Blick answers your wine questions
«How much does my bottle of Brunello di Montalcino 1990 cost?»
Blick wine editor Nicolas Greinacher regularly answers readers’ questions about wine. Peter Brönnimann would like to know the value of his bottle of Brunello di Montalcino 1990.
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This is the bottle of Brunello di Montalcino 1990 from Blick reader Peter Brönnimann.
Nicholas GreinacherEditor Wine
The Italian wine-growing region Brunello di Montalcino is located in Tuscany and stands for strong red wines made from the Sangiovese grape variety. The approximately 250 producers cultivate 2,100 hectares of vineyards and export between 70 and 80 percent of their wines, including to Switzerland.
The oldest and best-known winery in the region is Biondi-Santi, which was the only winery in the Brunello di Montalcino region from 1865 until the Second World War. The bottle from Blick reader Peter Brönnimann comes from Biondi-Santi and from the excellent 1990 vintage.
A bottle of Brunello di Montalcino 1990 is so valuable
Despite the good vintage, the ratings of the wine from leading wine critics were rather subdued. At a tasting in 1996, the American Robert Parker Jr. (75) found the wine to be lacking in fruitiness and concentration, which is why he only gave it 85 points. The English-language publication “Wine Spectator” also awarded only 87 points. What was interesting, however, was the drinking window given by Parker: Until 2036.
Perfectly preserved Biondi-Santi bottles from the 1990 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Greppo currently cost around 200 francs per bottle in specialist shops. However, due to the damaged label, the value of the bottle from Blick reader Peter Brönnimann is likely to be slightly lower. However, given the long drinking window, you might well dare to open the bottle yourself.