Brunello di Montalcino

The story of Brunello begins with Ferruccio Biondi-Santi, who in the 1870s selected a particularly vigorous clone of Sangiovese from his family's Greppo estate and began vinifying it as a pure varietal wine — a radical departure from the blended Chianti of the era. His 1888 and 1891 vintages, still occasionally encountered at auction, established that this grape, on this hill, could produce wines of extraordinary longevity.

For most of the twentieth century, Biondi-Santi was Brunello. The estate's Riserva wines, made only in exceptional years, became benchmarks of Italian fine wine. When the DOCG was formally established in 1980 — the first in Italy — it codified the standards that Biondi-Santi had pioneered. Today, under the stewardship of the EPI group (which acquired the estate in 2017), Greppo continues to produce wines that define the appellation's classical tradition.

Montalcino's vineyards span a wide range of altitudes — from around 150 metres near the valley floor to over 600 metres on the highest slopes — and this variation produces wines of markedly different character. Lower-altitude sites on the warmer southern and southwestern flanks tend toward riper, more opulent styles; higher, cooler northern and northeastern vineyards yield wines of greater acidity, tension, and aromatic complexity.

The soils are equally varied. Galestro — a crumbly, calcium-rich schist — dominates much of the appellation and is widely credited with giving Brunello its characteristic mineral backbone. Alberese, a harder clay-limestone, appears on the lower slopes and contributes structure and density. The interplay between these soil types, combined with the diurnal temperature swings that altitude brings, is what allows Sangiovese Grosso to achieve the balance of power and elegance that defines great Brunello.

Brunello has long been divided between two broad camps. The traditionalists — Biondi-Santi, Costanti, Lisini, Poggio di Sotto — favour long maceration, large Slavonian oak casks (botti grandi), and extended aging. Their wines are austere in youth, demanding patience, but reward it with extraordinary complexity and a capacity to age for decades. The modernists — Banfi, Caparzo, and in its early years Casanova di Neri — embraced shorter macerations, smaller French barriques, and earlier-drinking styles.

A third wave of producers — sometimes called the Brunellisti — has emerged in recent decades, combining traditional large-cask aging with meticulous vineyard work and a focus on single-vineyard or single-altitude expressions. Estates such as Canalicchio di Sopra, Poggio di Sotto (now under Claudio Tipa), and Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona have brought a new level of precision to the appellation without abandoning its classical soul. The result is a generation of Brunellos that are both more approachable in youth and more clearly expressive of their specific terroir.

Montalcino is one of the most rewarding wine destinations in Italy, not least because the town itself is so beautiful. The medieval fortress at its summit offers panoramic views over the Val d'Orcia; the main street, Via Mazzini, is lined with enotecas where you can taste wines from dozens of producers without leaving the town centre. The Fortezza enoteca, housed in the fourteenth-century castle, is a particularly atmospheric place to begin.

Most estates welcome visitors by appointment, and the range of experiences on offer has expanded considerably in recent years — from cellar tours and barrel tastings to vineyard walks and harvest participation. The best time to visit is September and October, when the harvest is underway and the vineyards are at their most dramatic. Spring, when the vines are flowering and the hills are green, runs a close second. Accommodation ranges from agriturismo farmhouses within the DOCG to the luxurious Castello Banfi hotel at the appellation's southern edge.