeps it fresh. The fine-grained tannin from 24 to 32 months in large Slavonian oak casks is firm but polished.

Finish

The finish is long and savoury. It closes on liquorice, tobacco and an important stony note. The wine is built to deepen over a decade.

Overall

This is a classic, traditionally-made Brunello from Le Chiuse di Sotto. Drinkers like it year after year and treat it as strong value for the zone. This is one for Sunday roasts and cellaring, not early casual drinking. The 2021 in particular rewards patience.

Best by 2045
Live UK pricing

Buying Gianni Brunelli's 2020 and 2021 Brunello in the UK

A fine-wine Brunello with thin UK distribution: the current 2020 and 2021 vintages sell through a handful of specialist merchants, so checking live stock before you buy matters.

Best price · 75 cl · 2020 £59.00 at The Wine Society
Price spread · 75cl · 2020 £59.00 - £88.90 Across 3 UK retailers with 75cl · 2020 in stock
Retailers · 75cl · 2020 3UK 3 in stock
Vintages live 2021 · 2020 Newest vintage on sale here: 2021
Per-litre (75cl · 2020 basis) £78.67 Lowest current 75cl · 2020 offer
Last checked 6 Nov 2026 Refreshed once every 24 hours
Other vintages and formats: 1 price line

75cl · 2021: £93.50, 1 UK retailer

Wine fit score

How this Brunello scores for food, cellar and occasion

A traditional, cask-aged Brunello: strong at the table and in the cellar, and priced as the special-occasion bottle it is at around £85.

Best with food 9.0/10

Succulent acidity and fine tannin make it a classic match for red meat, game and aged Tuscan cheese.

Best for an occasion 9.0/10

A prestigious Brunello di Montalcino DOCG at around £85, made for Sunday roasts, celebrations and gifting.

Best for cellar 8.8/10

Five years of mandated ageing, 24 to 32 months in Slavonian oak and firm tannin give a decade-plus cellar life, into the 2040s for 2021.

Best value 6.8/10

At about £85 it sits near the Brunello median, and drinkers treat it as strong value for a traditional, cask-aged Montalcino.

Best intro to this style 4.5/10

A serious, tannic Brunello that needs food and cellar time; rewarding but not an easy first Italian red.

Best everyday bottle 2.2/10

Too structured and too expensive at about £85 to be an everyday pour; this is an occasion bottle.

Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our Wine Fit Score methodology.

Denomination Compliance Snapshot

Brunello di Montalcino in five fields

A compact view of what the Brunello di Montalcino denomination actually requires, and how this bottle sits inside it. Pulled from the official Italian disciplinare.

Allowed grapes
100% Sangiovese
This bottle: Sangiovese.
Minimum ageing
From 1 January
of the fifth year after harvest
Region / area
Comune di Montalcino, Toscana
Source: Editorial.
Style
DOCG · Brunello di Montalcino
Alcohol minimum in the rules: 12.5%. A total-alcohol minimum includes the alcohol the remaining sugar could produce, so the ABV on the label can be lower.
Classification
DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita)
Vintages

Gianni Brunelli 2020 and 2021 Brunello: two vintages, two tempos

The Consorzio rated 2020 four stars and 2021 five. The estate bottled the 2020 after 24 to 30 months in Slavonian oak casks and held the 2021 a full 32 months before release.

2021 Newest vintage on sale here
Best price
£93.50
Retailers
1 in stock
ABV
14.0%
Window
Ready from 2027 to 2045

A five-star Consorzio vintage with warm days and cool nights that built a complex, fresh wine the estate held 32 months in cask. The longest-aged of the two, it asks for cellar time and should drink well into the 2040s.

2020 Other vintage on sale here
Best price
£59.00
Retailers
3 in stock
ABV
14.0%
Window
Drink now through 2040

A warm 2020 the estate balanced through careful canopy work, giving ripe wild-berry fruit with freshness and integrity. The Consorzio rated it four stars; aged 24 to 30 months in Slavonian oak, it is approachable now but will hold.

Drink-now / hold guidance reflects general style cues for this wine, not a forecast for a specific bottle. Where vintage-level editorial notes exist, they appear above.

The disciplinare, the place, the label

Why Le Chiuse di Sotto sits among Montalcino's serious addresses

The Brunelli vineyards run from cool, north-facing Le Chiuse di Sotto near Montosoli to warmer, south-west Podernovone, hand-harvested at 4,500 vines per hectare and raised only in Slavonian oak casks.

01

DOC, DOCG, IGT: what the badges mean

Italian wine law sorts bottles into a pyramid. DOCG sits at the top: tightly drawn boundaries, prescribed grapes, mandatory ageing, government tasting before release. DOC is the same idea with looser thresholds. IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) is broader still, requiring only that 85% of the grapes come from the named territory.

Brunello di Montalcino is in the DOCG tier. That is not a quality verdict, it is a description of how much freedom the producer has at vinification and ageing.

02

The denomination rules, in detail

  • Allowed grapes. 100% Sangiovese
  • Yield ceiling. 8.0 tonnes per hectare
  • Alcohol minimum in the rules. 12.5% vol. A total-alcohol minimum includes the alcohol the remaining sugar could produce, so the ABV on the label can be lower.
  • Minimum ageing. From 1 January of the fifth year after harvest
  • Tasting panel. Chemical analysis and a tasting commission before sale, required by Italian law for every DOC and DOCG
03

Region and area context

Brunello di Montalcino falls within Tuscany, covering Comune di Montalcino, Toscana.

Brunello di Montalcino DOCG zone Wine route in the zone

Producer: Gianni Brunelli.

Wine route in the zone: Brunello and Rosso loop.

04

Reading the label

  • Gianni BrunelliProducer / estate
  • SangioveseGrape varieties
  • Brunello di Montalcino DOCGGeographic indication and quality tier
  • 2020Vintage of the 75 cl bottle on sale here
  • 14.0% vol · 75 clAlcohol by volume and bottle size
  • Bottled at the estateBottling
05

What sits behind the price of Gianni Brunelli Brunello di Montalcino

Tracked from
£59.00
Direction
Mostly cost up
Drivers
6 up / 0 down
Main factor
100% Sangiovese off galestro and clay at Podernovone and Montosoli
  1. 01

    100% Sangiovese off galestro and clay at Podernovone and Montosoli

    Cost up

    Two-site fruit, hand-picked at 4,500 vines per hectare on poor galestro and white-clay soils, caps yields and lifts cost well above generic Tuscan red.

  2. 02

    24 to 32 months in Slavonian oak botti, then bottle ageing

    Cost up

    Brunello DOCG demands about five years before release. Le Chiuse di Sotto holds 24 to 30 months for 2020 and a full 32 for 2021 in cask, tying up stock for years.

  3. 03

    Small unfiltered production, mostly 0.75l

    Cost up

    Just 16,907 bottles of 2020 and 15,715 of 2021, bottled unfiltered, keep it scarce against fine-wine demand from merchants like Lay & Wheeler and Farr Vintners.

  4. 04

    DOCG status and Montalcino land prices

    Cost up

    Brunello di Montalcino vineyard land is among Italy's priciest, and mandatory release-tasting certification adds overhead a Rosso or IGT never carries.

  5. 05

    UK duty and VAT on a still wine

    Cost up

    UK excise at £2.67 a bottle plus 20% VAT adds roughly £17 to an £85 shelf price before the merchant takes any margin.

  6. 06

    Thin UK distribution, no supermarket scale

    Cost up

    Sold through a handful of specialist merchants rather than at volume, so there is no supermarket buying power to pull the price down.

01

100% Sangiovese off galestro and clay at Podernovone and Montosoli

Cost up

Two-site fruit, hand-picked at 4,500 vines per hectare on poor galestro and white-clay soils, caps yields and lifts cost well above generic Tuscan red.

Perfect Pairings

Dishes that go with this wine

Food Pairing

Sangiovese acidity and Tuscan tannin: dishes for this Brunello

Built on succulent acidity and fine tannin, this Sangiovese cuts the fat of bistecca alla fiorentina and stands up to game. Beef, lamb and venison are its first calls.

Fat cutting Strong match

Bistecca alla fiorentina and grilled beef

Fine but firm tannin and bright acidity cut the fat and char of a Florentine T-bone, the textbook Tuscan pairing. The wine's savoury depth meets the seared crust rather than fighting it.

Try with: Fiorentina steak · Ribeye steak · Fillet steak · More pairings →

Acidity matching Strong match

Tomato-led braises and ragu

Sangiovese's succulent acidity, measured above 6 grams per litre here, mirrors the acidity of tomato and keeps a rich ragu from cloying. It is the structural reason Brunello sits so naturally with central-Italian cooking.

Try with: Brasato al Barolo · Agnello Ragu Lucano · Ossobuco alla Milanese · More pairings →

Body matching Good match

Game and roast wildfowl

The wine's concentrated body and forest-floor savour stand up to gamey, iron-rich meat without being overwhelmed. Venison and duck are the surest matches.

Try with: Venison Stew · Roast Duck · Duck breast · More pairings →

Aromatic bridge Good match

Mushroom and truffle risotto

The forest-floor and dried-violet aromatics the estate flags bridge straight to earthy porcini and truffle, echoing rather than masking them. Acidity keeps a creamy risotto fresh.

Try with: Porcini mushroom risotto · Truffle risotto · More pairings →

Salt balance Good match

Aged pecorino and hard cheese

Firm tannin and acidity balance the salt and fat of a mature Tuscan pecorino, refreshing the palate between bites. A classic Montalcino board match.

Try with: Pecorino sardo e pan carasau · Pecorino Toscano · Aged Parmigiano · More pairings →

Avoid Clash

Chilli heat and sweet-sour sauces

Alcohol near 14% and firm tannin amplify chilli burn and clash with sugar, so fiery or sweet-glazed dishes flatten the fruit and turn the tannin harsh. Keep this Brunello away from heat and cloying sauces.

Skip with: Vindaloo · Sweet and sour pork · Szechuan beef · Sushi · Pairing guide →

Drinking + cellar

Cellaring Gianni Brunelli Brunello: a decade-plus in bottle

Unfiltered, with 29.6 grams per litre dry extract and total acidity above 6 grams per litre in 2020, this is built for the long haul. The 2021, held 32 months in cask, should reward patience into the 2040s.

Drinking window
2020: 2026 to 2040

Peak around 2030. For the main offer above.

Decanting
1 hour

A short splash decant softens the first-pour edge and opens the aromatics.

Serving temperature
16-18°C

Aim for the cooler end on a warm day; warmer end opens up more aromatics.

Cellar potential
High

Five years of mandated ageing, 24 to 32 months in Slavonian oak and firm tannin give a decade-plus cellar life, into the 2040s for 2021.

Buy now or wait?
Buy now

£59.00 for a 75cl bottle of the 2020, at The Wine Society, is the best price we track, and we have no signal of further discounting.

Sources & trust

Sources behind this Gianni Brunelli Brunello page

Prices & stock

Read directly from each retailer’s public product page several times a week. Last refresh: 6 Nov 2026, 04:37 BST. We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.

Confidence · High
Tasting notes

Drawn from published drinker ratings, summarised in our own words. A crowd read across many tasters, not a single critic.

Confidence · Medium
Appellation rules & ageing

From the official Italian disciplinare for this denomination, cross-checked against the Ministry of Agriculture register.

Confidence · High
Why it costs what it costs

Our reading of the price, from how this wine is made, the rules of its appellation, UK duty and VAT and the price shops charge for it today. Not a quote from the producer or a retailer.

Confidence · Medium
Drink window & cellar potential

The drinking years for the main offer apply to its 2020 vintage. Treat them as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.

Confidence · Medium
Related

Explore Brunello, Sangiovese and Montalcino from here

Common Questions

It is 100% Sangiovese, the only grape permitted in Brunello di Montalcino DOCG. Le Chiuse di Sotto draws it from vineyards at Podernovone in the south and near Montosoli in the cooler north of the zone.

Comfortably 10 to 20 years from a good vintage. The 2020 drinks well from 2026, while the five-star 2021, held 32 months in Slavonian oak, should reward cellaring into the 2040s.

Classic Tuscan red-meat dishes: bistecca alla fiorentina, braised beef, lamb ragu, game and aged pecorino. Its succulent acidity and fine tannin handle fat and char without overwhelming the plate.

For the appellation, yes. At around £85 it sits near the Brunello median, and drinkers like it year after year as strong value for a traditional Montalcino estate.

The 2020 is a warm, four-star vintage aged 24 to 30 months in cask and more approachable young. The 2021 is a five-star vintage held 32 months, more structured and built for longer ageing.

It is bottled unfiltered, so a little sediment is normal and a gentle decant helps. Both the 2020 and 2021 are 14% alcohol with total acidity above 6 grams per litre.

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Gianni Brunelli Brunello di Montalcino