2020 Castello Banfi Summus estate spotlight
Castello Banfi, in a film from the estate.
The market on this bottle
U.S. shop listings for this 750ml, before sales tax. Auctions and clearance specials are left out. The main-listing low is $65.95, so this bottle is $66. Checked 2026-10-06.
Montalcino super Tuscan
2020 Castello Banfi Summus Sant'Antimo, Tuscany, Italy
Summus is the Cabernet, Merlot, and Syrah Banfi has made since the first vintage in 1985.
The estate page prints Wine Spectator 93 for the 2020. The bottle is $66.
The family, the castle, the year
John and Harry Mariani founded Banfi in 1978 and bought the castle of Poggio alle Mura in 1983. Ezio Rivella was part of that founding. The 2020 vines sit on sandy clay with pebbles, running into calcareous clay, in Montalcino.
If a hot year that cooled at night is the kind of vintage you trust for a structured Tuscan red, why leave this one for later?
Three grapes
Cabernet, Merlot, and Syrah are the blend.
The yield
The vines gave 60 quintals per hectare.
The alcohol
The wine is 14.5 percent alcohol.
The cellar
French oak, including 350-liter barrels, and Horizon tanks.
Wine Spectator 93 on this vintage
Wine Spectator scored the 2020 a 93.
Wine Spectator scored the 2014 a 92 and the 2015 a 94. James Suckling scored the 2015 a 94, the 2017 a 94, and the 2019 a 92. Wine Enthusiast scored the 2016 a 94. Robert Parker scored the 2016 a 94+ and the 2018 a 94.
Jam, spice, tobacco, coffee
The English note calls the 2020 deeply colored, with young fruit, jam, spice, tobacco, and coffee, a strong frame, sweet tannins, and a long finish.
That is the glass. The bottle is $66. Twelve bottles ship free in the lower 48. Hawaii and Alaska are quoted on their own.
Young fruit, jam, and spice.
Tobacco and coffee inside a strong frame.
Sweet tannins and a long finish.
Heat, then cooler nights
The 2020 season ran hot and dry, and it started about ten days early.
Cooler nights arrived later in the summer, after that early start.
The ground is sandy clay with pebbles, running into calcareous clay, at Poggio alle Mura in Montalcino.
Yield was 60 quintals per hectare. The wine was raised in French oak, including 350-liter barrels, and in Horizon tanks, and the alcohol is 14.5 percent.
A castle in Montalcino
The Mariani brothers built the estate before this blend had a name.
John and Harry Mariani founded Banfi in 1978.
In 1983 they bought the castle of Poggio alle Mura.
Ezio Rivella was part of the founding. Summus, the Cabernet, Merlot, and Syrah, began with the 1985 vintage on that ground.
Why It Matters
Sweet tannins and a strong frame mean the 2020 can be poured for a steak dinner, not only filed away as a Tuscan name.
Bistecca alla fiorentina is the plate, with white beans and rosemary beside it.
Open and pour, or give the strong frame a short decant before you slice the steak.
Chi Spacca's Bistecca Fiorentina
A thick bone-in steak is grilled over direct heat, finished on the bone, and sliced with olive oil and salt.
Why it works: The steak has the char for a wine with jam, spice, tobacco, and a long finish.
View Recipe for Chi Spacca's Bistecca Fiorentina (opens in a new tab)White Beans with Rosemary and Vinegar
Lidia Bastianich simmers white beans with onion, rosemary sprigs, and red-wine vinegar until the herbs sit in the pot.
Why it works: Rosemary and beans are the Tuscan side that lets the wine's spice stay in front.
View Recipe for White Beans with Rosemary and Vinegar (opens in a new tab)Pour the 2020
The 2020 is $66 if a Tuscan Cabernet, Merlot, and Syrah with Wine Spectator 93 is the bottle for the steak.
Open a bottle when the bistecca comes off the grill.
