New Vintages for Tuscany and Piedmont Shine at Great Wine events in Florence this week

Vintners taste the 2018 Super Tuscan barrel samples at Florence's Palazzo Capponi at our En Primeur Firenze 2019 event.
The Renaissance splendor of Palazzo Capponi wows tasters.
The Palazzo Capponi venue is stunning, with a timeless baroque design.
Mathieu Chardonnier, head of negociants CVBG and guest of honor, gives a speech during En Primeur Firenze 2019.
James takes a selfie with a group of young vintners.
Some of the participants of En Primeur Firenze 2019 enjoy a wonderful lunch hosted in the gardens of the Frescobaldi family in the middle of Florence.
Participants of En Primeur Firenze 2019 listen to words of Mathieu Chardonnier of Bordeaux negociant CVBG.
Alex Vik, center, makes a cameo appearance with his VIK wines at the event.
Bottles of 2015 Brunello cool in special containers.
The day before En Primeur Firenze 2019, we hosted the JamesSuckling.com annual Magnum Party in the foothills of Florence at the illustrious Villa di Maiano, a massive 15th-Century villa.
Mother Nature blesses the event with great weather.
James greets guests at the event.
A bird's-eye perspective of the Magnum Party, where 600 people attend to taste 400 magnums.
A 150-place-setting table wows guests.
The Magnum Party fills up quickly with vintners eager to discover the wines.
Our music curator Surahn Sidhu came all the way from Adelaide, Australia to create a dynamic music vibe while we enjoyed the wine.
Among the wines being poured are Champagne from De Venoge, Frescobaldi Leonia and Banfi sparkling wines.
Jack Suckling speaks of his responsibilities as a taster at the Magnum Party.
James pours wine for the guests.
The Magnum Party includes great wines like this 2012 Chateau Peby Faugeres.
A beautiful night at the Magnum Party at Villa Maiano in Fiesole near Florence comes to an end.

The 2018 vintage for Tuscany appears to be an excellent year for balanced and structured reds with beautifully fresh and fruity center palates as well as a linear line of tannins and acidity, according to my tasting of about 140 samples from En Primeur Firenze 2019, a JamesSuckling.com event in Florence, Italy.

The tasting featured pre-release wines from Tuscany (2018 barrel samples), Brunello di Montalcino (2015) and Barolo (2016). The 2015 vintage for Brunello di Montalcino is spectacular with many extremely highly rated wines, while 2016 is another outstanding year for Barolo following the great 2015.

Around 150 vintners attended the event on Thursday, mostly Italian winemakers and a few merchants. Key negociants from Bordeaux were also present including Joanne, CVBG, Alias, and Crus et Domaines de France. Bordeaux courtier Jeremy Quievre of Excellence Vin was also in attendance. Bordeaux vintners are selling more and more top Italian wines around the world through their global distribution network including Masseto, Solaia, Ornellaia, Galatrona, Bibi Graetz Colore and others.

“Bordeaux is selling more and more great Italian wines,” said Mathieu Chadronnier, head of CVBG, during his short speech as guest of honor at the event. “The world of fine wine has the same consumers around the world and they buy the same fine wines including the best names of Bordeaux, Italy, Napa Valley and other places.”

The close of a great Magnum Party at Villa Maiano in Fiesole near Florence.

Chadronnier’s cogent remarks confirmed what I have been thinking for years. This is why I cover the world of fine wines through tasting more than 21,000 wines a year with my son Jack and senior editor Nick Stock.

We want to rate the best wines of the world and deliver the results to our more than 3 million followers. It’s also why our Great Wines events are so popular globally as our followers for those events – more than 20,000 – are excited to taste the same great wines that we taste.

We hope En Primeur Firenze will become an annual event giving vintners around the world the chance to taste some of the best new wines from Italy each year as well as global wines sold through Bordeaux.

The day before En Primeur Firenze 2019, we hosted the JamesSuckling.com annual Magnum Party in the foothills of Florence at the illustrious Villa di Maiano, a massive 15th-Century villa. Almost 600 people attended to taste 400 magnums, among them Champagne from De Venoge, Frescobaldi Leonia and Banfi sparkling wines.

Food was from my favorite restaurant in Tuscany, Osteria L’Acquolina, featuring plenty of hearty salads and grilled meats as well as the best prosciutto in the region. Our music curator Surhan Sidhu came all the way from Adelaide, Australia to create a dynamic music vibe while we enjoyed the experience. I think it was our best event ever! Thanks to everyone who came.

– James Suckling, CEO and editor

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