Editor:I have just read Nic Dumergue's piece about Brunello di Montalcino, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I would differ with Dumergue about the use of barriques in Montalcino, however. The principal reason for using small new wood here is to manage tannin through polymerization; the structure of this wine will never be smooth and international, but some reduction in tannins is surely appropriate, and Sangiovese seems a particularly good candidate for this treatment. I agree that the risk is too m...