As Wine Spectator magazine’s #3 Wine of the Year 2002, Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino 1997 was featured in a panel tasting with the other top ten wines at the publication’s New York Wine Experience, a three-day series of seminars and tastings held October 23-25 in New York City. Cristina Mariani-May, Castello Banfi family proprietor, represented the wine on stage and offered tasting notes and background on the wine as well as information on her estate’s work with clonal selection of the Sangiovese vine. The tasting was moderated by Wine Spectator’s Bruce Sanderson, senior editor, and Harvey Steiman, editor at large.
As a recipient of Wine Spectator’s “Critics’ Choice” award, Castello Banfi offered its SummuS 1999 at the “Grand Tastings” held as part of the event on the evenings preceding and following the panel tasting. Public, press and trade were treated to the selections of 240 of the best wineries in the world's great wine growing regions, carefully selected by the Wine Spectator board of Editors.