Wine friends,

The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino wines are just hitting the market, and they are the talk of the wine world.

Wine Enthusiast Magazine gave the 2019 Montalcino vintage 95 points. Only 2016 and 2010, with 96 and 98 points respectively, were graded slightly higher in recent years.

Many Brunello producers, including Castello Tricerchi, will also bottle a 2019 Riserva wine. I can already confirm that we will have access to a small parcel of Tricerchi’s 2019 “A.D. 1441” Riserva early next year. (Thanks to OT member Chu Pak for inspiring that request!)

I can’t wait to open the 2019 Brunello di Montalcino alongside the 2019 Riserva for a direct comparison. While Castello Tricerchi uses a single vineyard to source the reserve wine, today’s 2019 Brunello comes from its adjacent estate vineyards. 

Next to the Riserva, I expect today’s 2019 Tricerchi to be a much better value. 

Next to other 2019s in today’s overheated Brunello market? In terms of QPR (Quality-Price-Ratio), Castello Tricerchi’s Brunello is simply unbeatable.

We offered Castello Tricerchi’s 2021 Rosso and 2018 Brunello last spring. Somewhat surprisingly, the less expensive Rosso earned just as much praise from OT members as the Brunello. 

The 2019 Brunello is a star, but don’t sleep on Castello Tricerchi’s Rosso! 

Castello Tricerchi - 2019 Brunello di Montalcino

Castello Tricerchi’s 2019 Brunello di Montalcino is a stately, brooding red that’s tannic, structured, rich, and very persistent on the palate. It has all the hallmarks of a wine that’s built for the long haul. While I plan to open my first bottle of this wine in November 2024, bottles 2-12 will likely sit peacefully in my cellar until 2026 at the earliest. If you do open your bottles in the near future, please remember to decant for a few hours, and save at least half the bottle for day two. (This advice comes from Castello Tricerchi’s owner, Tomasso Squarcia).

If you can’t wait until the fall to try some Castello Tricerchi, please get a bottle of Rosso and open it this spring or summer!

Castello Tricerchi - 2022 Rosso di Montalcino

The 2022 Rosso di Montalcino is a delicious medium-bodied red wine with a fruit-forward profile, just enough structure, and loads of energy. Like the 2021, there’s a lot of pretty morello cherry fruit, but this 2022 is slightly more muscular and primary.

To order, just click the one of the blue links above and follow the prompts.

Here’s Castello Tricerchi on the map of central Italy. Total production is about 65 thousand bottles per year.

The Tricerchi Castle, completed in 1441, dominates the winery property. It’s now the headquarters of the winery and the home of the Tricerchi family’s direct ancestors, the Squarcia family.

Food pairing: Officially, Castello Tricerchi recommends pairing the Brunello with “red meats, seasoned cheeses and game; refined cuisine.” More specifically, Tommaso tells me he likes to drink it with a petto di piccione in glassa di amarene (pigeon breast in a black cherry glaze). For the Rosso, he prefers pici con ragù di cinta (Tuscan pasta with pork ragout from Siena.) 

Castello Tricerchi’s Rosso sells for $30 and up elsewhere, while the Brunello will run you at least $59..

Happy Tuesday,

Chris

If you have any questions or feedback, please email us: [email protected].  

Receive a $25 credit for every referred member after the purchase of their first bottle.

How it works: 

After clicking one of the links above, you’ll be able to request 1-12 bottles. Actually, that’s all you have to do!

About a week later, when we close the offer, you’ll get an email confirming how many bottles we allocated to your account. We will charge you when the wines are allocated.

We’ll do our best to allocate all the bottles you request. When there are more requests than bottles available, we’ll allocate one bottle to all requesting members before allocating a second bottle to anyone. We want as many members as possible to try these wines.

This is the fourth offer of our 2024 spring season. Through the end of March, we plan to send offers on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.

We ship in increments of 12. With 16-18 offers this season, there should be plenty of chances to get to 12, 24, or 36. If you don’t have an increment of 12 at the end of the fall season offers, we can hold your wines until the next offer season.

Wines offered in the spring will ship in April for $5 per bottle (if you have an increment of 12.) This is about the same as the price to ship coast-to-coast within the U.S. – but our wines come directly from Italy.

Once your payment method is on file, you can make future requests with just a few clicks from the offer email. If you don’t have a card on file, you can add one during your first order. Your personal financial information is protected by Stripe.

Chris MacLean

Rob Genova

Open Tuesday Wines S.r.l.s.

Milano - Italy