Gianni Brunelli was from an old Montalcino family (with a last name like Brunelli, you pretty much had to be). His father owned a small winery in the northern part of Montalcino, in Le Chiuse di Sotto but had sold it as he got too old to properly manage the vineyards. Gianni, already a well-regarded restaurateur (his restaurant Osteria le Logge in Siena is arguably the best restaurant in the entire city), bought back his father's property in 1987, with the goal of making great Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino in the style of his father - classic, traditional, elegant.
The estate in the north was only two hectares, so Gianni (and his wife Laura) purchased 4.5 hectares of land in Podernovone in the southern part of Montalcino, south facing (helping reflect the heat), on marly-schist soils. Blending the two vineyards (north/south) was not something commonly done, but gave Gianni and Laura the opportunity to create a truly amazing wine, combining power and richness with elegance and grace.
Gianni died in 2008, but Laura continues to control the domaine, consistently increasing quality (but never quantity - the wines are in such high demand that our allocations are tiny).
Four wines are made; Brunello di Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, Rosso di Montalcino (and a better example of top quality Rosso you will be hard-pressed to find) and an IGT wine called 'Amor Costante' - a blend of Sangiovese and Merlot from the Podernovone site.
These are some of the great wines of Montalcino, so grab them while they're available!
This is one of the truly great Brunello wines in the world. From a blend of two different vineyard sites, Le Chiuse di Sotto in the northern part of Montalcino and...
This is one of the truly great Brunello wines in the world. From a blend of two different vineyard sites, Le Chiuse di Sotto in the northern part of Montalcino and...
