Gianni Brunelli

Gianni Brunelli was a renaissaince man who excelled at most everything he did. Not only did he launch Sienna's Osteria Le Logge, the city's best restaurant, but in 1987 he took over the Le Chiuse di Sotto estate, loctaed in the cooler Northern section of  the Montalcino production zone. At the time there were only 2 hectares of vineyard (situated at roughly 200 metres above sea level)...Brunelli expanded his vineyard holdings over time acquiring the Podernovone estate and it's 4.5 hectares of mostly sangiovese (at 350 metres above sea level). Farming vineyards in two very different areas of Montalcino - breezy and fresh and at time quite rainy characterise the area where Le Chiuse di Sotto is located, while Podernovone is warmer but well ventillated - allows this estate to make complex and well balanced wines in most vintages.  Gianni's wife Laura now oversees the estate (Gianni having passed away in 2008) and is helped by one of Montalcino's great wine experts, Paolo Vagaggini, her winemaker. The vineyards are followed directly by Laura Brunelli and a consultant viticulturalist. I find this estate's Brunellos to be irresistable and among the purest, sleekest wines in most vintages. IAN D'AGATA