There’s more on the embargo of the 2003 vintage of Brunello di Montalcino by Italian authorities. An Italian magazine, L’Espresso, reports the dispute involves the possibility that grapes other than Sangiovese may have been used in the production of Brunello.
The practice of blending mixed grape varieties is common in other parts of Tuscany (Chianti, for example, may contain small amounts of Merlot, Cabernet or approved Tuscan red-grape varieties) but strictly forbidden by the Consorzio di Brunello di Montalcino.
Brunello must be 100 percent Sangiovese. In separate and apparently unrelated news, Italian authorities also are investigating the possibility that some cheap Italian brands have been altered or tampered with.
I’m not sure if the cheap Italian wines are exported to the U.S. market, but one quarter of the more than half a million bottles of Brunello under investigation had been bound for the United States.
Brunello is one of Italy’s most important red wines, rivaled in price only by Barolo, Barbaresco and a handful of the so-called “Super Tuscans.”
From news reports:
“Italian authorities are investigating incidents of adulterated wine, prompting the government on Friday to play down fears of another health scare like the one that hit mozzarella cheese last week.
A news magazine revealed that police were investigating the cheap end of the market for adding harmful chemicals into wine.
In a separate investigation at the luxury end, 600,000 bottles of vintage Brunello di Montalcino have been seized by investigators who suspect winemakers used grapes other than Sangiovese, the only ingredient allowed in the Tuscan wine, a favourite of U.S. connoisseurs, L’Espresso magazine reported.”
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