Banfi is one of the best known names in the Italian-American wine world. Founded in 1919 by John Mariani Snr. as a wine importer, it has grown steadily over the years culminating in the 1978 of the establishment of Castello Banfi on the southern edge of the Brunello DOC. Here they have restored a magnificent medieval castle, turning it into a taverna, a Michelin-starred restaurant, and a small luxury hotel.

But it is also a large and very progressive wine estate where they are doing pioneering clonal research on the primary grape of the region, sangiovese. Now there’s no need to sprain your brain trying to understand just what that ghastly sounding concept “clonal research” means: it is sufficient to know that (a) it’s important and (b) the fruits of this investment can be seen in their latest release, the Banfi BelnerO 2005, the first since the third generation of the family, Christina Mariani-May took over direction of the company.

Banfi’s wines, not surprisingly given their high profile, are not cheap, and some of their bottlings I find disappointing given their price, so it was with more than a little curiosity that I approached this new offering, and

The Taverna

I am very happy to report that it’s a real success. Here sangiovese’s charming freshness has been rounded out by the addition of more sophisticated grape types, what Banfi somewhat mysteriously refers to as “noble French varietals” – I suspect merlot and perhaps cab.

Soft, round tannins, plush, generous fruit and a bracing, zesty acidity combine beautifully to give us a pure and eminently quaffable red. It’s a fine expression of sangiovese, in style falling somewhere between the exuberance of Chianti Classico and the deep complexity of the Brunellos – and the result is a pure and harmonious delight.