See also:

Wine in Tuscany

South of Siena in the isolated and steep countryside, sits the walled town of Montalcino. Here is produced some of Italy's best wines. The brunello wines are made exclusively from the brunello grape, a sangiovese clone. They are aged a minimum of four years and produce wines that are long lived, richly fruited, and powerful. This is an area that no wine lover visiting Italy will want to miss.

The history of Brunello di Montalcino began when phylloxera arrived in the area in 1930 and completely devastated the vineyards. The depression, World War II and the poverty of the postwar period kept Montalcino isolated, impoverished, and dependent on its agricultural base. The isolation of Montalcino combined with the numbing poverty almost swept away the reputation the wines had gained earlier. During the 1950s, some ten to fifteen producers began bottling their own wine, usually identififying it as Chianti Colli Senesi, which at that time had a stronger market image than Brunello di Montalcino.

The Duomo (San Salvatore) can be reached by going to the right after leaving the museum. The Senese architect Agostino Fantastici Planned a project (1812-32) to restructure to pre-existing church into the neo-classical norm which dominated the time. Proceed downhill to arrive at the Piazza del Popolo where the Palazzo Comunale (or dei Priori) stands. In the square is La Loggia which was constructed in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In The contrada of Castelvecchio, is the Church of San Francesco (XIII century) wich as been redone over the course of time. Inside are the frescoes by Vincenzo Tamagni painted in the early sixteenth-century. Just a few kilometers from Montalcino rises the Abbazia di Sant'Antimo (1118). This is one of the most beautiful Romanseque monastic churches in existence. Its Romanesque-Lombard style gives its structure both a physical force and delicacy at the same time.

The street that leads to Montalcino will allow for an appreciation of the true beauty of the place. Having arrived at the summit the eyes can behold the splendour of an ample and varied panorama from the Senese hills to the mountains of Amiata. The fortress (constructed to defend the territory in 1361 by the Senese Mino Foresi and Domenico di Feo utilizing the already pre-existing thirteenth-century wall) rises to the highest point of the city and dominates the surrounding valleys. On the wall of one of the center rooms hangs a Standard attributed to the Sodoma school.

The center of this small town is exemplary of the architecture of the late Middle Ages. Following the road across from the fortress you will find on via Ricasoli a gothic marble portal and a rose window that beautify the simple basic Romanesque facade of the Church of Sant'Agostino (thirteenth-century). Nearby, although it will soon be moved to the convent of the church of Sant' Agostino, you will find the Musei Riuniti (civico and Diocesano). The museums contain pieces of outstanding art work such as a Wooden Cross painted in the twelfth of thirteenth-centuries by an unknown artist. It is one of the oldest Senese works. There are also an Angelo annunciate and a Madonna annunciata, two beautiful wooden sculptures from the early fifteenth- century, as well as a Saint Sebastian and a Madonna with Saints done in Robbian terracotta.
The Duomo (San Salvatore) can be reached by going to the right after leaving the museum. The Senese architect Agostino Fantastici Planned a project (1812-32) to restructure to pre-existing church into the neo-classical norm which dominated the time. Proceed downhill to arrive at the Piazza del Popolo where the Palazzo Comunale (or dei Priori) stands.
In the square is La Loggia which was constructed in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In The contrada of Castelvecchio, is the Church of San Francesco (XIII century) wich as been redone over the course of time. Inside are the frescoes by Vincenzo Tamagni painted in the early sixteenth-century. Just a few kilometers from Montalcino rises the Abbazia di Sant'Antimo (1118). This is one of the most beautiful Romanseque monastic churches in existence. Its Romanesque-Lombard style gives its structure both a physical force and delicacy at the same time.

Main Characteristics of this wine:

The zone of Montalcino has shown to be a region with a great vocation for viticulture. The territory, which consists of roughly 24 thousand hectares, resembles a square formed by the Ombrone, Orcia and Asso rivers. The vineyards are protected by the Ombrone valley to the west, the Orcia valley to the south and east, and the mountains of Amiata to the southern flank. These natural barriers protect the vineyards from intemperate weather, such as hail and severe storms, and help make the zone the most arid of all Tuscany’s wine regions. The zone only has about 500 millimeters (20 inches) of rainfall a year. To control the hot Mediterranean nature of the region, Montalcino experiences cool breezes off the sea, not experienced in Chianti or Montepulciano. Dangerous late-spring frosts are rare in this area. Because of this viticulturally friendly climate, it is difficult to have excessively bad vintages. Since the 1945 Brunello vintage, Montalcino has had 14 exceptional years, 19 very good years, 14 good years, 7 mediocre years. Only 3 years were considered poor years.

The Colour: deep ruby red, verging on pomegranate.
The Smell: is ethereal, wide, abundant, with undergrowth red jam and licorice scents.
The Taste: dry, warm,soft, little fresh, quite tannic flavoursome and strong.
Alcohol: 12,5° minimum maturation
Compulsory maturation time: four years, three of which in chestnut or oak-casks, starting from first of Jenuary of the year following the vintage.
Temperature to serve: 18-22°C.
Couplings: stewed hare, seasoned sheep's cheese from Pienza.
Reserve: minimum maturation time: 5 years starting from the first of Jenuary of the year following the vintage.

As Brunello di Montalcino slowly gained recognition for its quality, production grew along with it. Before World War II there were less than ten producers in the region. More producers came to the area and by 1968 plantings increased to a little more than 80 hectares. By 1975, there were 60 estates (only about 15 also were bottlers). In the same year, the area cultivated with vines grew to 360 hectare. Production continued to grow with a vengeance during the rest of the decade. By 1980, there were 93 estates and 650 hectares were under vines. In 1980, Brunello di Montalcino received the very first DOCG quality classification. This opened the floodgates for even more growth. According to the Consortium of Brunello di Montalcino, there are 193 producers (136 of these are also bottlers) and over 1,300 hectares under vines. Roughly four million bottles of Brunello are now produced each year.