2020 Fanti Brunello di Montalcino Tuscany 750 ml

The last few vintages of Fanti Brunello have been some of the most popular Italian wines we’ve ever offered. Wine Access members love them because they overdeliver like few others in the category, putting $70 quality in the glass for under $50. The repeat purchases they inspire remind us of teenagers going to see Jurassic Park over and over in the theater.

In a fantastic year like 2020—which Robb Report declared to be “One of the Best of the Century”—we grabbed every bottle we could. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate said that “I could not be more pleased with 2020 Brunello di Montalcino…These are the wines I want to drink.”

Tenuta Fanti is one of our tried-and-true sources of fantastically priced, high-quality Brunello. The family has deep roots in Montalcino, having owned their estate in the celebrated Castelnuovo dell’Abate zone since the early 1800s. The gorgeous property is over 700 acres, 123 of which are covered by Filippo Fanti’s meticulously farmed vineyards. 

South-facing and comprising sandy and poor soils, Fanti’s vineyard land is ideal for grape cultivation, and Filippo and his daughter Elisa do it the hard way, removing weeds manually and using only natural fertilizers. As a result, both the old vines and the new plantings of low-yielding modern clones produce impeccably balanced Brunello that always shows beautiful generosity on release.

Mother Nature blessed Tuscany with near-perfect growing conditions in 2020: Warm, sun-drenched summer days followed the mild spring, while cool nights preserved crucial acidity. September brought gentle rains at precisely the right moment, allowing the Sangiovese to achieve exceptional phenolic ripeness without sacrificing structure.

The result is an outstanding edition of one of our favorite Italian reds.