By now, everyone with the slightest interest in Italian wine has heard that 2010 gave birth to a great, perhaps very great, vintage in Montalcino, and most have also heard that 2012 seems almost as promising. That leaves poor 2011, which is just being released now, caught between a rock and a hard place. There is just no way it’s going to get much serious attention, especially after a trickle of dire stories about its growing season.

And those stories are true: The weather in 2011 was pretty awful, with early heat and premature bud break followed by rainy, too-cool weather through most of July, until absolutely scorching heat arrived in August and ran on right up to harvest. That means, of course, roasted, over-ripe grapes with low acidity and high sugar levels that translate into high alcohol levels—so, in the final analysis, unbalanced wines, probably with harsh tannins or cooked flavors. Make no mistake about it, there was an abundance of mediocre wine made in Montalcino in 2011.

But—and it is a very important but—the good news is that there was also a generous amount of fine, very enjoyable Brunello made in 2011. The best wines of that vintage are simply charming—not an adjective one normally uses for young Brunello, but perfectly appropriate in this case. The top-flight wines of 2011 drink wonderfully already, with easy, fresh fruit, good balance, and enough acidity to keep them lively. For sure, these aren’t Brunellos to cellar but to drink now and for the next five to maybe ten years (?!). They have a vivacity and even a touch of elegance that will make them very welcome dinner companions during that span. In short, these are in no way classic, austere Brunellos, but very accessible—the Italian word accogliente says it best—versions of them.

With the help of the Brunello consorzio, I tasted a selection of the very best bottles of this difficult vintage, and I found a great deal to enjoy. What follows is my short list of the best of the best, scored on a five-point scale.

All these wines showed good color in slightly differing shades of garnet, and all sported lovely Sangiovese aromas—wild cherry and blackberry, with differing intensities of Mediterranean underbrush. Every wine listed here is already a pleasure to drink—and that is not something one can say about Brunello in every vintage.