The Latest From Brunello: It's Even Worse Than We Thought...

I haven't said much about the Brunello scandal of late, mostly because to write well about it one must be in Montalcino with one's ear to the ground. I am not.
However, Monty Waldin is, and his report, which Franco Ziliani has reposted, is frankly frightening. And very much worth reading (Scroll down past Franco's Italian to Jancis Robinson's introduction in English and Monty's report, also in English).

To add to this, another friend and colleague tells me that the Italian police have paid visits to all the major figures involved in the Brunello scandal -- cellar masters, agronomists, winery owners, consulting enologists and so on -- and examined the hard disks of their computers. Since many of these people, especially the consulting enologists, also work elsewhere, the scandal could very well spread to other appellations. The other thing my friend says is that the investigation no longer just regards winemaking. The inspectors are looking at land use, hiring, accounting practices, and everything else. It will take a while for the dust to settle, I fear.