Brunello di Montalcino

For years the Napa Valley Cabernets have been at the top of the heap. Wine Spectator dedicated most of its November 2006 issue to the Cabernet.

But 2006 also marked a change that even the Spectator had to notice. The 2001 Brunello's hit 4 spots in the top 50, with Casanova di Neri's Tenuta Nuova ranking #1.

This is a significant moment not only for the winemakers but for Montalcino. The Montalcinese, as they like to be called, have a long history of tenacity and it can be seen in the history of Brunello.

The history of Brunello has been rigorously tied to the Biondi Santi family. In the later half of the 18th century, Ferruccio Biondi Santi changed the practice of making red wines. It was common to mix grapes to produce the wine.

Ferruccio realized that by carefully selecting the mother plant, limiting the yield and using only one type of grape, he chose Sangiovese Grosso, you could make quality wine that only gets better with time.

In 1933, at a wine exposition in Siena there were four producers of Brunello, Biondi Santi & Co, Castelgiocondo/Montosoli, Barbi-Colombini and Franceschi, known today as Il Poggione.

In 1950, the phylloxera infection hit and production dropped leaving Biondi Santi practically the only estate to sell the bottled vintage. After about a decade other producers got in the game and also realized it was important to sell bottled wine instead of using casks and demijohns.

In a decade of realizations came the importance of protecting this great product. In 1963 the law of Denominazione di Origine Controllata was agreed upon. The Brunello di Montalcino was granted its appellation in 1966. By 1967, the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino was founded with 37 producers signing up as members. The consortium's mission was to supervise the production of Brunello and to help the marketing of the wine both in Italy and abroad.

1980 brought about another law, Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG). This is the highest classification of wine in Italy and the Brunello di Montalcino was the first wine to obtain this rating. Ferruccio and others saw the Brunello as a wine that outlasts time. With its current status and renaissance we think they would see their vision as being complete.