Brunello di Montalcino

our guides to Val d’Orcia’s liquid gold that has conquered hearts all around the world

Brunello di Montalcino DOCG is the most important enogastronomic product produced in Montalcino and its municipality. Together with Barolo DOCG, Brunello is Italy’s most world renowned and high quality red wine. Montalcino and its municipality are particularly vocated for the production of high quality wines thanks to its terroir - the coexistence of various elements, all vital in the production of excellent enogastronomic products. Firstly, the soil: Montalcino sits upon land that has oceanic origins dating back to 5 million years ago, meaning it is a soil rich in mineral content and with many layers. Other elements that collectively form terroir are: climate (dry and warm), altitude and last but not least, the people who live and work the land. The production of Brunello dates back to the mid 19th Century, when Clemente Santi, a local farmer, isolated some of his Sangiovese plantings with the aim of creating a single variety wine, which was 100% Sangiovese, that could be aged for a significant amount of time. Ten years later, his grandson, Ferruccio Biondi-Santi, released the first ever vintage of Brunello di Montalcino, which had been aged for over 10 years in oak barrels. Today, in 2020, there are 220 Brunello di Montalcino DOCG producers, spread across the various slopes and hills that surround Montalcino. Of these, 30% produce organic wine and 8 producers applied the philosophy of biodynamics. Below is our curated selection of Brunello di Montalcino winery itineraries.