"11 consecutive years named Italy's premier vineyard estate" - Vinitaly

Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino 1999 is recommended by James Beard award winning wine writer Alice Feiring in the 10 October 2005 issue of Time Magazine. The feature story also credits the Marianis with elevating the quality and reputation of Brunello.

               10 October 2005

Bold Brunello
Exploring the big wine described as Chianti on hormones
Alice Feiring

. . .it took two winemaking brothers from Long Island, N.Y., John and Harry Mariani, to raise the wine to fame. In the late 1970s, the Marianis bought a medieval castle in the Montalcino area, Castello Banfi, started growing Sangiovese Grasso grapes on some of the surrounding 7,100 acres and began making their own Brunello. Thanks to their efforts, the quality and reputation of the local wine whooshed upward. Brunello became one of the top Italian wines, and Americans and Italians took notice.


1999 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino - While this is a more modern style. . . it's a sure crowd pleaser with its smoky cherry and little-red-berry flavors