2008 Col D'Orcia Brunello di Montalcino

Col d’Orcia is a 370-acre estate in Montalcino, Tuscany. Its name means "hill near the Orcia," which is a river that runs through the valley in the southwest part of the Brunello di Montalcino appellation. The estate dates from the 19th century and is today owned by Count Alberto Marone Cinzano of the famous Vermouth-making family. Tenuta Col d’Orcia is best known for its Brunello di Montalcinos. Gambero Rosso has written that all the estate’s wines “are impressive because of the obvious care and attention that goes into every single process and because the wines are unquestionably modern in style, showing smooth, fragrant and but mouth filling, but never commonplace or standardized.”

Brunello di Montalcino is regarded as one of Italy’s best appellations. Located in south central Tuscany below Chianti, the wines of Brunello di Montalcino DOCG are made of a Sangiovese clone called “brunello,” which means “little dark one,” a reference to the brown tones in the skin of the grape. Unlike some Tuscan appellations that allow other grapes to be blended with Sangiovese, Brunello di Montalcino is entirely Sangiovese. Montalcino itself is a picturesque, hill-top town not especially well known for wine production until the mid-19th century, when a local vineyard owner isolated the brunello clone and planted it. Other growers followed suit. Nevertheless it wasn’t until 1970s that wine enthusiasts started paying attention to Brunello di Montalcino, which by then was becoming an outstanding wine. Today there are 120 estates in the DOCG, up from about 25 estates in 1975. Brunellos in general are bigger, darker, more tannic and more powerful wines than Chiantis or most other Sangioveses. By law they must be aged for four years, and two of those years must be in wooden barrels.