Brunello di Montalcino

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The production area covers a total of 243.62 square kilometres and is bounded by the valleys of the Orcia, Asso and Ombrone rivers, with an altitude ranging from about 120 metres along the rivers to about 650 metres at Poggio Civitella.
• The hill of Montalcino presents numerous pedological environments, formed in different geological eras, traceable to sandstones sometimes mixed with limestones, to alberese and to galestro, as well as soils of mixed particle size sometimes tending toward sandy or clayey.
• The climate is Mediterranean but generally dry, with continental overtones due to the intermediate position between the sea, 40 km away as the crow flies, and the Apennine chain, about 100 km away.
• Rainfall is concentrated in the spring and autumn months as in Mediterranean climates, with an annual average of about 700 millimetres, and in winter above 400 metres snowfall is possible.
• The mid-hill belt is not affected by fog, frost or late-season ground frost, while the frequent presence of wind ensures conditions favourable to the plants' health.

• Clemente Santi is considered the forerunner of Brunello wine production, and in 1869 his Vino Scelto from the 1865 harvest was awarded a silver medal by the district Comizio.
• At the beginning of the 20th century, Riccardo Paccagnini's Brunello won recognition both nationally at the Franco-Italian Exposition in Rome in 1910, and internationally with a grand prix for the 1894 Brunello and a médaille d'or for one from 1899.

• The wine appears clear and bright, of intense ruby colour tending toward garnet with ageing, with an intense and persistent aroma of undergrowth, aromatic wood, small berries and a light hint of vanilla.
• On the palate the wine has an elegant and harmonious body, backbone and character, is dry with long aromatic persistence, and can be cellared for a minimum of ten up to thirty years.

• Soils poor in organic matter, calcareous and with relatively limited water availability allow Sangiovese to develop with restrained vigour and consequently limited yields.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Italy

Sources

• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-IT-A1199
• Official trade body site — Consorzio del vino Brunello di Montalcino