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The DOCG appellation of Brunello di Montalcino requires
the grapes to be 100% Brunello, a special and superior- considered clone
of Sangiovese. Adding any other varietal is considered a violation of
the regulation.
According to the news report by Decanter,
the Italian Embassy in Washington had received several written requests
from the ATTB for more information and verification on the grape composition
and whether there had been a breach of law. Apparently there was no response,
resulting in this harsh step.
'We have a general assembly in two days, and organising
laboratory analysis will be our number one priority, to ensure that Brunello
will continue to be imported into the US,' says Marone Cinzano President
of the Consorzio.
'We now need to act rapidly to ensure consumers in the
US and everywhere of Brunello's authenticity.' US imports a fourth of
Brunello's production.
More than a million bottles were impounded last month
by the prosecutor's office in Siena under whose jurisdiction Montalcino
falls. This included famous houses like Antinori, Castello Banfi and Frescobaldi.
Nino Calabrese, the Chief Prosecutor who is a teetotaler
is considering commercial fraud charges that carry maximum sentences of
up to six years imprisonment. Conviction could also lead to expulsion
from the Consorzio del Vino Brunello which oversees production by the
area's 250 Brunello makers.
Argiano, one of the companies under investigation had
already announced that it will declassify the 80,000 confiscated bottles
and sell them as IGT wines at 10-15% lower prices. Antinori who was thinking
about following, may not have much of a choice now except de-classifying
the wines.
Adding Cabernet or Merlot makes the wine more appealing
wine for the average consumer as well as critics. Merlot makes the tannins
rounder, and the wine is ready to drink earlier.
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